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My thoughts exactly. Chalamet is (unbelivably) 25 years old but can carry a look of plausibly being in his teens. The 1984 Dune suffered from putting an obviously fully grown man in the role of a boy.
@@chaos.corner Yeah, that's the one. They didn't use it properly in the movie end scene - I'm sure he gets the nickname after killing Jamis with some kind of jumping move (which was also left out, bemusingly) that the Fremen equate to that of a desert mouse; would have been fitting after they showed a couple of scenes with a mouse as well.
A 6 or 7 hour marathon with extended versions for part 1 and 2 would be incredible. Hopefully Dennis can make a messiah film as well to wrap up the story of Paul in a trilogy.
@@Chris-ci8vs I was mostly disappointed by the lack of attention on both Piter and Thufir. Both are majorly important figures in their respective houses but they're depicted like secretaries in the film.
The movie should have been at least 5 hours. There's so much thats been left out that would make the story even greater. For example, fleshing out Dr. Yueh much more would make the betrayal more impactful. For people who havent read the books he's just some random guy. Sadly, they probably had to cut a lot of stuff, and tighten the story up due to the general peoples lack of attention span and impatience.
"Most of the characters are walking a path that's already been laid out for them" Indeed, Drinker. The nature of precognition and prophecy is one of the major themes of the books.
I liked Momoa's performance and flavour in his role. Both Duncan (him) and Gurney (Josh Brolin) act as alternative father figures to Paul when Duke Leto was busy running the House. Duncan is more of an easy-going cowboy, while Gurney is more intense and stoic, both of them are willing to die for Paul. I think it was well balanced and portrayed the different roles of the father figure well. It worked for me.
yeah.. I think Mary Jane is the weak link in the cast, being surrounded by heavy hitter veteran actors and have to "convey" her act without words is definitely hard job to do, so I wouldn't blame her for it.
@@skinnie2838 bruh youre kidding right ? The 84 Dune was a mess. Trying to cram a shit ton of books in a 2 hour movie is not a good idea. It was honestly really shitty.
The idea that everything is a foregone conclusion is actually pretty accurate to the books I think. It’s like being inside of Paul’s time prescience where he sees everything as set, and yet it’s not really as determined as it seems. He still has agency, there are unknowns, and he’s determined to prevent the jihad he continually sees with the fanatic legions tearing across the universe under the Artedes banner.
It's also just basic foreshadowing. I think it's pretty hard to come up with surprises when you have such an old franchise that has already had a movie made, and trying to stay faithful to the source.
One of Frank Herbert’s big flaws (I loved the first two Dune books for what they were) is the vacuum. He “white walled” which means you’re reading dialogue and internal monologue with no idea where you are or what the world and scene is supposed to look like. So the director does a great job at bringing these otherwise under-described scenes to the big screen.
I read the books, they are extremely wooden, and he couldn't build a large world without treating it like every planet is a small town. This little town does technology, this little town does cloning. In reality planets would be vastly diverse and there would be technology and cloning on thousands of planets, but that was too much for Herbert to handle. (Insert "but the BOOK says" defense from most fanboys.) I also read most of his son's books, or rather, the books written by another guy with the son as co-author simply to have the Herbert name. As someone pointed out, most of the time they feel more like an outline of a story than an actual fleshed-out story. But I did enjoy the question he introduced, whether it was right to make up atrocities or any other means necessary to make the free world keep up the fight against the Machines until they were finally destroyed and no longer a threat. Those who live long after in a sprawling human empire would certainly think so.
I can’t believe I clicked on this video thinking: “I hope he doesn’t put any spoilers in.” I somehow forgot that I’ve read the book before, like three times.
I still avoided pretty much all the trailers and images of the film before watching despite having read the books several times. The main draw for me was to see how my visualizations of the book would be translated onto the big screen. The only thing that didn't match was how I had imagined the Fremen, I read the books around the same time that I started binge watching GoT so for some reason I had pictured the Fremen as the Free men from beyond the Wall. I guess it only makes sense that the Fremen are brown desert people but they were white when I read the book lol
$220 million and climbing, as well as the best opening for a Villeneuve outing. I’m glad people are going to the theater for this one, because it deserves it more than almost anything else put out this year.
I expected it to be mediocre at best, and could not believe how incredible it is when I saw it in theaters. It felt like a shot for shot (almost) adaptation from the book
I'm disappointed I didn't make it to the movies to see it. Guess I was just conditioned by the Delta lockdown, and didn't get myself out of it quick enough. I hope they re-screen it at the cinema, just before the next one.
But if you have destroyed the thing do you still control anything? What if you have moved beyond the thing, and are only being held back by it? No I'm just making conversation, have a good evening everybody!
@@enzi_official The Sardaukar are one dimensional evil. They are the iron fist of the Emperor, they're a blunt object who have had all emotion and critical thought purged from their minds.
Me and my wife went to watch it not really having too much hope for a high budget film, but decided to give it a try. We were enthralled the entire time. When it ended, it felt like time had passed so quickly. We could’ve watched it for double the time and we wouldn’t have felt as though it was even a 2 hour film. The sweeping shots of the landscapes and the beautiful scenery were like something out of fellowship of the ring. After it was over, all I wanted to do was watch the second one right away
In today's world of bloated and overly simplified blockbusters, DUNE is a remedy. I just couldn't believe how overly fucking amazing this movie is. My only grief was that it ended, i could have watched it for a few more hours. Also i really hope there will be a longer version coming out at some point, since they kinda skipped the space traveling part. The only glimpse they gave was such a genius idea that i think that was the point when the movie completely absorbed me. I watched it like 6 times since it came out and for me its the biggest thing since Fellowship of the Ring came out.
@@helvete_ingres4717 Bloat and oversimplification are not exclusive, a movie can be bloated by cramming inconsequential action, dialogue, etc while oversimplifying themes and character development at the same time. Length is no guarantee of depth when it comes to movies.
It was so refreshing seeing smart, good hearted characters who act rationally and use their brains in intense situations. Oscar Isaac was without a doubt my favorite part of this movie, the fact he doesn't hesitate for a second to put himself in deaths way to save workers from peril really sold him for me.
I'm not a reader but a buddy of mine has read all of the books multiple times and were watching them together so he filled me in on all the little details and things I didn't grasp first watch. I honestly went into it thinking it'd be more boring starwars and I'm more than happy to admit I'm wrong.
@@thathandsomedevil0828 Technically, they were a house descended from Greece, however there are something like four variants of bagpipe from Greece going back to the 15th century.
0:48 "Liet-Kynes was a tall, thin man with long, sandy hair, a sparse but mussed mustache and beard and under heavy brows, eyes that were fathomless blue-within-blue." - spot on.
I finally saw Part 1 yesterday. I about screamed when I saw that nonsense with Kynes. And they ruined the character's conclusion as well, which was one of my favorite parts of the book!
I read the first book a few years ago and loved it. After finishing it I immediately went to the bookstore to buy the next couple, where I learned from the cashier that they were going to make a movie. I was simultaneously excited and wary, because it seemed to me that Dune wasn’t going to be very adaptation friendly. The part that worried me most was how introspective Paul is in the book. A lot of the story is communicated from his inner self rather than verbally delivered. I was very happily surprised when I saw it.
"Looks like the characters are walking a self prophecy..." Yes... that's exactly the point of Dune. And the purpose of the whole saga which gets resolved in the books that come after. Which I am sure you know, but if you gonna adapt the books as faithfully as you can, then you have to accept this will be thing. I cannot see this a criticism.
This exactly. Imo, the film adaptations HAVE to get to Dune Messiah at the very least. Stopping at the end of the first book sends the entirely wrong message. This is a story of how people putting their trust behind the wrong leader has immensely dire consequences - this extremely important arc isn't fully realised until the second book and it would be a shame to end it at the end of the first, which has a sort of typical 'heroes journey' climax. A trilogy, two films for Dune and one film for Dune Messiah would be my preferred way to see this series get on the big screen. There's enough of a self contained story there to have a good conclusion to the saga without feeling like you have to make a million films and film all the books.
They are, but if they were more subtle about it, then the audience could come to realize that as Paul is realizing the inescapability of the path he is on.
Agreed. That's one of the reasons I personally never found Dune particularly interesting though. The whole storyline of the main book, from the transfer of the Atreides to Arrakis untill Paul's victory over the Harkonnen on Arrakis makes for a fairly predictable and simple screenplay, by Dino de Laurentiis or the TV adaptation, or this latter one. It's almost like ticking off the checkboxes from beginning to end. The way I perceive it, all the productions live more off of the production design rather than from the story itself.
Exactly. Jessica makes the history changing decision to take advantage of the sisterhood's myths and legends seeded all over the universe. They have been puppeteering the power allocation and struggle from behind the scenes for centuries. All their maneuvers push to gain deep seated control for the sisterhood.
I think when you read it, it rather comes across as the reverse: everyone has carefully constructed plans that backfire horribly because of small, unforeseeable acts of will. The Bene Gesserit have a plan for the human genome; the emperor has a plan for the imperium; the Duke has a plan for Dune; the Baron has a plan for the fall of Atreides; the Navigators have a plan for keeping their mercantile networks as safe as possible. Except Jessica chose to have a son instead of a daughter; the Baron's traitor takes steps to preserve the Duke's house; Paul, lacking time to grow into full control of his prescience, seizes upon the one clear path to survival and coopts the Bene Gesserit failsafe mythos, ultimately sparking interstellar war. Harkonnen falls instead of Atreides; the Emperor becomes a figurehead on his own throne; and the Navigators lose control of their primary resource. It feels scripted in the first book because Paul has to play hard into deliberately crafted prophecies using spice-granted foreknowledge, but even in the first book it's pointed out that prescience - prophesy, fate, destiny - is a trap and that walking the certain, foreseeable path is a road to stagnation and disaster
@@crazysilly2914 those are the breathing pieces on the stillsuits. The suits recycle the body's moisture. That includes the moisture lost through breathing, thus the nosepieces.
I thought the ending point makes total sense really. In the book this is the half-way point, and after they undergo that ceremony where Paul gains his foresight and Lady Jessica and her unborn daughter undergo that change, there is a time skip forward. Unless I'm remembering that wrong.
Awesome summary/review! However… A) Timothy being too young and feminine? Absolutely not! He‘s spot on with the slender, rather small, 15-year old boy from the books. B) Everyone seems to walk a path already laid out for them? Yeah, no sh*t! It‘s a story about prophecies being helped coming to fruition by a sect of master manipulators thinking in centuries, if not millennia.
You talk like a fanboy instead of understanding movie review. "But the book says that its prophecy, so there!" Using an in-world explanation as defense is typical of spergs. Critical Drinkers criticism of watching a story with the path already laid out doesn't fall just because "it's in the BOOK!" I don't agree with the Drinker's criticism, I think the movie was entertaining anyway, but you writing "however" and "no sh*t" was absolutely ridiculous.
@Grasslander perhaps but I think a big point is that all the characters know that its coming. Its a prophecy and comes to fruition and all the characters know it will, but despite that they fight as hard as they can. This is almost foreshadowed extremely early on in the movie with "defiance in the eyes, like his fathers". The bene gesserit know that Leto knows, but also knows theres nothing he can do to stop it. Yet he'll fight it nonetheless
“In a market fill by brain dead action franchises and endless bland, predictable comic book films” Damn, as harsh as that was I don’t think anyone really could’ve said it better
@@thekiller7994 The spambots are getting worse everyday I swear. Almost every video I click on from any channel has at least a hundred spam replies in the comments. I keep reporting them when I see them but nothing seems to happen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
'Everything seems pre determined, and everything seems isolated' This is exactly what it is supposed to feel like for Paul. he goes to a planet where they have no support, everything has already been planned by other people. The point of this story is that he will make friends and take control of his own destiny.
he will never be able to take control of his own destiny. that's part of paul's tragedy. he is trapped in some predetermined path and can't escape from it and in the end he... plot spoiler ... gives up and wanders into the desert.
@@TheGoodLuc the only moment when Paul could avoid jihad was in water cave with fremens, he see the path clearly, the "only thing" he should do was killing few people: Stilgar, his pregnant mother Jessica and himself. But when he think about that... the moment past and oportunity was lost...
When I first saw Dune in 1984, I was 27 and a huge lifelong science fiction fan. And while I had read Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury and Tolkien my entire life I had not checked out Frank Herberts or Dune. Frankly I was intensely disappointed, finding it confusing. But the special effects intrigued me. The hype surrounding the movie though inspired me to read the book. It was GREAT! Which of course compelled me to rewatch Dune armed with the knowledge of WTF is going on. And this time it blew me away. In particular, the atmosphere of the movie was captivating. I just finished Dune 2021 and can't believe how effectively it has held the original atmosphere! This is a worthy making of the story and I'm eager for Dune 2.
I read the books as a kid in the 70s and thought the first movie was an abomination. The miniseries was good though and so is this movie, though nothing can ever match a child's imagination.
A) the movie didn't explicitly advertise it was a Part 1 B) normies don't read Dunc C) there is no theatrical finale, transition, or set up and the movie abruptly ends Most people didn't go in expecting a part 2. Combine that with the awkward ending it's not that surprising people want to be spoonfed. I hope that clears up any confusion, please understand.
Agreed. I think my problem with it was just the disappointment that it ended. It makes sense that it is simply the mid point of a longer movie with a second half, I just wanted it right away!
"Most the characters seem to be talking a path already laid out before them." This is exactly how the book was written. To me that did build tension, as I knew what will happen, but I was desperate to find out how would it come to this. I think the film is faithful to the book in that respect. It is generally faithful to the source material, which to me is enough to love it. Good review, I missed some of the things mentioned, so I got a bit more insight on the film.
Kinda what I was thinking while he was talking too. A lot of the books are about visions of the future and people trying to craft the way they want the future to take place based on those visions while taking spice.
I agree. Dune is all about the fight between predestination, either by religious beliefs or social pressures, and the will of the individuals. Everything was supposedly set from the start, and is up to Paul to decide if that should be embraced or rejected. I think that his final decision in the books was the according to his personality.
Indeed, the first part of the story was very much a Shakespearean tragedy - you know from the outset that things are going to hell, and are along for the ride to see how.
Exactly right - what was hard is the degree to which I agree that the pacing was slow - and yet I loved it for creating the sense of an almost haunted reality - and also wanting more from the film in terms of emotional connections between the characters - esp. Jessica and Leto (Paul's relationships with Gurney, Duncan and Leto were all pitch perfect - though seeing just a bit more of how the latter three were tied to one another and their troops/others in House Atreides would have been wonderful)....
Knowing the "destiny" of the characters was integral to Frank Herbert's original novels. SPOILER AHEAD! --- --- --- In the first book, "Dune", the reader already knew that Paul was going to be killed by Feyd Rautha at the end of the story...it was mentioned frequently throughout the story. But Paul Muad'dib defied his own destiny & killed Feyd instead, which served to magnify just how mighty Paul Muad'dib had (supposedly) become once he was "The Kwisatz Haderach". It suggests that 'knowing the path that lies ahead' and 'walking the path that lies ahead' are indeed two separate things. All the more tragic when, in "Dune Messiah", Paul finally realized that prophesy and pre-destiny wasn't as cut-&-dried as he thought when he did nothing to stop the terrorist's atomic bomb explosion, his subsequent blindness, and the death of Chani while giving birth to their daughter...only to discover that she gave birth to twins instead (something he did not foresee)!
"It doesn't really help that the story's delivered as if everything that happens in it's a foregone conclusion..." Dude, This is DUNE: Everything that happens in it IS a foregone conclusion. I don't want to insult your intelligence by asking if you've ever heard of at least one of the interations before, because for you to not have done, would be simply astounding. If you're not keen on the pacing, that's cool, everyone has their preference, but again: This is DUNE. It is NOT a fast-paced story. It's a story about prophecy, inevitability, obligations etc, concepts which simply aren't 'fast-paced'. I haven't seen it yet, but I loved the novel, previous movie and TV mini-series, so I'm looking forward to to seeing this interpretation and seeing how they do with the source-material. Thankyou for giving me reassurance that they haven't completely shit the bed with it.
Probably 90% of the people who saw this movie have no idea it's based on a pop up book. You dunnies™ got to cut the normies some slack. Who tf would know about any of that stuff? Waay to minouche details there brobro
Will yeah DUNE is more about characters reacting to things and their thoughts about more than the events itself even the genuine shock moments impact came upon the charters way more than the reader it is about interpolation and the effects this events from the precitcative of the charters it is not suppose to be climates or have any element of mystery for the side of surprising the reader like the example I immediately think about is doctor yuui betrayal the book say in the fucking second chapter about the betrayal and the whole plot to overthrow Leto the first and about the emperor involvement and then it acknowledges that every charter know about the plot than you as reader are actually anticipating the reaction and the thoughts that the character will show after the betrayal it this what is DUNE really charters interacting with the world around them and their thoughts their are not really big conflict or mystery or relationship to solve it just about philosophising about things and situations
@@BlueHooloovoo Well, part 2 won't really get to the end of the story, just the end of the first book. I would like to see a portrayal of the galactic jihad the Fremen go on.
Honestly, we could've had less Chani visions and incl. crucial scenes: 1. Yeuh's betrayal felt like it came out of nowhere tbh, they should've shown the Harkonnen meeting discussing the betrayal and Yeuh's conversation with Jessica about his wife. 2. The dinner party where you see more of the politicking before the Harkonnen attack 3. Not as important but damn, they downplayed Raban by only showing him execute 2 Atreides soldiers. Thought we would witness more cruelty from the most feared Harkonnen warrior.
I think they could have changed things for the better by adding two minutes, showing them arriving at Sietch Tabr and instead of Chani saying 'this is just the beginning' her smiling at Paul and saying 'I was wrong about you, welcome home.' And that right there would be a self-contained story.
Grew up on the books and even had the games. The visuals and absolute grandiosity of the images were so good. The noships and emissary transports was incredible. Absolutely loved the way the tech feels old and worn and massive.
This was a good review. I can't say how accurate it was to the book, however, I thought world building with Arrakis and House Atreides being the focus of the first movie was the right movie. I also thought the action scenes were unique and loved how they were portrayed in this film.
It makes a large number of changes from the book. I thought it was all right but not as good as the 80s film, and nowhere near as good as the mini-series.
I don’t think it could have gotten any more accurate to the book without suffering. In fact, ome thing that struck me while watching it was just how close it was sticking to the source material. As far as I could tell all of the changes were essentially cosmetic. The shortening of events here, the exclusion of some dialogue there and some rearranging of some tiny parts of the story so that the string of events are understandable to an ignorant audience. All in all the did a very good job of translating the soul and intention of the book onto an entirely different form of storytelling that has different strengths and limitations. Superb actually, especially when you consider the industry standard of book adaptations is to the effect of Netflix’s ‘the Witcher’.
@@etiennedevignolles7538 the only thing I’d change is Kynes’ death. I don’t think it would have been all that much of a stretch to explain how spice is actually created through some form of flashback to a younger Kynes as she dies in the Desert.
I sat on the edge of my seat both times I watched it in the cinema and was acually tearing up at times not because it was sad but because I was overjoyed to see a fairly faithful rendition of one of my favorite books. I even enjoyed the last version, but this one was by far the best.
@@theeffete3396 can you imagine if Denis tried to portray his pedophilia- seeing hollywoods reaction would have been epic. He could have cast Kevin Spacey as the Baron!
Typical 2021 Hollywood. "Hey, we need to portray this character as a depraved, very smart and cunning villain. What do we do?" "Well, we might simply adapt the dialogues and the scenes of the book, which do an excellent job of showing..." "Fuck that. Have him dress in black and stare around with an evil expression and bathe in mud." "Brilliant." "Also, he should float around and say My Dune in an ominous tone for no reason." "Genius." "But that doesn't make any..." "You're fired." "And Latreena will take your job."
Slower pace made me fall asleep lmao. You remember when Paul talked to the gardener man? Yeah the bright lights kept making me squint which in turn made me sleepy, which in turn made me fall asleep.
I hate slow born movies and too many dialogs, but holly shit this movie changed my mind. When it ended I couldn't believe that I've watched a 2hr movie, somehow it felt like a 75min movie. We need a part 2 asap.
@@nikolairose2739 I liked that. It was an actual part where he engages with the people and offers a different interpretation of people looking at the trees as they do in the book. Instead of Dr Yueh and Jessica statically and hyper rationally talking instead an Arakeen native is saying to Paul 'no - I want the trees here, because one day I want my world to be Green.'
I have read the books a couple of times and absolutely loved them. I give this adaptation a 6 out of 10. Do I want to to watch it a second time? Certainly not. It is boring : there is no depth, no tension, no fear, no sweat. The plot is really poorly build from the start. You don’t feel the pressure on house Atreides. Where is the Emperor ? And Baron Harkonnen … is that all we get ? Should have been more organic. Great scenery and pompous “mystical”music are not enough to make great movies. The actors are ok, it’s not their fault.
The movie needed the dinner scene from the book. It breaks down the value of water and the potential for a Harkonnen attack and how Atriedes should handle it. And I would say where they stopped was the best place to stop. It's a character moment for Paul that pushes him in a direction he was almost unwilling to take. Everything from that point is more world building, just from the Fremen side, before culminating in the final conflict.
That, and the 'confrontation' between Thufir and Jessica. They could've cut down most, if not all, of those scenes of Paul daydreaming about Zendaya. oops, I mean Chani.
Denis conveys the importance of water with the short scene where Paul is talking to the groundskeeper who's watering the palm trees. I'm fine with that scene being cut. I would've preferred not to have all those shots of people just staring off into the distance though
I’m hoping they later release an extended cut that includes those scenes. Apparently they also shot gurney playing the Baliset and Denis stated in an interview that it was painful having to cut that scene from the movie
I ended up loving every minute of it. Had no idea over 2 hours had passed and then felt shocked when it ended. I would easily sit through a 5 hour session of this from start to finish. Please finish it.
Can I just say I'm a massive sci-fi fan, but hadn't really explored Dune at all before deciding to go see this film, and you Critical Drinker in 2 minutes explained the basic premise of the Dune series better than the entire 2 and a half hour film did. I consider myself to be someone who prefers high-concept, convoluted stories but I was admittedly a bit lost...thank you for explaining that in such an easily digestible way!
@Roberto Vidal Garcia its 'medievalness' is part of what made it stand out among sci-fi, it was an innovative concept to juxtapose high and low tech like that. It is not, as you weirdly suggest, a product of it being written 'many decades ago' (they wrote swords in sci-fi imaginings of the future in the past b/c..swords are from the past? stupid comment) - the high-tech intergalactic empire setting was the norm in sci-fi at the time, Dune was different
Appreciate your channel and reviews CD - I will say I was confused with Zendaya in this and the overall hype, then I watched Euphoria over the last week. Personally, she’s amazing in it and makes me curious to see how she’ll play Chani. Then again, i haven’t watched a spider man since the second original.
I usually despise book adaptations, but when I read Dune a few years ago, this movie was what played in my head, down to the way the characters and technology look. People complain about the minor pacing changes and missing elements, but what's preserved is the VIBE and core themes of the story. This is the first piece of Dune media that doesn't feel like a high school Shakespeare play, with the ridiculous hightened speech and art-deco everything.
Um..... no. It really doesn't capture the vibe of the books. Chalamet has not recreated Paul. He just hasn't. The Baron's character isn't a stoic expressionless turd. The Fremen didn't have an American accent AND they themselves despise Arrakis as its their prison planet. They aren't fighting for their homeland. They're fighting for vengeance. And Leto doesn't 'slowly realise' that he's set up to fail. He walks into Arrakis knowing full well why he's sent there, but never expected Yueh to do what he did.
I found the first 40 minutes brilliant. It was all downhill from there sadly. The Drinker voiced my criticisms almost perfectly, especially the part where it all just feels like a forgone conclusion, especially when every fucking character seem to mutter some enigmatic crap when they meet Paul. It really robs the movie of tension.
@@Rapunzel879 "every fucking character seem to mutter some enigmatic crap when they meet Paul." To be fair that happened in the book too, although it was mostly internal dialogue.
For a film that introduces us to a "new" world, with a lot of intricate details, it actually helps that it follows a slower pace, letting the viewer enjoy each beautiful scene and also let the mind process what's on the screen without rushing. It allows for the tension and build up to be more organic, rather than spurred on by spazzy editing adapted for people with short attention spans (which is most people these days). I found it almost soothing to let the movie slowly unfold its intriguing story and present us with stunning visuals and wonderful soundtrack along the way.
@@waggyn Really? I've never read the books, but considering that they're considered sci-fi classics, would you recommend them? It's not easy to make proper book-to-movie adaptations in general, but it would be interesting to know if reading the books would allow the viewer of the film to gain a better understanding or appreciation of what's on the screen.
yeah its nice that they introduce is slow in this universe. I would love to see this more than 2 films. but well made and true to the story. skip the cgi :D
It does help, but everyone has different tastes. Lingering 20-30 second shots on landscapes help people really soak in the environment and absorb the previous scene, but some people only need like 10 seconds. Doesn't seem like a big difference, but repeat it over and over again and there's 20 minutes of dead air. It's hard to call. It's sort of like when some folks take sitcoms and removes the laugh track, and there's just awkward down time ever few lines, but you realize it's there because (in theory) the audience is laughing and soaking in the humor or situation. If it was just go-go-go, people would start missing lines and maybe even plot points.
honestly i thought it didn't go slow enough. There was so much worldbuilding to cover the first film could've been six hours long and i wouldn't have minded
It was a solid adaptation. The problem is that the source material is very tricky to translate to the screen. This was a decent attempt(and certainly probably the closest to capture the spirit of the book), although given the director's previous films(Arrival and Bladerunner 2049) - I was expecting a bit more from it. Still, compared to other modern films it's head and shoulders above them.
Visual effects don't compensate for a sparce plot line: Future galaxy leader who looks like a Vegan restaurant waiter gets exiled into the desert, falls for babe desert tribe girl, wanders off together bent on revenge - Dune 2 has a lot of work to do - plot resolutions, better character profiles and development. Exactly the reason Godzilla Minus 1 outclasses the effects and cost bloated Hollywood Godzillas. Oh, and hopefully the religious mumbo jumbo sub blot is worked into something understandable.
you forgot the spiceee. and Paul has a anti messiah complex where he doesn't exactly want to be the chosen one. But I agree I'm hoping Dune 2 bares some more threads in those terms.
I agree here too. I thought it was perfectly timed. You have end of his life as Paul Atreides and the beginning of his life as one of the fremen as Paul Muad'Dib. As the Harkonnen think Paul and his mother are dead so when they hear about a Maud'Dib leading the fremen they have no idea its an Atreides. Minor spoiler bit for the next film :)
Enjoyed the review. But one of the reasons I enjoyed the unconventional ending was it was such a contrast from the last 20 years of cookie cutter action movies where every MCU movie needed to end with a battle scene that had to have more and more explosions and over the top action
Any random MCU movie (no matter how garbage it is) is done with +- the same budget but will always get more than any masterpiece of sci-fi. People is retarded enough to believe a 3 hour movie is slow and worse than a 1h 20m random shit with explosions and no real story being told. I still can't believe Venom: Let there be Carnage (which, as far as I see it, was pretty bad) got more in the box office than Dune.
I remember the first wonder woman movie, it started with beautiful landscapes and devolved to the last fight being just a brown background for 20 minutes, same with Black panther, the last scene looked like a PS3 rendered background
I think the ending here is perfect. It’s Paul embracing his role as Duke, the path that was chosen for him by his father. I mean, the book ends with a duel, so even that’s kind of foreshadowed here.
I came back to this review after finally watching Dune on Netflix. Maybe it's the nostalgia generated from my childhood gaming in Dune 2000, but this was the first movie in a very long time that I felt chills up my spine as I watched it. I came away with it yearning for more. It's been a long time since I've been so thoroughly entertained.
The story was confusing (but I think they intend to make a trilogy so that should work). I also loved the idea of the settings. I also love the most of the characters
Dune is a dense book with lots of internal monologue so adapting Dune will always be hard. I'm glad to hear it's getting good reviews. I always maintained a single movie isn't going to work for Dune so I think the split works well.
Yeah, I can totally see how fleshing out some of the world building would have made the entire universe come more to life, but given how DV makes movies we probably would be dealing with 3 movies instead of 2 (how did the studio not already think of this?)
@@yes_head I wish they spent more time on building up the characters and their relationships, this way the betrayal and death of the father don't have as much gravity. It should have been three movies at the minimum but they had to make sure the first one will be a success.
I would have liked it if it was narrated by Princess Irulan, instead of Chani and the only inner monologue we got would be from Paul Atreides. I think they are going to make Chani more important then she really was. We'll probably never know that Paul never marries Chani, marrying the emperor's daughter instead but we'll see. I think there were a lot of really unnecessary changes.
I'm still afraid though it will all end at pt.2 - Dune has the most "cinematic action" from all the books. Messiah and Children would possibly fit in though they may have problems breaking even at the box office. God Emperor would definitely better fit a TV show format though.
The book has an iconic "dinner party scene" where the Atreides invite the movers and shakers of Arrakis to their palace to get a sense of where everyone stands. It also gives you a glimpse into how the common people of Arrakis live. I've heard they've cut this from the movie, which blows my mind, as I always saw it as a key portion of the book.
@@voidsff wobble your head, what on earth in that scene runs against 'social justice warrior politics'? It's about the dire imbalance between the rich and the poor, and the Atreides deftly family navigating the powers that be in their new homeworld, if anything it's exactly the sort of scene that would appease a social justice narrative
Last weekend, I watched this for the second time. I liked it better than I did the first time. The dialogue, word choice was way too dumbed down, though. I definitely want this released again prior to part 2. Cinematography was terrific!
This is your best review, encapsulating my feelings exactly. I just watched this movie for the first time and knew what I saw was very, very good. A few days later, after seeing the trailers for the second one I like it a lot more. You nailed it.
The thing is, Dune is a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the book, the first chapter tells you how the movie will go. It tells you about the fate of the Atreides as well as of Paul's outlook. I've not seen the movie yet but in the book, I definitely enjoyed the much slower first half a lot more than the more dynamic second.
Yea my hope is that they don't turn the second part into a giant CG spectacle where the focus is the action ala marvel movies,but I think Villanuev won't let that happen
Yeah when I thought about what I wanted from Villeneuve's Dune, the very first priority was nailing the feeling of terrible purpose, prophecy and the coming jihad. Of a story that tells you what will happen and yet you are transfixed and immersed the whole way through. The book did that unlike any other book I have ever read and I feel like the movie succeeded at that dramatically well for a first half. The only question is how well-understood is it by those who have not read the book before?
@Zealadinn Yeah I don't remember Chani having that much backstory... I'm fine with her playing a key role in the story moving forward though. But my memory of the books after 2 is quite hazy. If we care about women power (cough cough desert power), the second movie should be Jessica and ALIA's story dammit. Alia is amazing. If anything, the second movie should be like two sixths' Paul's story, one sixth Jessica, Alia and then Chani with and the remaining slice divided among Stilgar, Duncan and Kynes. I always loved the planetary ecology angle.
Paul Atreides was 15 years old at the start of the novel, so casting someone who could pass for a teenager was great choice. Nothing against the performances of either Kyle MacLachlan or Alec Newman, but both men looked like they were much older than the character they were supposed to portray. Timothee Chalamet was probably one of the best casting choices that could be made. He looks the right age both in his face and his slight build, but he has enough gravitas to feel like a kid who's been trained since birth to eventually rule a planet.
I wonder what they will do for the 3rd movie (Messiah) though ? Not sure that he'll be able to age enough ? (Virtual) makeup ? But will he be able to pull it off as an actor ?
@@ronron86 Agreed, liked him better in 'The King' but I wanted more emotion in this. I didnt feel his pain from the gom jabbar or his trauma from his first kill
'In a market dominated by brain dead action franchises...' Truer words have never been spoken! 🙏 That said, the movie was really, really good! Do we want part 2, Hell Yeah! 🤞🤞
@El Bearsidente I disagree. The miniseries was longer, with more content ... but the dialogue has been more adapted, and many things have been lost and the acting is laughably bad at times. The Gom Jabbar scene is ridiculous for instance.
I disagree partially, a movie doesn't fail just because it's a bad adaptation. One of the best examples would be Lord of the rings. They are fantastic films, but they aren't exactly perfect adaptations.
No kidding. I'd forgotten what it's like to see a movie that left you feeling shaken. I think the last time I felt like I have with Dune was the first time I watched Jurassic Park as a kid, or maybe Fellowship of the Ring.
I'm glad this turned out good. My love for Dune began when I was 10 with the PC game Dune II. After that I wanted more. Which lead to me reading the book and eventually owning the 1984 movie. But I'll admit it was the RTS games that I loved the most.
I actually really liked where Dune ended. The whole thing felt like a fever dream and the fact it just kinda stops puts it in a place where you definitely want more and are excited to get it. I think that's a smart thing to do when you need to foment enthusiasm for a second part that hasn't been greenlit. I wouldn't mind seeing another video where you do more spoiler content and more comparisons to the book.
Where they were taking their time on a lot of things I think I should have showed more up into the attack and during the attack they should have spent longer showing fights and whatnot it should have ended it right there that I think would have been a good cliffhanger I do agree that where it ended was kind of a little weird but like the Drinker says it's still one of the best movies you got in a few years
It's a tough call, if you're going to split the novel, this is one of the few places where you can, only problem is that the reason it's a good place to split the story isn't apparent until you get closer to the end.
I of course agree that it was an appropriate place to do the split but I think it is a little dangerous to leave people so thirsty for more for so long. Part 2 is expected around 2023 (and we can certainly expect a delay or two), I'm not sure I have much faith in general audiences to care for that long.
I’ll be honest I thought Timothee was just gonna be this generations Orlando Bloom, and I was pleasantly surprised how well he played Paul. Best performance goes to Oscar Isaac by a mile but Mr Chamolet did just fine.
Timothee has already proved his talents time and again in indie films, this is a super weird comment. The range he's displayed at this age alone - he's played a lonely bisexual 80s teen in a complicated relationship with an older man in CMBYN, erratic and emotional drug addict in Beautiful Boy, heartbroken layabout drowning his sorrows in Little Women, conflicted ex soldier turned pacifist forced to return to war as an untested leader in The King - these are not 'heart-throb hottie phoning it in' type roles. Timothee Chalamet gives compelling, convincing and emotionally wrenching performances in everything I've seen him in, even if the film itself wasn't that great.
Props to DV for keeping as much canon as he can while making changes without greatly altering the setting. So far the biggest change is Dr. Kynes and DV only did it to give the character more prominence. And some like me don't mind that change because the story wasn't poop. Certain adaptations should take a note of it...
This movie is 3 hours of exposition. You could make a drinking game out of all the times an ancillary character who will probably be dead at end of movie addresses the protagonist with a variation of the phrase “you don’t understand and proceeds to explain. This is not a Pinky and the Brain cartoon; this is supposed to be a 3 hour long major sci-fi epic.
Actually I'd argue the problem with part 1 is it doesn't utilise its time well enough to deliver key exposition to help enrich the world, story, and help pace the plot better.
The ending completes the first arc of Paul's journey, from a protected kid with weird dreams, to a potential messiah with the burden of avenging his family, becoming a surrogate leader to a mysterious people, and knowledge that his dreams can foreshadow the real possible future. He needed to revolve his dreams from the beginning, to get to the new future at the end, and that is what he did.
He's been a potential messiah since very early on. I never got the feeling he was avenging his family but moreso trying to embrace his destiny and become someone greater. And again, we don't see anything of him being a surrogate leader, just a promise for the next film. So a lot of these things don't make for a satisfying ending considering they're only set-ups and turning points. Not actual pay-offs.
I agree. There is some growth over those two hours. He passes from a "boy" to a "man" - by killing the first person and by daring to oppose his mother. And he embraces his potential, moving from a young scion of a destroyed house (who would run across the space and try conventional means of reclaiming his legacy, like petitioning Landsraad) to a potential messiah-figure, operating on a more guerilla + mystical terms; still however overcoming his concerns from early movie and embracing Leto's heritage (i.e. trying to win Fremens' support). Sure, it is by far not a satisfying ending, but I think it was the best moment to stop the narrative, without advancing it too far and leaving insufficient material for the second part (assuming they want to conclude it at the same place the original book did).
Hot damn, if they made this good ”prologue” and manage to nail the part 2, we might have truly a meaningful duet of movies. Dune just might have a worthy movie adaptation here!
The shots of the first planet focuses a lot on how much water there is . . . which was super meaningful for anyone who'd read the books - i read them 40 years ago and remember that much
The one I am waiting is for the Foundation series. I am sure the bile and the blood will pour from the screen and I look forward soooo much for it... :D
Once every 10 years, hollywood acutally manages to make a good movie (for me atleast, the last I really enjoyed was Mad Max: Fury Road). I hope this will have a directors cut, couse I need me some additonal Thufir, Piter, Dr Yueh scenes!
I wish it had been another hour. They glossed over some stuff I wish had been explored a bit deeper. There was just a basic mention of the Spacing Guild and space travel. It really needed to be talked about more to show just how important spice is to humanity.
I kinda wanna be a few years into the future where I try to make time for the unavoidable 5+ hour behemoth that will be both parts back to back. I kinda want them to then make a cut that skips the credits and just makes it one big movie. Damn, I hope they adapt later books, because shit gets weird and I wanna see a fully realized God Emperor human-worm hybrid.
One of the themes in Dune (the books anyway) is inescapable destiny. Having the fall of a house telegraphed and the players resigned to their fate is part of that. While I agree it does mute any attempt to build tension but it sets (or should set) the stage for much greater tension when Paul and other characters defy their fate.
Yep, the knowing creates a growing sense of dread as the trap tightens. That's largely missing from the movie. In the book they know exactly what is coming to include the sardakur wearing fake uniforms. Little sense of that desperation or how the Duke was already starting to abandon his virtues to win
What I loved from the original book - and which I sorely missed in this movie so much I've been pissing and moaning about it for over a month now - is the storyline of Yueh. We knew from the start he was the traitor. We knew the inescapable destinies of everyone already. It makes the characters tragic, and Yueh being called "Traitor" by a Sardaukar soldier was gutting in the book. I wished Villeneuve had given that a bit of time. The book is full of destinies, big and small, like that.
I think you're on to something. That movie bored me to tears, but it was because I didn't give a shit about anyone cuz I didn't know them, I see the prophecy stuff in hindsight, but world building in this case wouldn't have been some minor thing in this case, especially for anyone not familiar with the source material. You just explained to me that that was the whole point of the movie and a setup for sequels. They really needed to spend way more of the movie showing me why any of this shit matters. Instead ALL of the backstory and world building assumed I knew things about this world and these characters that I absolutely did not. The epic music and whatnot just raised the overall tone so there were no stakes. I couldn't even recognize any of the turning points because I had no idea where any of this was going and then it just sprung a thing where the main character dude did some shit that sounded like the dream he just had and the movie was over... This movie was yes, beautiful and u could tell they put a lot into it. But is an entirely different experience for a newcomer and not a great one...
This was very much Star Wars from the Sith and Empire's perspective. The politics are the same, the worlds are the same, the rebels are the same, the force is the voice, and the protagonist is a block of cement raised by a coven. In the end, he clearly didn't have to kill his ritual opponent, which would have been a true act of leadership, yet like the block of cement he was, he took a life who could have been useful to the overall mission , while fortifying his relationship with the aboriginals. A tale of conquest, betrayal, and Star Wars without the Jedi. We almost forgot we watched the movie, lol. You've reminded us we need to review it. Great job though, as always, CD!
@@AntedianDignitary good for you, and I'm sure you've seen plenty of scrawny pale twig-lile kids at 15 that have yet to hut puberty right? Him being a pampered royal, even with his defence classes, doesn't seem too out of the ordinary.
The fact that everyone's destiny seems predetermined is kind of what the whole dune saga is about. You need to get all the way to 'god emperor' though to learn this, but I think it's a good idea to already start to drop some hints in the beginning of the story.
Isn't it pretty clear by the end of Messiah ? (Rereading them, and I'm not even sure that I managed to get up to God Emperor the only previous time...)
@@BlueTemplar15 Yeah by the time Paul takes control of the fremen it's pretty clear that the ability to see the future is a curse to be unable to break your destiny. Then the books leading up to god emperor explore the idea of Fate and how different people who know what is to come but cannot alter it react in the face of fate.
@@chatteyj absolutely book 4 God Emporer of Dune is my favorite book, it really made me think. it really ties it all together as it concludes the first 3 books and sets up the next 2.
@@chatteyj After the incredible success of the first book (the first sci-fi bestseller !), the 2nd one was kind of critically panned, because they didn't like how Herbert basically took down his Hero archetype built up in the first book. Despite knowing it in advance (and having already read it before), I still stopped after the movie - 1rst book - 2nd book, all in a few days. I'll probably still try to pick up the 3rd one in the next weeks.
Spot on criticism of Zendaya. Hard to understand the hype since she can't act, and yes, agree that seeing her for only a few minutes in this film was a relief. It's like watching someone who thinks frowning is bringing serious emotional heft to a scene.
I think one criticism you are missing is that you fell for as well as I. Is as people who have seen the other versions and know the books aren't lost or wondering why on some key details. I watched it with a friend who has never seen any of them, and pointed out valid points of "Why this, why that?" there are questions that could be answered that aren't answered. For example you mentioned the spice extends life. In the movie, it isn't mentioned and all except its needed for space fairing. overall I enjoyed your review, but a point I thought is worth pointing out.
"They will only make these movies if people are willing to pay for them." I gotta disagree there. Hollywood produces plenty of crap that no one wants to see.
Having read the book multiple times, I can tell you that there is no other possibile end point for Dune part I. You either stop where Villeneuve stopped or finish the whole book in a single movie.
No, perfect ending would be with the sayyadina ritual. 15-20 min longer movie. End with crazy visions of the Jihad, visions of the past from Jessicas and Alias perspective as they are effected by the water of life. A great chance to end with a great mind fuck that hasn´t been seen since 2001. The ending we got literally ran out into the sand.
lol no and Ive read the books like 80 times, they would have been better served stopping at Idaho's last scene or at the first confrontation as they escaped with the sand worm. They left so much out that was important or better and had scenes that did nothing to convey any story or narrative
@@avenderiel Nope. Part 1 ended exactly where it needed to. It makes sense on a narrative level. Paul escaping the attack with his mother and fulfilling his late father's goal of forming an alliance with the Fremen, so it goes back to what his dad said at the beginning "Desert Power". Leave it there so audiences can look forward and be hopeful for Paul to become the "hero" or "savior" in Part 2. And then Part 2 can start with the Water of Life, the disturbing visions and all the weird shit, it will completely change what the audience thought was going to happen. It'll be a good shock for them
Why does everyone keep saying Timothee's too young to play Paul? Paul is 15 years old at the start of the book and 20 by the end. Timothee's 25 years old lol.
I'm not sure if I saw the same movie as everyone else here. Visuals were amazing. No question. Acting was decent. And sure there were slower scenes. But the overall pace of the narrative seemed incredibly sped up. Very few of the events had time to breathe. It was going from one story point to the next with little explanation. Only reason I think I understood any of it was cause I watched the Sci-fi mini series not too long ago and that explained everything. Character development was also very minimal. I cared very little for what was happening to people. Maybe on a rewatch I'll have a different opinion. But so far I still find the sci fi series to be the best adaptation in terms of story and character development. This movie and its follow up will likely be second place.
I'm ok with the young looking lead- dude was 15 at the start of the book and 17 by its end. I'd always admired the 80s movie for managing to convey the first book in 1 movie, and portray the often grotesque deaths that awaited many characters.
Javier Bardem as Stilgar was laughable. A cartel hitman with a dutch boy is one thing, but Stilgar sounding like a Fremen conquistador is hard to justify.
We're that movie failed tho is unless you have read the book you would not know what's going on. They leave out a lot of necessary information. I haven't read it but I did thoroughly enjoy watching the 80s movie with my mother filling in the blanks for me.
@@Perroden I havnt read the books, I have heard soem general things about the dune world. I wouldn't say that i needed any extra information, the general plot was quite clear by the end and the couple of people that went in blind also had no problems with understanding whats going on and why. One of em got sold hard on the books.
""Every character is already walking a path that has been laid out for them" Yeah drinker, you know that's how it is in the book, so it's not really a valid criticism. It wouldn't have been the same story otherwise. And the character of Paul is 15 at the time of these events, so I think the choice of actor is solid. He played his part very well. It is a bit unfortunate that the movie ended when it did. It kind of felt like it was just ramping up. Is it just me, or are the good big-budget movies in Hollywood almost exclusively made through Legendary Studios?
you say that because you are talking from hindsight, for someone who hasn't read the book it takes away a lot from the anticipation and it ruins the tension, it's ok to introduce these ideas of destiny and all that but you need to understand that this is a film adaptation of a book released over half a century ago so many people watching this will not have read it before plus. And most importantly you need to make the movie interesting because the ideas it tries to use will have no value if the movie has no magnitude.
@@arturogenso2224 Yes, a movie adaptation cannot faithfully represent everything in the book. This is true. But some things are part of the core narrative. Paul's dreams and the words of the Bene Gesserit mother are integral parts of the story. You assume that giving the impression that they are all on a set path blunts the viewer's anticipation. I think it does not - especially since not everything Paul dreams of comes true. And even if it did, maybe a film adaptation of Dune just wouldn't work. Make something else then. But don't make a different movie and call it Dune. So, in this aspect, I think Villeneuve got Dune right.
Yeah, casting of Zendaya surprised me a bit, too. But, I guess, they really need the money for the second part to have a green light. And Zenday is a fan favorite for a specific very large category of people :) In the book her face is supposed to be more elf like. The girl in the old movie could pass as that, imo. Zendaya, however....
Diversity. Of course. The Fremen should be looking like today's Arabic people. It is so unrealistic to bring diversity in what is basically a mono-culture that only lived among each other for millenia. But hey...modern film making.
