MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Dune" (2021)

Okay, so this is a thing that happened.

I'm actually a fan of the Dune books, at the very least the ones that were written by Frank Herbert. Being that this one is an adaptation of the first book, I had to admit I was intrigued. I was more so intrigued when I heard it was being made in two parts, which could be used to cover quite a bit of territory given that Dune is by no means a short story.

I was less enthused when I heard the director talking smack about certain film franchises when he himself has given us a grand total of a sequel that nobody wanted and a remake that we don't know yet if it's any good as all the mainstream things he's known for. Now, though, we've come to the remake. Is it good? Will I have to eat my words about Denis Villeneuve? Will we, for the first time in 21 years, be able to bring in Feyd and Rabban?

Let's have a look at Dune. Here, before the cut, is your final spoiler warning.

The film begins with the dreams of young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) who has dreams of a desert planet called Arrakis and the terrible oppression the native people, the Fremen, have on that world. Accompanying this is narration by an enigmatic young woman (Zendaya) forever stuck in a perfume commercial, who explains the situation.

Paul's father Leto (Oscar Isaac) is being tapped by the Emperor of the Known Universe to go to Arrakis and take it over from House Atredies' ancient enemies, the Harkonnens. Arrakis, incidentally, is the only planet in the universe where a substance known as the Spice may be found. . .which basically does everything from allowing space travel to enhancing psychic ability. This means that Paul, Leto, and Paul's mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) will soon be leaving their native Caladan for the planet called Arrakis, also known as Dune.

Kevin Bacon's gonna need a bigger truck.

The Atredies will be aided in their move by swordmaster Duncan Idaho (Jason Mamoa), weapons master and master of the baliset Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), and mentat Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson). However, they will have to avoid the sinister machinations of Baron Vladmir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and his nephew Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista).

. . .yeah, no Feyd. I'm not happy about it, either.

So, Dune is a story filled with a lot of political machinations and very deep, intriguing concepts that really don't deserve to be so callously stuffed into a review you can read in about ten to twenty minutes. Needless to say, there's more than a little exposition to be had as well given being that this is the first film in a potential franchise.

The visuals are also pretty good. Everything from the costume design to the scenery has had top-notched detail given to giving everything a unique look. The Harkonnens, the Atreides, the Fremen, the cities on Arrakis, even the Bene Gesserit have a very distinct visual style to them that set them apart from the others.

Of course, with something like Dune - which has had two previous adaptations in the 1984 David Lynch version and the 2000's miniseries - there are bound to be some comparisons between the three adaptations. I personally go with my Rule of Adaptation for this, but here were a few things I liked about this version in particular that I felt were done better here than it others.

• More detail was given into the Atreides family, in particular how Paul's grandfather used to be a bull hunter and how the family keeps the horns that gored him as a trophy.
• The use of the Voice seemed a lot better done, the emphasis from the book done on the pitch and tone of one's voice while using it were emphasized. Also, the Weirding Way is actually the Weirding Way and not the Konami Laserscope on supercrack.
• The casting is, on the whole, better than the 1984 version. As much as I love Patrick Stewart, Josh Brolin is visually a much better choice for Gurney Halleck. He visually and in his performance fits a lot more closely to what I think of Gurney when I read the book. Paul, too, seems closer to his actual age from the books and Jason Mamoa makes a very good Duncan Idaho in particular. 
• Duncan's death scene (don't worry, he'll be back - more than once) is worthy of song. Forget the Fremen, he fights like demons.
• The sheer mass and power of the Sand Worms are definitely portrayed well. The majesty of this creature that the Fremen worship is not underplayed in the least.
• No Feyd means No Harkonnen thong. Thank the Maker!

If Duncan's going to Hell, he's taking as many Harkonnens as he can with him! 

Some things I didn't like over the 1984 version.

• Stellan Skarsgård is an intimidating Baron Harkonnen, to be sure. However, I don't feel as though he has the raw, nigh-insane menace that Kenneth McMillan brought to the role in the 1984 version. Nothing against Stellan, of course, but it's hard to follow up that level of over the top crazy that circles infinity and becomes absolutely terrifying.
• All the "Daddy Leto" memes being hilarious aside, I do like Oscar Isaacs, but he is filling the shoes of Jürgen Prochnow and those are some big shoes to fill as Duke Leto. Like with Stellan as the Baron, this may just be a product of a lack of screen time to really get into it. I do, however, like the dynamic between him and Paul, though. Arguably even more than the '84 version, you feel their father-son dynamic really well.
• As I mentioned before, no Feyd. A lot of the '84 film was setting up the final duel between Paul and Feyd, which we see none of here. I don't think we even get a mention of Feyd through the whole film. I hold the hope that he'll show up in Part 2, but we'll see.

Even so, I did enjoy Dune on the whole and none of the things I mentioned as downsides detracted from my enjoyment of the film. It's a fun experience that is visually interesting and does a lot of pay tribute to the book as written by Frank Herbert. There are changes, to be sure, but it has a good cast, it's visually slick, and doesn't waste a second of its time or yours. That last one in particular, I appreciate. While the narrative is largely just set up for Part 2, it's not in a way that makes you feel like you're just sitting through padding to get to it.

If you haven't seen it, and you're not adverse to a lot of exposition and backstory, check it out. While you're doing that, by the way, I definitely recommend the book if you can get it. I'd honestly recommend the first three books - Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune - to anyone. If you can get through those three and like them, then I'd further recommend checking out the rest of the series at least through Chapterhouse: Dune, but that's a discussion for another day. 

Maybe, if enough people actually bother to read the books, we can put to bed this ridiculous idea the media has that Dune is some sort of White Savior epic, because it's not.

I'm not kidding.

It's really, really not.

Like, superbly not.

Seriously, media. Anyone who has actually read the books is pointing and laughing at you right now.

Paul doing his Mordred from Excalibur cosplay.
He's sad because the judges at the convention didn't like it.

The point of all this, however, is simple: Dune is good. Even without any knowledge of the books, enough is explained and balanced enough that you won't be completely lost in the events. Enjoy it. Also, no, I'm not eating my words. Denis has a long way to go.

However. . .he's made a good start.

Dune is now available on streaming services from Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures.