Dune

It was an exciting notion that Denis Villeneuve would be helming a new version of Frank Herbert's celebrated science fiction novel Dune.  Long has David Lynch lived with the failure of his 1984 adaptation, a film he declines to discuss.  Villeneuve had previously directed ARRIVAL and BLADE RUNNER 2049, proving his sci-fi chops, and that he could handle heady narratives.  But above all, they demonstrated he has a true cinematic sensibility.   It is so rare anymore.

   

And that sensibility is what carries this year's DUNE.  Villeneuve's screenplay, co-written by Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, is faithful to the source, which reminds us of how cold this tale really is.  Herbert's novel had a familiar power struggle narrative that was set several millennia in the future, with plenty of religious imagery and ecological commentary.  The battleground is the arid planet of Arrakis, a wasteland with what appears to be savages as inhabitants but also a highly coveted asset - a spice called melange, which prolongs life, allows foretelling, and provides for interstellar travel.  

Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaacs) is commanded by an Emperor to rule Arrakis, vacated by House Harkonnen, which is led by the grotesque, double talking Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgard).  This is a set up for the Emperor to vanquish Leto's considerable control in the universe by having the brutish Harkonnens stage a coup and take the planet back.  Meanwhile, Leto's son (and House Atreides heir) Paul (Timothee Chalamet) suffers recurrent nightmares involving a young woman in the desert.  He also has the burden of everyone telling him that he is "The One".  Some sort of messiah or savior.  He and the rest of the cast will have to walk without rhythm as to not attract those dreaded sand worms. 

Folks always complain of the plot's complexity.  I never found it that difficult.  But even when I read the novel back in junior high/high school, I likewise never found it that compelling.  At least dramatically.  And the characters? Icy.  Maybe it's a prescient look at a grim, humorless future, one we seem to be inching towards.  I am not advocating for warm protagonists, necessarily, but the urgency of the plot has never really been something in which I felt terribly invested.  Therefore, Villeneuve has done a creditable job of bringing this somewhat bland opus to the screen.

But he makes it exciting.  Rousing.  Eye filling.  Astounding visual effects and production design.  Even though DP Roger Deakins was replaced by Greig Fraser, it still looks amazing, even if you watched it on HBO Max instead of the theater where you should have seen it.  This is a wide scope adventure that really feels like a cinematic event worthy of 70mm or IMAX.  Villeneuve's vision is mad enough to make one think of David Lean or Erich von Stroheim.

Yes, DUNE is basically two and one half hours of exposition.  There will be a "Book Two."  Book One does have a lot of "world building" if you will.  There is also a rather unfortunate Game of Thrones vibe to it, but not enough to be toxic or stupid.  The cast is well selected and dutiful.  Only Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin exhibit anything resembling a light demeanor and the ability to crack a joke.  Chalamet is game but often simply comes off like a bratty Millenial.  

But DUNE is grand filmmaking in an age when most stage either painfully static or nauseatingly jumpy epics with no real imagination or spirit.  Denis, you've done "a man's job" once again.