REVIEW #104 Dune (2021)

Dune is a 2021 American sci-fi film directed by Dennis Villeneuve and based on the 1965 novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. The film follows Paul Atreides a gifted young man and Duke to the Arteides dynasty. As his family are given control of the dangerous planet Arrakis his visions of the planet and it’s inhabitants get stronger and stronger and upon his arrival to Arrakis he soon finds himself and his people fighting for their lives.

CAST & THE ACTING 

It’s fair to say that Dune is stacked with talent, Timothée Chalamet leads the cast as Paul Atreides and he continues to build his reputation as a brilliant young actor. His character is a complex one and he does well to personify those complexities and create a really likeable protagonist that audiences can get invested in. His combat choreography was also impressive, which came as no surprise after watching his performance in The King. Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson played Paul’s parents Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica. Both had great chemistry with Timothée and they did really well to emphasise that strong family bond between the characters. Both had very different performances but they were great nonetheless. One performance I really enjoyed was Jason Momoa as Duncan, his charisma created a really enjoyable character and he injected the comedy, which was a nice break from the stern nature of the film. Not to mention the great action sequences that are always guaranteed with Momoa.  Zendaya played Chani but wasn’t actually in the film as much as I expected, she had very little to do except provide mysterious looks into the camera. So I hope the sequels allow her to showcase more of her talent. Other big names that appear in Dune include; Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista and Javier Bardem. Everyone delivered great performances which elevated Dune above a standard Sci-fi flick. 

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

I must mention I haven’t read any of the books so I had no prior knowledge of the plot prior to watching the film. However the universe that Dennis Villeneuve created in Dune is simply incredible. He firmly established the different races and worlds whilst keeping on track with the central plot, providing the audience with enough information to understand the film. Was I left with a lot of questions? Sure but it would be impossible to fully dive into every aspect of the film and still stick to the journey of Paul Atreides. It was a very packed film with lots to digest so I could see how easy it would be to lose track of things if you didn’t give it your full attention. I really liked the Bene Gesserit element, the order of women who possess advanced physical and mental abilities, of which have been taught to Paul by his mother. This gave the film more substance then just being a war between factions over a vital resource in the galaxy. I also enjoyed the fact that the relationship between Paul and his parents was a really good one, so often in films we see the heir to a dynasty always have a strenuous relationship with the father, not being good enough to inherit the title, so that was refreshing! It was clear they were setting up future projects, the shear scale of the story meant there has to be sequels because there is so much more we need to see. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

Wow, Dennis Villeneuve, Greig Fraser and Hans Zimmer created a masterpiece when it comes to the cinematography in this film. I heard that it would be exactly that before I watched the film and I think I went into it thinking that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I was happy to be proven wrong! The beautiful visuals combined with Zimmers epic score created a film that was a pleasure to watch and I’m so glad I got to see it in the cinema so I could fully experience the film. Although there was special effects used, you could honestly never be able to tell. Everything looked so realistic and that made this whole universe so believable. This high level of cinematography is exactly what the sci-fi genre needed. Everything from the costume to the set helped to create this world that audiences can get so invested in and I fully expect this to become a really successful franchise if this quality continues. The musical score can sometimes go under the radar in films but Zimmer’s work certainly doesn’t go unnoticed, it compliments the scenes so well. It upped the stakes in some scenes, emphasised power in others and even highlighted the baron nature of Arrakis too. So a very well done to everyone involved in creating a beautiful bit of cinema here. 

OVERALL (9.3/10)

I think the cinematography, musical score and special effects earn Dune a 9, even without taking into account the brilliant acting and engaging storyline! The entire cast were brilliant, elevating the film far above a standard sci-fi. The storyline created a whole universe that audiences can submerge themselves into, creating something that I believe can compete, if not surpass the popularity of Star Wars/Star Trek. It was probably the most well made sci-fi film I have ever watched, I hope it gets the respect it deserves amongst the film award organisations. The criticisms I have would be that there is so much to digest in one film, it would probably take watching it a couple more times just to grasp all of the names for different races and beings. So if you’re a person whose attention drops over the course of a 2.5 hour long film, you might have trouble fully understanding Dune. Sequels have been confirmed which is great news but in the meantime definitely get out to the cinema to watch this and fully experience the film! 

Thanks for reading

Callan