Jud Brown

Let me start by saying I am a huge DUNE fan. So my expectations were high. I went into this movie knowing they were only giving us the first half of the novel. The second half I am hoping will bring this movie to a place I would love to see. That being said, splitting the book I expected that with a 2.5 hour run time Dennis would delve deeper into the world of DUNE. Alas, he did not. If anything he glazed over many of the rich aspects that in my estimation David Lynch did a far superior job. For instance, Dennis did not really flush out the peril that House Atreides was facing. There is no real mention of the kanly/feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. The Emperor was missing so we got an abbreviated explanation of why the Emperor was moving against the Atreides. There was no space folding and no guild navigators. I expected there to be narration on why there were no thinking computers in the future and how humanity looked inward in the future to perfect their bodies and minds. No deep explanation of Mentat human computers. No deep explanation of the power and influence of the Bene Gesserit. No overtures to how the Spacing Guild controls the empire. House Atreides was a threat because they were training their soldiers in the Bene Gesserit weirding way which we didn't really get to see. I expected Jessica to demonstrate the weirding way and redeem it from Lynch's sound technology bastardization. I thought Lynch's version did a much better job in showing the politics of the universe and the architecture and design of Lynch's just felt more futuristic and foreign thanks to the influences of H.R. Giger. Also absent was Feyd Rautha who is meant to be the Harkonnen savior in contrast to the Beast Rabban. Lynch's approach to hearing the character's thoughts was far better than actor's saying random things meant to guide the viewer of their perspective. I also didn't like that Jessica came across as helpless. In the book Jessica is a powerful and calculating character and a dangerous opponent. Things I did like were the cinematography and costume design. The cast in the movie is excellent. Getting a chance to explore Caladan was enjoyable. Skargard's Baron was far more sinister and calculating than Lynch's maniacal villain. The worm scenes were epic and nice to see ornithopters get a accurate depiction. The Duke's death scene was moving. The battle and fight scene were well choreographed. All in all the movie is enjoyable and a good watch. But it fell far below the anticipated expectations of this huge DUNE fan. David Lynch succeeded in giving us a deep, moving, epic story. Dennis gave us less with just half the story.