Steven

I've read, and reread, Dune and the sequels (at least by the original author) more times than I can count over the past 3 decades so this is a story very close to my heart. This movie realises what I've pictured in my imagination in a way I honestly didn't dare hope for. Beautiful cinematography with epic sprawling landscapes bring Caladan and Arrakis to life; the 'thopters were almost exactly as I imagined them. The actors mainly hold their own against such a titanic backdrop and, for the most part, there is impeccable casting. I say for the most part because, as much as I like Jason Momoa, I'm still not convinced of his suitability as Duncan Idaho but that's in no way a deal breaker. This adaptation was (almost) entirely faithful to the source material, there were a few gender changes and good old Baron Harkonnen is more brooding and less chatty than his literary counterpart, which I do think was a mistake the movie made. The Baron is mainly reduced to a one dimensional, clichéd villain, which is one of my gripes with the movie. The worms, so central to the story of Dune, are relegated to bit parts and are barely seen, and only mentioned here and there. The spice melange is also rarely mentioned or expanded on, both of which were really strange choices. I'm hoping this will be expanded upon in the sequel. I'm also looking forward to seeing Feyd-Ruatha, who was absent from the first part of the story. I do think if you haven't read the books you'll struggle with the finer points, as an example, the Bene Gesserit have been described in reviews as an "order of psychic women" which couldn't be farther from the truth. There is no mention of mentats (strange, considering Paul is one), the monopoly of space travel by the guild, the Imperial conditioning of Suk doctors, the Emperor is never seen, only mentioned..... So much rich material could have been included in some way, but wasn't. I get it may have overwhelmed those who are unfamiliar with the books but I'm sure a few lines of dialogue here and there could have worked. I would also have loved if they had found a way to include the dinner scene, one of my favourite parts of the book. As a teenager I adored the David Lynch version but it definitely hasn't aged well, and over the years I realised it didn't do the books any justice at all, this adaptation was certainly more faithful, but does lack in many ways. Dune 2021 gets a lot right, some wrong, and may not be liked by people expecting a typical sci-fi movie, but it is definitely well done. Beautifully filmed, I thought it definitely captured the essence of the books, and is certainly more than worthy of a visit to the cinema.

I liked it. As a long time Marvel/X-Men/Mutants fan it actually felt like a one shot comic, ok it didn't have the sweeping sets of Avengers or X-Men movies, but it introduced characters and concepts that felt true to the spirit of the actual comics. Could it have been better? Yes. The premise was glaringly obvious so there were no surprises, but as a mutant film, with new characters outside of the X-Men, it was definitely watchable.