Michael McCarthy

Ugh. I think anticipation got the better of me. As a Frank Herbert FANatic, I believe my expectations of the film were too high. Cinematically the film and the score are hair raising - just beautiful…as is most of the cast as well. My husband (of 30 years) and I are huge fans of the DUNE series…so much so, that many of our dogs have been named after characters (Bene, Alia, Dune, Leto, Fremen and Duncan) so I must freely admit - we wanted perfection. Perfection is not what this 2021 film is. To me, this film was clumsy - dragged out and representative of the director’s personal interpretation of the book. The Chalamet performance as Paul left us…waiting…waiting for the boy/man to rise to the role…we saw a angst ridden hipster who never really understands his destiny. I can honestly say that I don’t know if there will be a Part II - it didn’t lock me into obsession - as did Lynch’s 1984 attempt…but I’m sure I will go back numerous times to see the film and I hope my opinion changes. But right now, my initial guy reaction is…meh. What was fabulous was the 2.5 hour visual field trip into the future…but it needed…a David Attenborough voice over to make it better. Hopefully my assessment will change…