{"id":8990,"date":"2024-11-24T10:52:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-24T15:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=8990"},"modified":"2024-11-24T10:52:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-24T15:52:46","slug":"dune-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/11\/24\/dune-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Dune (2021)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Dune<\/strong> (2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 155 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (sequences of strong violence, some disturbing images, suggestive material)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Denis Villeneuve\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Hans Zimmer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematographer: Greig Fraser\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 22, 2021 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Babs Olusanmokun, Benjamin Clementine, Golda Rosheuvel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $108.9M (US)\/$298.7M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019ve never made secret my appreciation for David Lynch\u2019s flawed adaptation of Frank Herbert\u2019s classic sci-fi novel Dune. It\u2019s so bizarre in so many ways; I can\u2019t help but like it. I had my doubts about the new version of Dune<\/strong> directed by Denis Villeneuve. He\u2019s done good work in the past (Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival), but it\u2019s the disappointing Blade Runner 2049 that sticks out in my mind. It was a letdown on several levels and I was afraid he\u2019d do the same with Dune<\/strong>. Well, he didn\u2019t. For the first time in a long time, I was blown away. It\u2019s AWESOME!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Dune<\/strong> is epic in every sense of the word. The whole experience of watching it reminded me of seeing the first Lord of the Rings movie twenty years ago. It isn\u2019t just a mere adaptation; Villeneuve transports the viewer to an alien world that looks believable. Like Peter Jackson, he understands the mammoth tale can\u2019t be told in one movie. Its on-screen title is Dune: Part One and it covers roughly the first half of the book. Second and third movies are tentatively planned.<\/p>\n

\u00a0SPOILER ALERT! <\/strong>I know some of you would like to know where this Dune<\/strong> ends, so I\u2019ll tell you. If you don\u2019t want to know, STOP READING NOW! I mean it, last chance to exit. Okay, here it is. It takes you to the point where Paul and Jessica join the Fremen after escaping death at the hands of the Harkonnens. Now you know.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Set in the year 10191, Duke Leto I (Isaac, the most recent Star Wars trilogy), head of House Atreides, has been ordered by the emperor to take over rule of the desert planet Arrakis from the Harkonnens. It\u2019s the sole source of the spice melange, the most valuable commodity in the universe. It extends life and consciousness and it\u2019s essential for space travel. Leto arrives on Arrakis with his concubine Jessica (Ferguson, Mission: Impossible- Fallout) and teenage son Paul (Chalamet, Little Women) with the intention of making peace with the planet\u2019s indigenous people, the Fremen. The emperor, seeing Leto as a threat to his own power, plans to eliminate him by staging a coup by the Harkonnens led by the vile Baron (Skarsgard, Thor).<\/p>\n

\u00a0The real focus of Dune<\/strong> is on young Paul who\u2019s been trained in combat by his father\u2019s aides and in the ways of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood by his mother. He\u2019s trying to master this thing they have called \u201cThe Voice\u201d, a means of mentally controlling others by changing the tone of one\u2019s voice. Lately, he\u2019s been having troubling dreams, visions of his future on Arrakis. It becomes clear he\u2019s destined for great things. He will play an important role in shaping the future of the universe. If you\u2019re familiar with the source material, you know what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n

\u00a0One of the best things about the new Dune<\/strong> is that it doesn\u2019t confuse the viewer right out of the box. That was one of the chief complaints about the \u201984 version. It took me two or three viewings to absorb it all. Villeneuve and co-writers Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth take a different approach to the material. It\u2019s easier to follow because they don\u2019t try and tell you everything at once. They take the time to develop the characters and explain relationships before revealing crucial plot information. Some might think 155 minutes is too long, but it actually flies by because it\u2019s such a gripping tale.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It makes perfect sense for Villeneuve to follow Peter Jackson\u2019s lead and divide the story into multiple movies. Trying to cram the whole thing into a single 137-minute movie was a fool\u2019s errand. To be fair, the blame for its failure lies more with the studio and the producers for forcing Lynch to cut down his original three-hour cut. I still like it, don\u2019t get me wrong, but it\u2019s not a successful adaptation. This new one, on the other hand, succeeds where the 1984 version failed. It\u2019s a lot, but it\u2019s never confusing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0My biggest worry about the new Dune<\/strong> was the special effects. As you all know, I\u2019m not a big fan of CGI. Although crude by today\u2019s standards, I dig the FX in the original movie. I\u2019m happy to report that the effects in this Dune<\/strong> are AMAZING! It is truly a sight to behold thanks to the dream-like cinematography by Greig Fraser. Visually, it recalls other big-screen epics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia. The sound work, especially Hans Zimmer\u2019s innovative score, matches the scope of the visuals.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What a cast! What\u2019s more everybody does a great job in their roles. I was especially impressed with Chalamet as young Paul. Come on, you have to admit he looks more like a 15YO than Kyle MacLachlan. The lineup also includes Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) as the brutal Rabban, Josh Brolin (Deadpool 2) as Gurney Halleck, Jason Momoa (Aquaman) as Duncan Idaho, Charlotte Rampling (Zardoz) as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Javier Bardem (Skyfall) as Fremen leader Stillgar and Zendaya (Spider-Man: Far from Home) as his daughter and Paul\u2019s \u201cdream girl\u201d Chani.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The only other thing I can say about Dune<\/strong> is that I LOVE IT! I haven\u2019t been this thoroughly impressed with a big-budget Hollywood movie in a very, very long time. A lot of it has to do with it actually being intelligent. It\u2019s accessible to all without dumbing down the material. It\u2019s a far, far cry from giant alien robots destroying everything in sight. I really, really hope the makers follow through with a second movie. If Part Two is nearly as great as One, we are in for a treat.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dune (2021)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 155 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (sequences of strong violence, some disturbing images, suggestive material)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Denis Villeneuve\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Hans Zimmer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematographer: Greig Fraser\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 22, 2021 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Stephen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-fi-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Dune-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8990"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9089,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8990\/revisions\/9089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}