Go ahead and get the giant beer and popcorn. Maybe an extra snack or two. A bottle of water? You’ll need it. This movie is long!
And it’s worth it, especially for Dunies (Dunites? Dunians?).
I’ve read Dune about a dozen times over the last 25 years or so. I guess you can say that I’m a fan. Let’s talk about some of my random observations, and hopefully, this will be shorter than the movie.
World Building
In this case, Frank Herbert, the author of the original Dune series, did planet-building. Several, in fact. Not just Arrakis, which is the actual name of the planet Dune, but Geidi Prime, Caladan, Kaitain, and a couple more. While we don’t “visit” many of the other planets in the original Dune, I admire Frank Herbert’s world-building imagination.
The main planet characters in the movie are Caladan, the home planet of House Atreides; Arrakis, the “spice” planet; and Geidi Prime, the home planet of the Harkonnens. Emperor Shaddam IV’s home planet is Kaitain, and there was a short scene with Christopher Walken’s Emperor.
Whew.
The Movie
The movie more or less picks up where the first version began. The Fremen are very suspicious of Paul and Lady Jessica, and the two have to work themselves into their trust.
And then begins the evolution of the person who’d grow from Paul Atreides to Paul “Usul” Muad’Dib, the foretold Kwisatz Haderach. Essentially, the Chosen One. Lady Jessica would become the Reverend Mother of the Fremen, which, because she was pregnant, was fraught with its own difficulties.
Dunies will know what I’m talking about!
Dune-ish
There are enough changes, deletions, additions, and massages to the movie to make it a Dune-like movie rather than following the book to the letter. And that’s not a bad thing. In many ways, it develops the characters much better, especially when you’re considering this is a movie and not a book that sometimes takes days to read. In this way, it (almost) avoids the “book was much better” mantra. It’s more of an adaptation or interpretation than a page-by-page version.
That said, there are a couple of things I felt needed a bit of tweaking. The “Water of Life” could have been explained a little better, and its effect on Paul developed more. The irreverence of the younger Fremen was unnecessarily overdone in my opinion, making them seem as if they were whiny Gen-Zers rather than people with a good argument. If they were *supposed* to come across as obnoxiously entitled crybabies, then it worked.
Standouts
One word. Zendaya.
Holy crap, what a good actress! I mean outstanding! Her facial expressions, body language, and speaking made me feel that she experienced every bit of emotion she expressed. She was good in the first movie, but truly great in this one. And to the ladies out there…the final scene of the movie will have you going, “Aw, HELL naw!”
I’m now a fan. She’s wonderful.
And then there’s Timothée Chalamet, the aforementioned Paul Atreides character. I thought he did okay during the course of the movie, but when he came out as Duke Paul Muad’Dib Atreides, he was magnificent! I almost wanted to jump up and shout just like the Fremen!
Both of these young actors brought a maturity and skill to their roles that didn’t quite exist in the first movie. I looked forward to them being on the screen and celebrating their performances. Two thumbs up!
Harkonnens
na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (played by an unrecognizable Austin Butler) was so different from what I’d pictured. I shouldn’t have been surprised, since both the Baron and Beast Rabban were bald that he was also bald. Harkonnens were all redheads in the 1984 movie. 
When Feyd-Rautha fought a few men who were the remnants of House Atreides on the Harkonnen home planet of Geidi Prime, the cheering spectators were all bald people. Think thousands of “engineers” from the Ridley Scott movie Prometheus. That entire scene, by the way, was filmed in black and white.
“The Beast” Rabban Harkonnen was essentially a dolt in the 1984 movie, but he was truly evil in this Dune series.
Unlike in the Lynch film, there wasn’t a constant hint of <<trigger alert>> creepy incestuous homosexuality between the Baron and Feyd-Rautha. I thought it was weird then, and still do.
The Fight
The knife battle between Paul and Feyd-Rautha was epic! The fight between Kyle McLaughlin and Sting in the Lynch film was tame by comparison. Whoever choreographed the new fight deserves special recognition. I can’t imagine how long it took to film!
Cinematography
The movie’s best line: “I will love you as long as I breathe.” Aww! Just before disaster.
Stunning! The primary desert scenes were filmed in Abu Dubai, by the way. (At least that’s how it seems from the ending credits) The desert itself was so breathtaking that I think I could have made an impressive video on my iPhone!
Seriously though, the professional camera work from the cinematographers in this movie was universes above anything I could do. Even if I had a real camera.
Whether it was the sparkling sands, the incredible landscapes, or the interior shots, the camera work was spectacular.
Random Observations
I noticed early into the movie that the buildings, sets, and some costumes had many HR Giger-esque characteristics.
In all of the Dune movies/miniseries, none of the Fremen were dressed the way Herbert described in the book. Dune has a zero humidity level, and every bit of moisture had to be conserved, which meant that just about every inch of skin was covered. But anonymous-appearing figures clad in an original stillsuit probably don’t make for good promotions.
Nothing about the Crysknife!
What About the Wine?
Oh yeah. Almost forgot!
In the movie theater, I had popcorn and a way overpriced beer. Way. And, as with just about every movie, it was the perfect pairing. I tried to consider a wine that would pair with The Spice, which was said to have cinnamon-like qualities. Would it be Gamay? Maybe an Amarone? Syrah?
None of the above.
Beer. Why? Because the desert was such an encompassing character, those red wines (or any wine for that matter) just wouldn’t work. I had a nice lager whose name I don’t immediately recall because I’d never had it before, and that was perfect, cinnamon or not.
I tried a Rosé when I got home, but didn’t get through a glass. At the time that I’m finishing this post, I’m enjoying a Firestone Walker 805.
Perfect. Beer it is!
In Conclusion
The movie’s best line: “I will love you as long as I breathe.” Aww! Just before disaster. There’s a huge spoiler I could be sharing here, but I won’t.
And it’s a CLIFFHANGER!! I’m all in for DUNE: Part Three, because it’s coming. It will be compiling – entering speculation mode – the end of Dune and the beginning of Dune Messiah.
If you’re a Dunie, you have to see Dune: Part Two. To everyone else, this is NOT a standalone movie. At all. You should have seen Part One or, at the very least, have read the book. Because if you watch it without any prior knowledge of the Dune universe, I’m pretty sure you’ll be lost. Trust me!
I don’t know when Dune 3 will be released, but after it’s run its course, I plan on having at least one “Dune Night” filled with popcorn, beer, and probably some wine. My kids and I used to have Star Wars nights (VCR) back in the day, and it was fun!
Along with the wiki, here’s the best trailer for the movie I found:
