Dune (2021) Review

I've never read Dune, and never seen any movie or television show of it before today. I've played the board game, and if you want a way to get murderously angry at your friends I can highly recommend it. My father and his old guard nerd friends all talk about Dune as one of the great classics of sci-fi, but until now I have never engaged with Dune until now. I'm excited. 

What's The Movie About?

The plot of Dune follows the first half of the novel by Frank Herbert, and is about Paul Atreides and his family moving to the desert planet of Arrakis and being attacked by the Harkonnens. 

What I Like.

Oh thank god this movie is good. I wasn't sure I could handle a completely infuriating movie, a crushingly dull movie, then a disappointing one back to back. 

First, I really like the world. It's a super well thought out and super interesting setting, no wonder it's become a classic. The story is also really good. I like the themes it sets up and the ideas at play, the characters are pretty cool or grotesque as appropriate, it's a solid time. Duncan Idaho was my favorite. The acting is great, which should be expected as it's a star-studded cast. Even Timothée Chalamet I thought was good in this movie. He seems pretty perfectly cast as Paul Atreides. I was pretty sad that most of the characters died and I won't see them in the sequel. (Uh... Spoilers for a 3 year old movie about a 60 year old book.) The sets, staging, and cinematography in this movie are all gorgeous. There were long stretches of the movies where i was just staring and enjoying the spectacle before I'd snap back and remember I should be taking notes. And the effects and action were good too. Just the full package! 

What I Didn't Like.

A couple scenes were kinda difficult to hear what people were saying. Also this movie made me realize that movie kisses are kinda bizarre. Like does anyone kiss like people do in the movies? They look like they're trying to bite each other's lips.

Final Summation.

You may have noticed I'm being pretty subdued in this review. Well, that's because I basically just watched half of the story, and I don't want to give too much benefit of the doubt. As such I feel like I should hold off a true final summation until after I watch the sequel that comes out in a few weeks. So for now I will just say, totally awesome and I can hardly wait!