MOVIE REVIEW: Dune (2021)

 (Gom Jabbar - Hans Zimmer)

You have to give Denis Villeneuve a bit of credit for his ambition. 'Dune' was never going to be an easy project.

'Dune' is one of those books, one of those series of books, that will almost always do better in print than it will on the screen simply because of all of the bloody DETAIL tucked into it.  What do you put into the film?  What do you leave out?  Is there room for your personal 'stamp' on the material?  Will fans tolerate your personal stamp?

Other films have tried to tackle projects like 'Dune' and have met with near-universal failure.  Consider the train-wreck that was 'Ender's Game' if you're looking for an example.  Then there's the fact that, for many, 'Dune' is hallowed ground on the screen.  Regardless of how much it strayed from the source material, many people are deeply attached to David Lynch's bonkers cut of 'Dune' that came out back in 1984.  Others are enamored with the Sci-Fi multi-part version of the material  Many people feel that this was the only way you COULD have done the material any kind of justice given the afore-mentioned mountain of relevant detail.

Years later, Villeneuve has a beer that he'd like you to hold.  His theory?  One movie was not enough.  Many movies, too much.  His solution?  Two really LONG movies, part one of which -- after many delays -- finally saw the light of the Arakeen sun on October 21st.

Is this truly the Kwisatz Haderach, the much-fabled 'Shortening Of The Way'?

THE SHORT VERSION:

Let's say it's the 'Good Enough Of The Way.'  I enjoyed the hell out of it.

THE LONG VERSION:

Ohhh my LORD, there's so much to talk about here, and much of it revolves around those details I was talking about earlier.  The details are what makes -- and breaks -- this film.  'Dune' is not a perfect film. I'm not sure it's possible to make a properly faithful version of the movie in today's world. This not withstanding, the film suffers from what feels like poor editing.  It's filled with content that could have been cut in place of different content that would have made the film feel much more cohesive.  This is a recurring theme in my review.

What we -do- have, and I feel strongly here, is something closer to Peter Jackson's 'Lord Of The Rings'.  It's not entirely faithful to the books, there were some liberties taken, but what we ended up with was so good that it sort of...overcame what it lacked.  

If you've any familiarity with the 'Dune' books, you'll know that Frank Herbert's books frequently talked about the sheer size of many of the things in his world, from ships to creatures to egos.  Perhaps more than anyone before him, Villeneuve nails this.  The sheer SIZE of the world he's captured is something that demands to be witnessed on the largest screen possible.

Seriously, listen to me here.  Lots of people are running on at the mouth about how their movie is 'the reason to go back to the theater'.  I'm here to tell you that you don't need to be in a movie theater to enjoy a lot of things, especially in this day of large computer monitors and incredible headphones.  This is not the case with 'Dune'.  'Dune' is huge.  Your monitor is not big enough.  Your television is not big enough.

See 'Dune' in the theater.  See it on IMAX.  See it on the biggest thing you possibly can.  And while you're at it, see it as loudly as possible.  The audio in 'Dune', from the sound effects and foley to the somewhat unique score by Hans Zimmer, demands the kind of fidelity that only a theater can properly provide.

Much of 'Dune' was done with practical effects and you can tell, just as you can with any great sci-fi or fantasy movie that leans on real-world elements.  There's very little about 'Dune' that feels fake.  A perfect example of this is the current vision of the fighter/transport that is the Ornithopter.  I don't make this next statement lightly:

It's very possible that this version of the 'Thopter is the coolest Sci-Fi ship in its size and class that I've ever seen. (No, I don't consider Star Wars Sci-Fi.). It's one of the coolest Sci-Fi ships I've ever seen, period.  Every single time one was on screen, I was enthralled.

The impact that's made from the 'Thopters is the same kind of impact that's made with just about all of the visual elements in this film, from sets to props to wardrobe.  This movie is absolutely LUSH with detail and it's all the kind of thing that you just -know- that you could reach out and touch.

The story of 'Dune' is an incredibly complicated one involving three warring houses, an intergalactic empire, a group of extremely manipulative women, and one young man who more and more people seem to think is quite special.  There's destiny involved, some betrayal, and yes, true love.  And some really, REALLY big worms.  This, ultimately, is where the movie ... I won't say 'falls down', but 'falls short'.  The source material that this movie draws from is just bonkers complex and detailed and there's just not quite enough of it in the movie to make sense for first time visitors of this world.  Oh, sure, you sort of...get the gist of it by the time the film has found its stride but for anyone familiar with the content, you'll constantly wonder why they chose to omit some details and include others.  You'll seriously start to wonder this when you get to the end of the two and a half hour running time.  They -knew- they were going to break the movie up, they gave themselves all of that time to play with, and yet film is still lacking some details that would have only taken moments to fill in.  Worse, you absolutely get the sense that more story might have BEEN put in but it was lost on the editing room floor.  There are jumps in logic, jumps in people's behaviors and it's the kind of thing that just screams for an extended cut.  You just get the sense that they could have made MUCH better use of their time.

Still, what story you do get is relatively well-told and extremely well-acted.  The cast for the film is star-studded and that's a damn good thing.  The whole movie takes itself very seriously so serious actors are certainly required.  Unfortunately, this means that lighter weight presence on screen like Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho feel very close to out of place.  Still, if Momoa's the worst part about the film's acting,  you've done something right.  Admittedly, this is selling Momoa a little short because it's not as though he does a bad job.  You actually end up wanting to see a lot more of him by the time the movie ends. (Ever humble, Momoa has actually gone on record several times professing his own lack of gravitas in the presence of some of the heavier talent.)

Which...to be clear, Momoa is not the worst part of the film's acting.  That honor actually falls on Zendaya, whose youthful looks and snark are far better suited to lighter films with dry humor.  They could literally have gotten anyone else to play Chani for all the presence she brought to the screen.  Perhaps she'll prove a more potent presence in the sequel?  I would have given this particular honor to Dave Bautista and his meat-head whiny take on The Beast, except...that's sort of what The Beast is, so maybe that was on purpose? Who knows?

Just about everyone else from the Duke Leto and his concubine Jessica to the Reverend Mothers and the Fremen are all excellently portrayed.  Clever audio tricks are used to distinct the Sardaukar warriors' throat speech as well. It's the Baron Harkonnen that runs away with every scene that he's in though.  Stellen Skarsgard is a vast presence on screen both figuratively and literally. 

The cast as a whole carry out their jobs well in a world that is, if we're all being honest, really excellently realized on-set.  Yes, the movie could have been better.  Yes, it could have been more faithful.  Yes, Rebecca Ferguson could have less time acting like she has uncontrollable mood swings.  Given the source material though, you have to know that this film could also have been much, MUCH worse.  I'll be first in line when the director's cut comes out, if only to hear Gurney rip it up on the balliset and talk about being an ass in the wild.

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS:

Some additional observations:

 - Listen, I know that a big part of the original materials was Jessica constantly having to get a grip on her emotions, but there's a better way to do that than having poor Rebecca Ferguson alternate between ugly crying in a hallway and looking perfectly composed two seconds later when she opens a door.  The film suffers from poor editing and trying to cram a lot into two and a half hours and THIS crap could have been cut.

- There are so many details, RELEVANT details, that got left out of this movie.  Who are the Bene Gesserit? What are the Bene Gesserit actually trying to do?  Why?  What -is- the Kwisatz Haderach?  Why do the Fremen keep talking about Paul being something called a 'Mahdi'?  What is a 'Weirding Woman'? On and on and on and....  I know what those things mean because I read the books but other people don't.  Why keep viewers in the dark on that sort of stuff?

- Zimmer's score is far stronger on the first half than it is the second.  Tracks like 'Herald Of The Change', 'Gom Jabbar', and 'Leaving Caladan' are seriously good listening.  That said, Zimmer has proved several times that he's capable of using unique instruments to make different-sounding scores and I'm afraid he just missed the mark here.  Yes, bagpipes are at play in the soundtrack and, for the most part, they work...if you know why it's cool that there are bagpipes.  Otherwise, it just sounds out of place.  Beyond that, Zimmer almost feels like he's playing it safe, stealing from Middle East scale patterns and cliche sounds that just feel overused whenever there's sand in a movie.  Zimmer has also been around long enough that he's starting to steal from himself.  There are several leit motifs that are lifted directly out of his work on the Dark Knight trilogy here.  I will say that people have been throwing shade at him for using the wordless wailing female sound that 'Troy' turned into such a mess...but in his defense, I think the female vocals here, both western and eastern, are done extremely well.  They're very much on display in 'Gom Jabbar' and 'Ripples In The Sand', and I think they're just about perfect.

- Frank Herbert didn't do anyone a favor when he wrote a 16 year old boy as the hero for the story.  It's impossible to take a 16 year old seriously, and Timothee Chalament looks like a skinny 16 year old boy...so he has a complete and utter lack of gravitas.  This isn't Chalament's fault; it's Herbert's.  Chalament plays the part as well as he can...it's just a bad part.

- There's too much going on in the Still Tent when Paul starts having his vision about the Jihad and begins rambling on about things being done under his banner.  You can't understand anything that he's saying.  I KNOW what's happening because, again, I've read the books, but...yeah.

- Mentats are cool.  You'd know this if the movie explained it to you.  Yueh's betrayal is brutal....you'd know this if the movie explained any part of it to you beyond "They has mah wyfe!"

- The Spacing Guild is almost completely glossed over here.  This is, IMO, a HUGE miss because of all of the giant-ass structures in Dune, the Guild Highliners are...the giant-est.  They gloss over how the Guild is controlling everything, about what Spice is doing to them, about how they are the ones who really ordered Paul's assassination....they glossed over all of it.

- What's the point of having one deaf harkonnen on a ship when the others can hear?!

- I will freely admit to being a little irritated about the Gender/Race bend of Liet Kynes for several reasons.  Now that I've seen the movie, I'm even more irritated about it because it serves absolutely NO POINT.  If you're going to stir up the hive with a stunt like this, at least do it for a reason.  Make it COUNT for something.  Alas, here, it counted for nothing, and thus accomplished nothing worthwhile.

- The Voice is kind of cool. Watching Paul use it poorly is one thing, but then you get to see Gaius Helen Mohiam use it and it's ... well, it's better. 

Let's get back to the part where, in general, this was a pretty good flick though. Let's end on that note.