Dune (2020) by Dennis Villeneuve

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I liked it. It was a very captivating movie. Even though it's a long movie, it didn't feel like it.
The cinematography is very reminiscent of Blade Runner 2049. Impressive landscapes, architecture and powerful use of lighting. It creates a very tangible experience. You get a really strong sense that this is a very lore rich world.

I like the pacing of the movie, but I'm sure some would say that it is slow. But if you liked 2049, then this will give you some of the same.

Looking very much forward to the conclusion.
 
I liked it. It was a very captivating movie. Even though it's a long movie, it didn't feel like it.
The cinematography is very reminiscent of Blade Runner 2049. Impressive landscapes, architecture and powerful use of lighting. It creates a very tangible experience. You get a really strong sense that this is a very lore rich world.

I like the pacing of the movie, but I'm sure some would say that it is slow. But if you liked 2049, then this will give you some of the same.

Looking very much forward to the conclusion.
it would be ridiculous if they didn't do Part 2 tbh.

I agree with you regarding pacing, the somewhat slower pacing was needed to establish the main characters and not rush it. Some will not like that and want the typical "Marvel" type experience.

A beautiful movie. I always thought if anyone could film Dune it would be Villeneuve.
 
Watched it yesterday here in Germany.
It's the first one I've watched at the theatre since the pandemic began, and I guess I couldn't have asked for a better experience in terms of visual grandeur. In a way it's really a shame that it's coming on HBOmax at the same time as theatres in the US, as a lot of people are likely to miss out on the experience.

I saw it in a pretty good cinema, so the sound an image were quite spectacular. I don't think it's one of Zimmer's best works, but it certainly is impressive and distinctive. The sound design itself is great and completely agree on how they went about "the voice". The visuals are stunning, and I loved how instead of going with the usual yellow/orange saturation to denote heat, they went with blinding whiteness. You can really feel the dryness of Arrakis, quite impressive. The planet and the heat are actual characters in the movie, and you feel how the conditions on Arrakis permeate everything.

What initially seemed very drab and simplistic in terms of production design isn't really so: there's a lot of intricate detail and interesting design choices. It works really well within the context of the story and the setting(s). The Navigator Guild ships are only briefly seen, but the sense of massive scale you get is fantastic. You also get a small glimpse of the the pomp and splendour of the Padishah Emperor's court at the beginning of the movie, so I'm really looking forward to that in the second part (which I'm sure will be coming), but the very different looks/aesthetics of Atreides, Harkonnens, Sardaukar and Fremen is achieved very well. There are similarities, but that is to expected in militaristic societies that share common ancestries.

Another thing I loved is how Villeneuve just lets the story itself explain things. There's very little exposition, and where it is used, it fits well within the dialogues and doesn't seem, well, exposition. You understand relationships and objects as the story unfolds, and it's quite rewarding that the director expects you to pay attention and be minimally intelligent to be able to follow along and pick up on things.

All the actors are good in their roles, but I especially liked Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica. Her moment of anguish (great editing by the way!) during Paul's testing by the Reverend Mother is amazing.

Now to the not so good.

I agree with some critics who have said that Villeneuve spends too much time with the desert and not enough with the characters, in that I didn't really connect with them. I know the story, know the stakes, know the anguish of each, but it didn't quite reach me in the movie. Not that I didn't "care" about them, but there seemed to be that little bit of connection missing, except for a few moments here and there (like the aforementioned Lady Jessica moment, or Paul's duel, or Duncan's moment).

Also, I understand why they approached Yueh's story and actions the way they did, but in doing so they robbed his actions and motivations of the proper emotional weight they should have had.

Who knows, maybe there's a 4 hour edit of Dune Part 1 that will be released some time in the future, and it will address these things, but for now, I think it's a brilliant achievement. Just the fact that Villeneuve and the writers managed to make the whole thing understandable without lengthy voice-overs or exposition is pretty much a triumph.

If you have the chance to see this in theatres, don't think twice about it. This movie deserves to be seen on the big (huge if possible) screen.

Fun fact: I went to an English-speaking screening (most movies in Germany are dubbed -I know, uncivilised bastards), and most of the crowd were young kids (16-20). Also, from what I've read, the movie is doing great everywhere, with very low drop-offs in the second week. So, there seems to be hope for movie-going tastes across the globe.
 
Good review. Sounds like about what I was hoping for, as positive as a Villeneuve film can be. Looking forward to seeing this on the big screen... though HBOMax will tempt me for free. Bond will be my first post-pandemic theatrical experience so depends how I feel after seeing that next week.
 
Great review abake!!
Matches pretty much with my opinion.

I also saw it in the Theater in Germany last Friday.
I probably had too high expectations- I loved the design, cinematography, costumes and cast.

But other than 2049 I couldn’t connect to the characters and the story felt too slow. I remember the scenes from the book pretty well but unfortunately couldn’t connect to the characters like I did in the book.
Too much focus on visuals IMO. Maybe it also didn’t help that I didn’t really like Zimmer‘s score.

still a really good movie- but not what I was hoping for
 
I’m prepared to fight Jye to the death for some grace booty
giphy.webp
 

Awesome gif! Tangent time, but whenever I see Heat references it makes me think how cool it would be to have figures of Deniro, Pacino, and Kilmer. Same kinda goes for Pulp Fiction with Travolta and Jackson. Then I kinda realize it would just be dudes in suits. Which is fine, but it also occurs to me that perhaps my participation in this hobby has gone too far. It's ok to love a movie and not have a high end figure or statue to represent it.

....But then again, it would be super cool if HT made those characters/actors. OK that is all for today :lol
 
Awesome gif! Tangent time, but whenever I see Heat references it makes me think how cool it would be to have figures of Deniro, Pacino, and Kilmer. Same kinda goes for Pulp Fiction with Travolta and Jackson. Then I kinda realize it would just be dudes in suits. Which is fine, but it also occurs to me that perhaps my participation in this hobby has gone too far. It's ok to love a movie and not have a high end figure or statue to represent it.

....But then again, it would be super cool if HT made those characters/actors. OK that is all for today :lol

Heat is a classic.

I've got the 1/6 figures by CraftOne. The likeness aren't brilliant but the bonus with the deluxe sets was that you got complete second figures in their armoured car robbery outfits with the hockey masks.
 
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