milo bloom

Yeah, I’m just going to put it on repeat while I’m working.

Orbi-Wan Techno

From my movie review page ORBI-WAN GOES TO THE MOVIES:

Dune (PG-13) - Amazing and literate adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic is beautiful and rewarding, but requires the audience to actually pay attention to everything in order to comprehend its intricate story.

In all honesty, I have never read a single book from the Dune series, and barely remember the 1984 version that starred Kyle McLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Sting, Patrick Stewart and so many other familiar faces. That version (directed by David Lynch) suffered from bloat from trying to tell too much of an extremely complex story in one setting, although it is generally regarded as a decent effort.

Mrs. Orbi-Wan and I had the good fortune of watching the new version of “Dune” through HBO Max. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and featuring an all-star cast including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Oscar Issac, Jason Mamoa, Josh Brolin and so many more, “Dune” is an amazing feat of filmmaking that commands its viewers’ attention from beginning to end. From production design to the acting, this movie is an incredible experience.

It helps to know that this version of “Dune” does not intend to tell a full story in one sitting. In fact, as it opens, we see that this is actually Part 1 of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction series. “Dune” intends to set the long-term stage with the introduction of characters, politics, religion, commerce and cultural elements of at least three worlds (to start with) that clash and merge. Based on what we saw, I was completely sucked in, and am hopeful that this first entry into this new universe is successful enough to warrant a continuation, whether in the theater or perhaps a very lavishly produced HBO Max series. I think it would definitely be worth an extended subscription if this were the case.

I realize I have not delved into the specifics of the story presented, but true sci-fi and adventure fans will want to go into this amazing film completely fresh and with an open mind to what is presented. Part of the fun of watching this with the Mrs. was that she would pick up specific details and situations that even I missed or did not realize were significant, or will eventually be important to future chapters of the story.

This old Jedi was utterly entranced and amazed by this version of “Dune”, and is giving it a solid 4.5 out of 5 lightsabers. Bring on chapter 2!

NOTES TO PARENTS (MILD SPOILERS): “Dune” is rated PG-13 for strong sci-fi violence, disturbing images, and mildly suggestive material. Language is extremely light for a PG-13 movie, with d**n being the word used most often. A lot of non-graphic hand-to-hand combat, implied beheadings, and explosions make up the bulk of the violent content. Giant sand worms are a constant threat to those on Arrakis, the spice planet. While there is no “sexual content” to speak of, some women are briefly seen in flimsy transparent clothing. A major male character is seen naked from the side at a table while being tormented by his enemy but nothing is actually shown.

MID AND AFTER-CREDIT SCENES: There are no mid- or after-credit scenes.

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Abob Teff

After Bond, now this ... I am no longer on the same page as the forum. This was magnificent.

Sorry guys, the story is not that complex and has been boiled down in a very palatable manner. Nods still exist for the hardcore book fans, but much of the political intricacy and extreme sci-fi has been boiled down to a plot that should be easy to understand for Western cultures. All of the characters are there, but we aren't bogged down with all of their stories (I wish we had gotten more in this department).

I am sorry that the "big monkey punch big lizard" crowd feels this is slowly paced. The pacing is a love letter to cinema ... slow down and enjoy your lover. This was FAR from 2+ hours of wheel spinning and accomplished quite a bit.

Saw it in 3D and the 3D was exquisite (my only complaint was the flickering bulb, but that is Cinemark's fault, not the movie's). Came home and watched it with one of my housemates again last night on HBOMax. Betting I will end up watching it again with the others.

It SUCKS that we are probably three years out from the next chapter.

E Unit

I played it once on Max. More than enough for me. I may watch it if/when the second part comes out. Not a lot of replay value on this one.

Dr. DVD

Uh...most people on here seem to like it. I agree with you on all points about this movie, but I felt the Bond movie was a drag for the most part. The run time on this one actually seemed to fly by for me and it left me wanting more, which any part 1 is supposed to do. I also agree that they watered the story and dialogue about as much they possibly could without going full blown action movie route. However, I am also a fan of "big monkey punch big lizard" movies as well.

Cellar Door

I liked the movie, too, I just don't think it's 'magnificent.'

How do you feel about movies where humans get in a lot of knife fights and ride giant worms?

OldBoy

What’s the d**n word Orbi Wan talks about in review? Typo perhaps?

Kurt D

Probably 'damn' but I'm hoping it's 'dickin'

davidh777

I started Dune and let it play when I left to see the Bond movie. High winds in our area, so the screen went black about a half-hour in, so they gave us passes and sent us home. Pretty sure we watched more commercials than movie.

birdseye

Saw this today and really enjoyed it. It was my first time in the theater since The Rise of Skywalker. I finished the book a week ago, but I don't think it's necessary to understand the story. I was a little surprised how faithful it was to the book. The banquet would have been nice to see but it would have caused pacing issues and probably added another 10-15 minutes.

jfoobar

So, before I watched it, I had heard a few different reviews that all basically said the same thing: visually beautiful, nice special effects, well-acted, but likely only to be really enjoyable by people who are already fans of the book. At least one of the reviewers was a self-avowed fan of the book and still came to the same conclusion.

Watched it last night with my wife. I have read the book multiple times since being a teenager. My wife has not, nor has she ever seen the 1984 film (although she said she tried and couldn't get into it). Oddly enough, she was the one who was really pushing to see the new film ASAP.

After watching, I am inclined to agree with the reviewers on all counts. However, my wife said she really enjoyed it, contradicting this notion. From a storytelling perspective, the did indeed add a lot of material not from the original book (or the Lynch film), much of it to good effect. That said, I was a little disappointed with how rushed it felt even with the liberties inherent to splitting the novel into two films. Much of that rush comes from adding so much other material on the front end I suspect.

The fight with Jamis serves as a convenient turning point (basically "Paul and Jessica join the Fremen") in the novel and I, as I had suspected, that's right about where they ended the first movie. However, in the novel, Jamis does not die until page 495 of about 794 total pages (not including all the appendices), so that is well past halfway through the book. The novel is front-loaded with plot (and intrigue) leading up to the fall of House Atreides, while this newest film rushes through this. Hopefully this will mean that they will add plot to where both the novel and the '84 film were weakest, the time period between Paul and Jessica being accepted with the Fremen and the climax of the whole story.

Ultimately, I can only give this film 3 out of 4 stars, mostly due to deficiencies in the writing and tonal changes they made that, IMHO, hurt the film. Off the top of my head:

• The betrayal of House Atreides by Dr. Yueh kind of came out of nowhere for those that had no familiarity with the novel or prior adaptations. They could have solved that by leaving in two short chunks of dialogue present in both the novel and, IIRC, the '84 film:
  • When Paul saves Mapes from the hunter/seeker, there is dialogue there. She says something to the effect of "we Fremen pay our debts" and "it is known to us that there is a traitor in your midst."
  • There is a scene between Jessica and Yueh where Jessica noted the hatred in his voice when he said the word "Harkonnen" and asked him about it. He reveals that his wife was taken by the Harkonnens.
• The scene in which Leto chastises Thufir for not preventing the attempt on Paul's life is tonally all wrong. Duke Leto is a man who is beloved by his people, and for good reason. In the book he says something, when rejecting Thufir's offer of resignation, to the effect of, "it is largely because of your training that Paul survived the attack." Thufir also should have been introduced as a character back on Caladan better than he was. I get why they excised the whole "mentat" thing, however.
• The Baron is tonally wrong. In the book (and the '84 film), the Baron is sinister, to be sure, but he is also a boisterous braggart. The Baron in this film says almost nothing and is little more than a looming presence of evil. Even the pivotal scene where he gloats over Leto is far too minimized. The '84 film did this character better.
• I give the makers of this film credit for leaving in the very important scenes in the ecological testing station, which was missing from the '84 film, but then they cut short the very important dialogue between Kynes/Liet and Paul.

I suppose I could quibble about the tonal changes to how Chani first interacts with Paul (in the book she actually gives him pointers on how to defeat Jamis, which he uses), but that probably isn't a big deal. That said, the fight scene between Paul and Jamis could have been choreographed much better.

[email protected]

I also thought the first half weak. Having recently re-read the first Dune book, it seemed like they were going through a check-list of scenes that needed to be included. But then at a certain point, the editing streamlined and the story came more into focus. At first I was disappointed, but by the end I was giving it 4/5 stars. Looking forward to part 2, whenever that may be...

B.A.

My son didn’t know it was “part one”, so when he saw that on the title card, he said, "what the heck?!?"

He really liked it, as did I.

Would have liked to see it in a theater, but we didn't want to wait.

Cannot wait for part two.

milo bloom

The more I think on this the more I think they should have squeezed another 15 minutes of world building in. My only hope is that somehow the sequel is able to fill in some info. My longshot hope is that we get a trilogy to really make it work.

Also, my wife has not read any of the books but has seen the David Lynch version and she actually enjoyed it. She is into sci-fi like Star Trek and such but she admitted that when I started the movie she thought she would just be watching in the background but after a bit she put her phone down and really got into it.

WKRP

The spice must flow.....

Osiris3657

I don't know if it was a combination of being stoned and tired, and the complex plot, but I had no idea what I was watching. I enjoyed it I guess. I've also never read the books or have seen the original Dune from '84. I imagine many people have similar feelings without the background.

I think I just need to go see it again, sober and alert this time

Shannon Nutt

I really enjoyed it - and I went into it thinking I would not (I haven't been a fan of many of Denis's other films).

I watched at home on my 77" 4k OLED...but I couldn't help wondering how some of those dark scenes (particularly the one in the desert the night before the knife fight) played in the theater - knowing many chains tend to dim their image (meaning their projector lightbulbs) quite a bit...could you even SEE the night sequence in your theater? It was pretty dark on my calibrated OLED...so I was wondering about that.

jpcamb

So I caught this at the drive-in this past weekend, the last time we will get to go this year as they close in 2 weeks. I have not read the book or seen the Lynch version (not sure why as I love Sci-fi, just never got around to it.) My wife and I both enjoyed it. Some cool tech with the dragonfly-style airships. It was visually stunning and one cool aside is the moon rose just behind the screen when there was a moon in the desert scene toward the end of the film which was kinda cool. The movie was only a tiny bit confusing as I had not read the books and some of the dialogue was a bit quiet and hard to hear but the pacing seemed to be good and it held my interest for the whole movie. I was a bit surprised by the ending as there was not a real cliffhanger or anything that made me expect it to end. I would be happy to watch the next installment and will likely check this out on HBO max soon.

Does this disappear for a while after 30 days?

The nice surprise for me was to see Oscar Isacc can actually act. I really hated him as Poe and he seemed to be able to do more than mug for the camera and tell bad jokes.

milo bloom

Looking on twitter, there's a good number of positive reactions from people with little to no knowledge of the story but still enjoyed it and are looking forward to a sequel. Good buzz like this can only help the cause of it getting made.

davidh777

On HBO Max through Nov 21.

devilshalo

Well shit, this is nothing like the Sega Genesis game.

DJariya

RichC2

I just hope we get #2.

devilshalo

Did they not shoot this back to back?

RichC2

Nope. If it gets greenlit they wouldn't even start shooting until probably late next year.