Description
Dune is a sci-fi/adventure movie starring Call Me By Your Name actor Timothée Chalamet as the lead character, Paul, heir to the royal Atreides family.
Plot Summary
Emperor Shaddam IV is the leader of the entire Dune universe and has assigned House Atreides and Duke Leto to take over Arrakis from the brutish Harkonnens. Paul and his family have to move to Arrakis to harvest a valuable resource called “spice” which is protected by the native people and deadly creatures called Sandworms. Other than spice, the planet is completely barren, there is no water and very few food sources. A war is starting between people from Paul’s homeworld and the people that harvested spice before they were sent there. This war will cause problems, not only with the two opposing sides but also with the native people.
Background
This is one of three total films planned to come out based on this series, including a spinoff prequel called Dune: The Sisterhood. Only two of the three films have currently been confirmed. There were originally 14 books in the Dune series so there may be more movies planned in the future to continue Paul’s story.
Disappointments
The trailer was a bit misleading because it made it seem like a large portion of the movie would feature Zendaya. This did not prove to be the case, however, as her character, Chani, only had seven minutes of screen time.
Pace
The pace of the movie was just right due to the correlation between the character’s emotions and the lengths of individual scenes. Scenes when characters experience internal conflict, however, seem drawn out and tense which makes watching them feel like an uphill battle. Dune may seem to start off slowly to moviegoers who are not familiar with the story, but once it kicks off, you may very well find yourself on the edge of your seat. The plot was very easy to follow even if you have not read the book or have any background knowledge of the story.
Acting
The acting was fairly good throughout the whole movie, especially the scene with Paul and his mother in the tent–played by Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson–didn’t hold back and communicated their emotions in a realistic way. The way the scenes were shot made some viewers feel like they were in the room with the characters or right beside them. There were many scenes that immersed viewers into the movie and allowed them to empathize with the characters, such as the scene when Paul is trying to evacuate the desert but has a vision and loses consciousness.
Music
The music overpowered the dialogue in some scenes, especially in the opening scene. Some viewers have a hard time hearing what the characters say over the loud background music.
Final Recommendation: 8/10 stars
Graphic via WHEREISTHEBUZZ
