After “Dune (2021)” was released in theaters and on HBO Max this October, the “unfilmable” novel finally made its proper debut in Hollywood. Directed by Denis Villenuve, the film is a successful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel by the same name. Previous attempts included the 2000 miniseries and the infamous David Lynch film, “Dune (1984).”
Herbert’s novel spans 826 pages. That is a lot of plot for a three hour movie, which is partly the reason most adaptations had very low audience and critic ratings. For that reason, Villenue decided to break up his version into a two-part film with “Dune (2021)” as the setup of the Dune universe.
Despite many viewers’ anger with the slow moving and actionless plot, I found it very engaging as it was just world building for future films. Among the lengthy list of its successful aspects, I found the casting to be at the top. The best part of “Dune” by far is Rebecca Ferguson’s role as Lady Jessica. Her portrayal of the protagonist Paul Atreides’ mother was perfect. Her ability to convey emotions, such as anger, sadness, and fright, added depth and dimension to the story. While the film was supposed to be following the life of Paul, I found Lady Jessica’s story with the Bene-Gesserit (a sisterhood with a goal of ascending the human race) much more interesting.
Characters such as Duncan Idaho added the perfect amount of comedy to the serious movie. Idaho, played by Jason Momoa, was basically used as comic relief, similarly as in “Justice League (2017).” In times of seriousness, Momoa steps up and adds humor to lighten the mood. However, as Paul’s close friend, it would have been nice to see more interaction between the two characters in future films.
Surprisingly, my only issue with the casting was Paul, played by Timotheé Chalamet. For his role as a messiah and a warrior, I just don’t see him wearing huge armor and wielding weapons. He is very scrawny, just like Idaho says, and I feel like watching him reign over all of Arrakis would be funny. Aside from the physical aspect, for me, Chalamet doesn’t add emotional value to Paul’s character. Even in pivotal plot points where Paul was required to step up, he seems reluctant to do so. Maybe that’s just the way I saw it, but even at the end when Paul kills Jamis and is welcomed into the Fremen, he seems completely unfazed. Other than Chalamet, I thought the rest of the cast was phenomenal, with notable mentions of Oscar Issac, Jaiver Bardem, and Stellan Skarsgard.
While I only touched on the casting, some other aspects of the film that were great were the score, cinematography, and plot conflicts/resolutions. I really enjoyed “Dune” and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of science fiction and good acting.
