Dune

 

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Dune is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's famed novel of the same name, a science-fiction work that has inspired many of the great extraterrestrial epics. The film follows Paul Atreides, heir to the House Atreides and gifted with the same powers wielded by the psychic Bene Gesserit. In this film Paul must navigate his place in the designs of the galaxy as the house of Atreides and Harkonnen are propelled into a civil war for the planet Arrakis. The most compelling aspect of this film is seeing the complex conflict between Atreides and Harkonnen unfold, seeing the drive for duty from our protagonists pushed against the all-consuming greed of the Harkonnens is fascinating. Beyond this watching how a distant off-screen emperor makes light political plays to push these large and powerful families into an inevitable war. I enjoyed how Arrakis was represented, a wild world to be coveted for its value while those native to the world are ravaged by an Empire it stands apart from. The themes of imperialism and contrasts to how the West has exploited nations for gold, oil and other resources is perfectly caught here. The cinematography throughout the feature is incredibly immersive and impressive in scale, the number of wide, establishing shots that take in the massive sets and visual effects are jaw-dropping. The effects themselves are unlike anything else I have seen this year, each location or vehicle or even creature feels entirely real which shows the careful care put into this feature. The score for the film is raw with power and variety, there are a number of tracks that stand out but I have to especially say I loved the use of bagpipes in a couple of key scenes.

 

Timothée Chalamet, who played Paul Atreides, does a fairly adequate job as the protagonist for the feature; Chalamet plays well to grappling with his role's sense of greater destiny versus desire to be useful and active in the present. Oscar Isaac, who played Duke Leto Atreides, is wonderful as the firmly spoken leader of House Atreides; Isaac plays a regal persona very well and I thought his sense of care for those he serves was a great character trait. Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista and David Dastmalchian, who played Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Beast Rabban Harkonnen and Piter de Vries respectively, were absolutely menacing as the central antagonists of the film; I especially loved the cold yet superior portrayal of Dastmalchian as the advisory character. Josh Brolin, who played Gurney Halleck, was very imposing as the military leader of Atreides; his stern demeanour and ferocity in the training scene made him a force to be reckoned with. Javier Bardem, who played Stilgar, is intriguing as one of the first natives of Arrakis we meet; Bardem plays an air of indifference and hostility which fits very well with the themes of colonialism his character represents. Zendaya, who played Chani, is a more aloof character who is intrigued by Paul and eager to see him fight with honour; I liked seeing the contrast of Zendaya as a vision for Paul's future versus the woman of Arrakis we actually come to meet. Charlotte Rampling, who played Reverend Mother Mohiam, is quite a fearsome figure in the film; Rampling presents a figure brimming with power who everyone seems to fear which was a fascinating force to see played out onscreen.

However, the best performance came from Jason Momoa, who played Duncan Idaho. I loved this role so much because Momoa really inhabited, he made you so utterly convinced he was living within this world. When first we meet Duncan he is this larger than life charismatic soldier for House Atreides, very self-confident and highly capable the moment he appears. There is this lively energy to him and he has some great chemistry with Chalamet that locks this pair as interesting friends. As the film goes along we get to see Momoa play the deep respect of a native people as his role comes to live among them and learn from them. We also see his full capability as a fearsome warrior who can take on multiple hostiles in an all out duel. The deep seated hurt and rage he holds at seeing the House he is so loyal to ambushed and nearly extinguished is one of the aspects that makes that scene so very moving. An incredibly performance from Momoa who is really start to express his range across his projects now.

Watching Dune is a strange thing, there is so much here from the novel that inspired a lot of the most famous stories in the science-fiction genre; the scale of this piece is flawless in its design really. But in a number of other ways there is no escaping the age of the text that this film is based off of and how played out some of the plot aspects are. I was very underwhelmed with the story of Paul Atreides and his 'destiny', purely because it is a very generic Chosen One narrative that has been played out before. The irony here of course is that Dune is one of the books that really got the wheel turning on this trope in the first place, but now in 2021 seeing a young boy who is the only son of a noble family born with special gifts fated for greatness is a story I have seen. I think there were a lot of ways the narrative could have been tended to to make this more engaging but the fact is Paul's path is paved for him before the film really begins; I never watched a scene feeling like he had to struggle for his future. Paul goes through a lot of loss, which is a hardship but he never really experiences a conflict that he can't personally win. I also felt the movie overloaded itself a bit with side plots, minor characters and world-building. All of these assets are fascinating in their own right but it did lead to scenes with heavy blocks of exposition or rushed moments where something is being talked about but there's no context. This film is marketed as the next epic akin to features like Lord of the Rings, but I felt like I was watching something similar to The Hobbit.

Rebecca Ferguson, who played Lady Jessica Atreides, is a bit scattered in her performance throughout the film; Ferguson portrays intense fear in one moment then an almost ruthless capability the next but none of these traits blend together into a fully realised character. Stephen McKinley Henderson, who played Thufir Hawat, is one advisory role too many in the Atreides ensemble; Henderson is almost entirely a font of some of the more dull exposition in the feature. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who played Dr. Liet Kynes, is such a stoic and expressionless character that she becomes hard to relate to; this is a character who has a lot of complexity to her identity and the surface of that is barely scratched. Chang Chen, who played Dr. Wellington Yueh, is a somewhat important figure who is used very minimally; Chen is playing a figure who flips on the protagonists but he is barely onscreen for this to have the desired effect of the plot twist. Babs Olusanmokun, who played Jamis, is quite an abrupt antagonist to end the feature on; Olusanmokun has this very clipped two-dimensional aggression towards the protagonists that leads to a rushed confrontation scene that the film peters out on.

 

A cinematic paradox in a number of ways; one of the most visually impressive feats of 2021 but with a narrative that feels extremely dull and relies too heavily on a 'chosen one' storyline. I would give Dune  a 6.5/10.