“Dreams make good stories, but everything important happens when we’re awake.”

It’s crazy how Denis Villeneuve took what was seemingly an impossible task of adapting the original Dune novel into a film, and made it turn out the way it did. I did originally watch this movie during its theatrical run, but I didn’t remember much about it before I rewatched it earlier this year. Before I rewatched it though, I decided I wanted to read the book first, which I almost never do. I knew before I read the book that it had always been looked at as impossible to adapt into a movie (like I already said) similar to books like The Lord of the Rings and 1984. I never read The Lord of the Rings trilogy before I watched the movie trilogy, but those movies turned out to be one of my favorites of all-time. Anyways, I’m getting a bit off track. While I was reading Dune, I definitely saw why people had regarded it as “unfilmable.” Its lore was just really complex, and I have to be honest, it was a little hard for me to catch all the details while I was reading it.

But Dune (2021), along with its sequel, turned out pretty much perfectly when it comes to adapting the original novel. Almost immediately it sets itself apart from other science fiction epics with its unique tone that perfectly matches the source material. The worldbuilding, special effects, and cinematography are all just next level and do the same as well. The movie can be a bit hard to follow just like the book when it comes to some of the details, especially regarding the House Atreides’ move to Arrakis and why they are moving in the first place. But if you find yourself lost at the beginning, it definitely starts to come together by the midpoint in a way that’s easier to understand.

Even though the first half might be a bit hard to follow for a first time viewer, it still does a great job of holding your attention. While a bit on the confusing side, Villeneuve was still able to properly build up the suspense and tension leading up to all the big shenanigans that happen almost exactly around halfway through. It’s crazy too, because there really isn’t much mystery to it all - you know exactly what’s going to happen which was how Frank Herbert intended the story to be when he wrote it. The Atreides’ know they are falling into a trap, but have to move due to commands from a higher power. The suspense and tension quickly turns to a more dreadful feeling once they move to Arrakis, and that’s also really when everything starts to get really interesting regarding visuals, lore, and worldbuilding. Caladan is great looking and all, but also far more reminiscent of Earth, which is why the movie flips itself on its head once we get to Arrakis. I still haven’t seen the original movie adaptation directed by David Lynch, but I couldn’t imagine that film being able to properly capture the scope of that planet with the technology of that time, especially when it comes to the desert and sandworms and all.

But with 21st century technology, they were able to quite honestly make one of the best looking movies I’ve ever seen. Even aside from the cinematography and visual effects, Dune is loaded with tons of interesting set pieces, costumes (even the computer generated ones), ships, and much more that will certainly be looked at as iconic in the future. When they said in some of the trailers/TV spots that this was the next Lord of the Rings/Star Wars, they weren’t kidding. Similar to those two franchises, the imagery of this film and its sequel are so unique that they are almost impossible to forget or not have pictured in your brain. I think it is definitely possible in the future that Ornithopters and Sandworms will be just as recognizable as the Eye of Sauron and lightsabers. Okay, maybe not that recognizable, but who knows.

Now onto the story. I’ve already mentioned a couple of times that it can be hard to follow, so I won’t mention it here. Alongside the tension and dread, it’s complex, full of its own political scandals, and has quite a few twists and turns along the way, which added onto the whole science fiction aspect of it, makes this even more of my thing. Those aren’t even the most interesting aspects of it all either. When it comes to Dune, by far the thing that captures my attention and makes me nerd out about these two movies the most is the lore with the Fremen and the whole prophecy with Muad’Dib. I’m a pretty big fan of “chosen one” stories (hence my love for Star Wars).

Another thing that’s definitely interesting is how the story kind of goes against traditional storytelling guidelines. Paul Atreides really shouldn’t be all that interesting of a protagonist. He feels a little distant from the audience, but at the same time unpredictable and mysterious. He’s definitely not one-dimensional, but there’s intentionally not a whole lot of substance to him until Part Two. This makes him incredibly interesting despite everything I already said, especially by the end. Seeing what he turns into after Part Two makes this first one even better too.

When it comes to the main villains, the Harkonnen’s, they were done so, so well. Stellan Skarsgård was obviously a great casting choice from the moment we meet the Baron, and the makeup and visual effects they did for him were amazing. Despite his appearance, the book wrote him to be pretty terrifying and intimidating, and that definitely translated well to the movie. The Saurdaukar, the Emperor’s puppets, were also handled amazingly, even though some of their scenes were entirely CGI. There is a scene with their shadows that was definitely a standout in the entire film. Chills.

Really the only criticism I have of Dune is, again, that I could easily see this being pretty confusing for audiences unfamiliar with the story, especially the first half.