Dune Messiah

[Dogg Thang]

4:3, not the wide version.

Like King of Queens.

[QualityChimp]

4:3, not the wide version.

[Atticus]

[Neon Ignition]

https://deadline.com/2021/10/dune-matrix-sopranos-sequels-hbo-max-theatrical-model-1234859504/

One of the heads of WarnerMedia has appeared to suggest this weeks box office won't matter too much and that Dune: Part Two will be made

[Asura]

We're booked in at the IMAX tomorrow.

[charlesr]

I just realised there's a Children Of Dune TV series. Presume garbage?

[Neon Ignition]

I'm very interested to see what opinions on here are for the film as I know there are some Dune lovers around.
I've never read the books or seen the previous attempt to adapt it etc so Dune is for me something I've come to entirely from the perspective of it being a new property. I watched it last night and if I had to sum up how it came across to me it would be a mix of:

->Open Spoiler<-

and

[randombs]

I'm very interested to see what opinions on here are for the film as I know there are some Dune lovers around.
I've never read the books or seen the previous attempt to adapt it etc so Dune is for me something I've come to entirely from the perspective of it being a new property.

I'm definitely a Dune lover. I read all six books every few years and am nearing the end of my fifth read-through right now - Kindle tells me I'm currently 25% into the final book, Chapter House Dune.

I won't lie, part of my jubilation is simply due to the film existing and not being bad. Here's what I think now the initial excitement has died down:

->Open Spoiler<-

Thanos says the Mika Hakkinens are brutal but they didn't seem that bad. Bautista's Rabban(The Beast) was scariest when he shouted something in a room with the Baron. Even beheading those soldiers heads one-by-one - that's just standard warfare, innit?

They weren't so much brutal as just... weirdos, emphasised by the Baron bathing in a black pool of BP oil. He was wicked, though. Grotesque but intelligent and menacing, rather than straight-up disgusting like in the Lynch film.

Speaking of black pools, The Atreides home planet of Caladan looked like a rainy day in Blackpool and I couldn't wait for the film to move past that and get to the good stuff on Arrakis itself...

For a film about a desert, it was very, very grey. The sand looked more at home on a building site. Occasionally it would be golden like a Shredded Wheat adv--no wait, that was Paul hallucinating again.

There was no feeling of opulence. There's a scene early on where Thufir Hawat pulls a Mentat(eyes going white) and calculates how much a roundtrip cost but it's just... numbers. For all we know, the visitors used a Groupon.

These families are supposed to be stupendously wealthy but we saw none of it. Duke Leto strutting about in a flasher's jacket(an ironic foretelling of the nudy scene yet to come); the moving company packing the Bull's head statue into a wooden box you'd find behind a B&Q; many rooms looking like a hipster warehouse lounge.

Bear in mind that in the Dune stories, machines that behave like humans(including AI) are banned because of an Animatrix-style robot servant uprising called The Butlerian Jihad so there are no smartphones or Siri like you'd expect in a typical story set 10,000 years in the future. That's why Paul's learning about Arrakis on a Speak & Spell and practising with knives instead of having Kung Fu moves uploaded into his brain like Neo.

I get that making something look like it's set 10,000 years in a typical, technology-fuelled future is easy if you just dye people's eyebrows white, stick wifi dongles in their necks and teleport them to Pizza Express but a lack of technology shouldn't mean a film where everyone looks like they've had smartphone privileges taken away for the weekend.

All the colourful imagery from the book was bleached. This was sterile.

Also, not much was explained. I don't mean in the Christopher Nolan sense, because that's just mumbo-jumbo, but this film felt like it was made for people who'd read the books. There's a bit where Paul finds a rucksack and says "it's a Fremkit!" and that's that. It's like FremenTM product placement! Maybe things alluded to would be explained more in Part Deux but it seems there won't be a Director's Cut of Part One. That's a shame because the film moves at a brisk pace but not in a good way.

Having said all that, I enjoyed a lot: Liet Kynes was an utter badass when she called the worm; sinky sand; Fremen warriors bursting out of the sand looked beautiful; the Paul and Jamis fight was great; Javier Bardem's Stilgar; the ornithopters; Chalamet's acting chops when Paul starts going a bit bananas...

It feels like it was a dream and I really do want to see it again at home.

[QualityChimp]

Was looking forward to your feedback, Mr. BS.
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope they do the second part!

[Neon Ignition]

https://theplaylist.net/denis-villeneuve-tenet-is-a-masterpiece-20211022/

And I had so much respect for Villeneuve too

[Cassius_Smoke]

https://theplaylist.net/denis-villen...iece-20211022/
And I had so much respect for Villeneuve too

I think both directors are very similar. They both direct films that appear fine at first, but don't hold up to time or scrutiny.

[eastyy]

I wonder if there will be many people out there who will not watch it due to it being only part 1 .. I have this thing where i cannot play or watch something that is not complete as it bugs me more then it should cough cough Shenmue

[fishbowlhead]

I wouldn’t say either director has any actual bad films.

[Neon Ignition]

Villeneuve, not that I've seen
Nolan, TDKR and Tenet... I'm tempted to say Interstellar as well

[Neon Ignition]

Thinking back on this again, the Nolan comparison fits well. It's a good looking film and it's impressive that a film like this has even been made in this day and age given it was always going to be a risky sell, especially when the studio makes it as a two parter and for some reason doesn't make both parts at once.

It's too slow though and I found it hard to buy into the idea of Spice. The cast are mostly excellent, the only one I wasn't that sold on was Charlamet who I know everyone is currently in love with but felt bland. I suppose the issue with the two part thing is when Part 2 arrives years will have passed and I doubt I'll ever feel the compulsion to rewatch Part 1 or remember much of it when Part 2 hits. I've constantly read people praise the soundtrack and the visuals but that's kind of the issue, the plot felt a bit dull and I didn't care at all about the characters. I also keep reading people suggest reading the books as they add great context and sub-plots and character details which is great except as soon as you suggest that it also highlights where the film failed to convey enough detail, the books shouldn't be a go to after watching in order to gleam more enjoyment out of the film.

I dunno, like I said before it's hard as I don't know if the film reads different for lovers of the books in general but for me if I put the lovely visuals aside it's a bit of a slog and a bit... empty