Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Written by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa
Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some disturbing images and suggestive material
Runtime: 2 hours, 35 minutes
In theaters and streaming on HBO Max October 21

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Dune, the novel by Frank Herbert, is a masterpiece. Mixing economics, ecology, religion, and politics in the far future, it is a true classic of the science fiction genre, resonating for decades. Dune, David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, maybe isn’t a masterpiece, but it is nonetheless captivating to me, inspired by Herbert but also many other influences. Denis Villeneuve’s take on Dune (subtitled Part One in the film itself) is difficult to judge. On the one hand, Dune is far from the first time an adaptation has been broken into multiple parts. However, this version feels like it ends when the meat of the story basically starts. From a story and thematic perspective, Villeneuve and his co-writers leave off in a place that offers little satisfaction.

The most enjoyable aspects of this Dune are the visuals. I spent much of the runtime in awe of the massive scale being captured on screen. After over a decade of Marvel movies, getting wide shots to evoke scale is a welcome relief. Being able to take in locations like the desert planet Arrakis across many locations and situations allows it to cast a mood over many of the sequences that take place there. While the production design is a bit sterile overall, it would be easy to argue the austerity suits many of the locations, so I won’t criticize it too much for not matching my mental impressions of the same spaces. It is also possible that more baroque designs await deeper into this adaptation. The action sequences, both large and small, are wonderfully composed, favoring visual information over everything else. Many of those picturesque wide shots evoke the kind of concept art that rarely makes it into the finished work.

Villeneuve takes a measured approach to worldbuilding, delivering some exposition via audio-visual books, and the rest through dialogue. Even with that, the slim narrative buckles under the weight of all of the set up, especially since much of the exposition is teased out over several points in the story. The film tries to bring a sense of momentum and drive curiosity in the audience, but it barely reaches any sort of flashpoint. It’s a lot of information, but there’s nothing in it relating it to the characters other than when they use a piece of information we’ve heard before to make a decision.

Much of the character work feels like checking a box, things the filmmakers know need to happen because they are in the book, but not why they are important to the story. Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and Duncan Idaho (an oddly beardless Jason Momoa) are shown to have a close relationship, but we never understand why these two share such a bond. Duncan seems to be the biggest influence on Paul after his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and father, Leto (Oscar Isaac), but sometimes it feels like they just share scenes together to deliver more exposition. One thing that makes Dune challenging to adapt is that so much of the book is about Paul’s interior journey, and while he has plenty of dreams about Zendaya, Chalamet can only give so much nuance using just his face. It’s not that Chalamet is lacking, it’s that for much of this movie he isn’t really given much to do other than looking pensive.

Watching Dune, I wasn’t bored, but even hints at the big ideas and interesting characters that make the book such a memorable experience are few and far between. There’s not even enough here to give confidence that those aspects will be developed in future installments. The sad fact of it is that there is nothing in this film that would draw me back for another installment except that it’s an adaptation of Dune. This movie feels as if Peter Jackson had ended Fellowship of the Ring with Frodo arriving in Rivendell. That film spends a lot of time in The Shire in order to provide contrast as the hobbits’ journey continues on into more wild and dangerous places. There is very little of the ecological themes, the wrestling with the white male savior narrative, or even much political intrigue in this adaptation. Villeneuve leaves us with unclear character goals, a lot of details, and zero momentum, stranding us in wild desert territory where we have barely learned how to walk the right way.