I know that this really should be seen in a proper cinema hall but it was shown too early after lockdown was lifted for us to feel comfortable going out just yet. In retrospect I regret that as this was originally shot in the IMAX format and television screen just don’t do it justice. At this point, it’s fair to say that I’m a fan of Denis Villeneuve so it was always exciting to have him tackle Dune. Having now watched it I have to say that this is as perfect an adaptation of the novel as anyone could reasonably ask for.

This is the first of a planned two part series and I’m including more the synopsis than usual the story is already s well-known. The Emperor orders that control of the desert planet Arrakis, invaluable due to being the sole source of the psychoactive spice that enables interstellar travel, be transferred from the Harkonnens to the Atreides. In reality this is a trap conceived by both the Emperor and the Harkonnens to destroy the Atreides as they are both popular and powerful. Meanwhile the Atreides heir Paul has been secretly trained by his Bene Gesserit mother Jessica and caries a unique bloodline that gives him psychic powers. When they arrive on Arrakis, the native Fremen recognize in him the fulfillment of a long prophesied messiah and marvel at him knowing their ways despite being born on another world. The Atreides are attacked before they are able to consolidate their relationship with the Fremen and Paul and Jessica are forced to flee into the deep desert to survive.

I was concerned with the too fast pace of the film at first. The shots we get of Caladan and Giedi Prime for example look great but are all too brief and it seems almost like a waste of such beautiful cinematography. Thankfully the film slows down to a more reasonable pace once we get to Arrakis itself, allowing the camera to fully luxuriate in the desert landscape and get caught up in Paul’s prophetic visions. I do wonder how much people who have neither read the novel nor watched the David Lynch film or other adaptations are able to understand of the background. Without any scenes of the Spacing Guild, I feel that the film doesn’t convey just how critical a resource the spice is and how it physically mutates anyone who ingests it. It is still impressive how much it does manage to get in, such as why the unique properties of the shields they use means that melee combat is effective or even the subtleties of Paul’s Kwisatz Haderach powers. The action scenes are great, with knife combat choreography that look both good while being plausible and enough of the larger-scale combat to give a sense of just how much is at stake. This is the rare example of a film that works decently as an action movie while still being able to aspire to the sublimity of art.

Since the original novel was published way back in 1965, it’s hardly necessary to reexamine its themes. It is interesting to note the particular choices this adaptation makes. For example Dune is well-known for being one of the prime examples of the white savior trope that creators now know to shy away from for good reason. This adaptation chooses not to sidestep the issue and instead own it, highlighting how Paul’s prophesied status is a deliberate manipulation of the Bene Gesserit, while the Fremen warrior who directly challenges Paul is played by an actor with an especially black skin tone. It’s clearly an explicit choice to be faithful to the source material while acknowledging that this is an artifice. Meanwhile the Arabic influences are still highly visible but are actually dialed down from the novel. The film avoids all usage of the word “jihad” which appeared very frequently in the novel but now carries different connotations today. I do think that the criticism that none of the cast are of Middle-Eastern ancestry has some merit. The film seems happy to accept anyone with a darker skin tone to play the Fremen so we have Africans and Latinos but no actual Arabs. But I did like the film’s characterization of the Atredes as being of Celtic origin, complete with bagpipes as their marching music.

All told, this film exceeded my expectations with its beautiful visuals, unique designs, and its determination to be faithful to its inspiration while being fully cognizant of how parts of it are now considered problematic. About the only change I would like is to cut some of the action scenes of Paul and Jessica fleeing the Harkonnen forces in favor of more complete worldbuilding and a slower pace at the beginning of the film. It seems strange that Villeneuve had to shoot both parts separately. It seems the financial backers needed to see how successful the first part would be before committing to a part two. Now that production has started, I naturally look forward to it and will do my utmost to actually watch it in the cinemas.