Denis Villeneuve's new cinematic adaptation of DUNE is the best one so far. The choice to cover Frank Herbert's sprawling novel over two films is an intelligent one, as it gives the filmmakers far more time to cover various aspects of the complex story. (As a matter of fact, this first part of the new DUNE is longer than the David Lynch 1984 version, which dealt with the entire novel.)
Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser present a number of stunning images here, and the important thing is that the viewer is given time to appreciate them. There's no shaky camerawork, or ADD influenced editing to get in the way. The production design and effects fit this film's tone perfectly, and unlike most recent science-fiction/fantasy blockbusters, this picture avoids feeling too CGI-ish. (I do think the visuals were hampered a bit by Hans Zimmer's overbearing score.)
Villeneuve (who is also credited as one of the film's writers) makes the characters more relatable to an audience, getting away from the clunky dialogue of the David Lynch version. But at the same time he doesn't water the story down. This is a movie that a viewer needs to pay attention to.
This DUNE features plenty of actors familiar to film geeks and fanboys, with Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho getting the best chance to shine (and he makes the most of it). Rebecca Ferguson in particular deserves attention as Lady Jessica.
Timothee Chalamet plays the lead role of Paul Atreides, and I must admit that he didn't come off to me as a future dynamic revolutionary leader. But this is the first part of DUNE, and his Paul still has a long way to go in his journey.
I had a lot of high hopes for this new DUNE (I'm a huge fan of Villeneuve's BLADE RUNNER 2049), and, for this first part at least, I'm quite satisfied. I'll certainly be looking forward to the second film.
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