Some science fiction films don't hold up as many are not as good as "Star Wars", however after finally watching "Dune" I was pleased and liked it as the film was in depth and entertaining, interesting and compelling. With themes of drama, love, and uprising that involves assets on a galaxy all surrounded by myths and sand this movie had me drawn and wrapped in. Based on a Frank Herbert novel this movie is emotional set in the far future of 10191 with a Duke Atreides(Oscar Isaac) with his longtime love Jessica(Rebecca Ferguson) and their special son Paul(Tim Chalamet) who oversee planet Arrakis while living for their special Spice dust which is mined by Fremans. However to foreshadow and make things interesting Paul sees strange visions(from Zendaya) as all of them know the enemy is on the rise and perhaps Paul is a chosen one. This film becomes a test a strange journey a tease of hope as it's Paul and his spirit that have a destiny. While watching you feel this story to be real with well shot scenes and a haunting score with helicopters, sand, and water and battle is on site, also Jessica(Rebecca Ferguson is tied up and gagged having a damsel in distress scene). Thru it all it's about free will while wanting to settle in a free world. "Dune" is a unique event with an origin story that can continue as this film is one fine feel good space opera saga.

Here is a serious attempt to do a Science Fiction drama which after so many of the Star Wars Popcorn films is refreshing. It is a remake, but Dune deserves remaking and frankly it might still fall short of the novel. Regardless it is the link that fills in the back ground to Star Wars episode 4 reference to the Sand People.

One of the things I thought was nicely done was the way they snuck in the props of the galaxy far away so I could see they were there but they were kept as background. Money usually tempts film makers to try and harness another box office bonanza to make money for yourself too often.

The film keeps focused on the story. They avoid other traps like throwing in relationships which are usually not even in novels to try and spice things up, or put in some Hollywood plot device to try to sell tickets. Here we find the story of the sand people. Getting this done better should have been a goal all along and here it is. Avoided also is speeding up the story to get it in in the traditional 2 hours.

The story is set out dramatically at a pace which indeed is a bit slow, but allows the viewer time to make sense of the characters, and the atmosphere around them. I will not go into the details as it would be impossible to take enough space to describe all of it. Note this is part 1, and in this case I think you need to see this before part 2 comes out so it will make sense. I am hopeful part 2 will stick with this formula because as o b one said in Star Wars - "Sand People, gone for now but they will return in greater numbers."

"Villeneuve is a visionary in its purest sense, his magnificently streamlined, expansively otherworldly ideation of a distant galaxy is veritable ASMR-triggering, in accordance to his previous two Sci-Fi humdingers ARRIVAL (2016) and BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017), but more ambitious. Assimilating the former's extraterrestrial sophistication and the latter's cyberpunk frigidity, DUNE operates on a more massive, rivetingly mystical level, and what belongs to Villeneuve's own is his lack of pretension and showboating, something feels wanting in most of other mainstream filmmakers, the bang-up special effects are thoroughly in service to the plot and they never distract audience with their swaggering of extraordinariness. Quietly astonishing is a proper epithet, like the money shots of the Brobdingnagian sand worms (one diurnal, one nocturnal), without neither the succor of persisting long takes nor benumbing auditory assault (Hans Zimmer's score is uncharacteristically unobtrusive and organically coalesced into the lifeworld on show), they are simply there to be contemplated, all particulars in plain sight, the audience is awestruck in the most thrilling manner, not just by what we see, but also by what we cannot see, can you image the whole conformation of the sand worm? That is how to keep audience dangling for part two, which has been officially green-lit for a 2023 release."

read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.