Dune Movie Review

I recently saw Dune in theaters. Incidentally, my mom thought it'd be a good idea to go, so I obliged. But it gave me a chance to compare it to the books I've read. I liked a lot about the production and characters, but I wish the plot had handled some things differently.

I was very skeptical about this movie because I am a big fan of the Dune book series and didn’t think anyone could do the books justice. There's a lot in the books that's hard to capture on film, especially given the many subtexts and allusions to the Christian religion. I hope they break all the Dune books into as many movies as needed to capture the greatness of the series. Or even better, I think it would’ve been a TV series because there's so much to cover in the books; I feel like it should be in a medium that allows for deeper exploration. But I will take what I can get!

I liked all the characters in the Atreides household, from the general servants to the weapons masters. Plotwise, I do wish Leto had lived a little bit longer, but I knew he was going to die eventually. I also thought the Baron Harkonnen was well portrayed. I am trying to figure out how he survived the assassination attempt. However, I like that Baron was able to find the trader behind the effort and eventually kill him because I think all traders should be harshly dealt with no matter what century humanity is in.

A character I did not like was the emperor. I understand why he wanted to hold onto power so badly. Still, I think it would’ve been easier for him if he had called the two families together and had them iron out their differences like civilized individuals. Nevertheless, I understand that human nature isn't necessarily as logical as we wish it were. When somebody has so much power, it can warp their perception into thinking that they should always have it. Or maybe it's an example of how absolute power corrupts, no matter who holds it or how noble their intentions are.

I wouldn't say I liked how the movie monopolized everything, since I hate monopolies of anything. I think having a monopoly on any resources is a bad idea. In any century, you would think that someone in the future would’ve figured that out. Even in a future that has regressed to a feudal system, I think it would’ve been better to think of the influential houses in Dune as separate companies vying for one vital resource, rather than portraying them as royalty.

I also didn’t enjoy the overuse of flash-forward visions in this film. I understand the importance of the images, but I think they could’ve been used more sparingly, letting the characters make their own decisions instead of having Paul Atreides follow these visions throughout the entire film. Another thing that could've improved the movie was showing precisely why the Harkonnens hated the Atreides so much. We don't see any of that in the film, which would be essential to understand. The movie implies it's just a competition between the two, but I feel it's more than that and needs explanation.

My final critique is that I wouldn't say I liked the Bene Gesserit order because their plan for humanity didn't include allowances for unforeseen events. I also believe that no one organization should have as much power as they accrued over the centuries. In a way, I found this film similar to Game of Thrones, except it's in space.

Aside from those plot critiques, I think this director captured the scope and the aptness of the books. I think the visuals alone were worth the ticket price. For instance, the scene where they leave their home planet and their ship comes out of the lake was a great shot. You see a high contrast between the two worlds and many vibrant colors. Overall, I'd recommend this movie to the fans of the Dune books or even Game of Thrones fans because of the similarities. If you've watched it, what did you think?