'Dune' (2021)
95/100
A stunningly realised feat of imagination and spectacle which combines an intriguing story with seamless world-building.
Denis Villeneuve loves a challenge. The renowned French Canadian has lent his considerable creative talent to several excellent films in recent years, particularly the intense, nerve-wracking 'Prisoners' and gripping War on Terror thriller 'Sicario'. He has also taken on ambitious, meaty sci-fi assignments including the long-awaited 'Blade Runner 2049' and the thought-provoking 'Arrival'. Subsequently, 'Dune' represents Villeneuve being tasked with realising his dream project – converting Frank Herbert's seminal and "unfilmable" 1965 novel into a successful movie, where others failed. Perhaps it was a sensible step to make this film merely 'Part One', given the nature of the source material. Luckily, his efforts represent a resounding success across the board – this film is a spellbinding achievement in cinematic science fiction.
Personally, I have had no exposure to Herbert's world of fantastical, feudalistic futurism. Going in fresh, I can only say that I am fully converted and cannot wait to dive deeper into this rich, vivid world. It didn't take me long to source the book and get stuck in! Set in a distant future, Villeneuve and his fellow screenwriters carefully yet swiftly establish diverse threads of an intriguing, multi-layered plot in the film's early scenes. This is represented on screen with considerable visual flair, evading unnecessary exposition and aiding meticulous world-building. Instead, brisk progression and an early focus on introducing the main pieces of this intriguing extraterrestrial chessboard allows the politically charged, Game of Thrones-esque world of planetary powerhouses to be established succinctly, without bogging viewers down in lore. There is undeniably a large amount of lore, though, and a swift rewatch can't hurt to make sure you grasp everything – this really is one to smash cliches and require viewing in the biggest cinema you can find.
The story covers considerable ground with admirable verve early on, introducing a dominant, largely unseen imperial structure (maximising the all-encompassing, far-reaching power of the 'Imperium') ruling over feudal fiefdoms and noble houses. Emerging superstar Timothée Chalamet is perfectly cast, and is the ideal anchor around which to grow out the film's more creative tendrils. His dedicated and layered central performance as reluctant and troubled noble heir Paul Atreides is note-perfect. Chalamet's House Atreides, led by Paul's father, Duke Leo (a bearded, steely-eyed, and truly magnetic Oscar Isaac) is one such house, tasked by an ominously absent and seemingly omnipotent Emperor with taking stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis. An inhospitable and deadly sandscape of colossal burrowing sandworms, scorching heat, skilled native fighters (Fremen, a group that marries Herbert's clear Arab World inspirations with a realism refreshingly free of usual orientalist undertones) and, yes, endless mighty dunes, Arrakis is quite literally worlds apart from the Atreides' cool, verdant home planet of Caladan.
However, Arrakis and its native Fremen must contend with a galaxy of scrambling suitors, as it is also home to the universe's most coveted substance, the enchanting and unfathomably valuable dust-like psychoactive 'spice', which enables interstellar travel. Although sensing a trap, House Atreides nonetheless takes on the dangerous assignment of taking Arrakis from House Harkonnen, led by the grotesque and duplicitous Baron Vladimir (a monstrously brilliant Stellan Skarsgård), by imperial command.
This sets the stage for conflict and crescendos into a rousing, fully engaging story that keeps viewers invested in the layered political machinations and hints at a raft of intriguing plot developments sure to be further explored in future instalments of this saga. The imposing 'Imperium', for example, is wisely constrained to sporadic teasing glimpses of its full might. This leaves the sequels well-placed to further build on, for example, the vast warships and daunting, eerie Sardaukar army.
'Dune' never once felt weighed down by its own backstory or world-building. It clocks up over 2.5 hours of runtime but steamrolls along with pace, and is structured expertly to balance focused character development with zippy plot progression and earnest, utterly fascinating world-building. The ideas of Herbert's world (vividly realised by flawless art direction, makeup, and costume work) are ambitious and unique from a creative standpoint. Such ideas have clearly had a huge influence through the years on the likes of 'Star Wars' and 'Avatar', both of which Villeneuve in turn seems inspired by in this film. There are numerous references to a wide scope of socio-economic and religious themes which are clearly a large part of the book series and will play a key part in future sequels. Despite this, the film never feels like it was made just to set up future instalments, and works perfectly as a standalone adventure that holds up on its own two feet yet also hints at expanded possibilities. The enigmatic and formidable Bene Gesserit sisterhood, for example, to which Paul's mother belongs (a perfectly cast Rebecca Ferguson exudes a commanding frosty power that, whilst often unspoken, frequently explodes in awe-inspiring outbursts of 'The Voice'), are sure to be an intriguing group to develop further.
Themes of colonialism run through the film, and House Atreides actively seeks to distance itself from the brutal Harkonnens (personified gloriously by the Baron's ghoulish apparatchiks and especially Dave Bautista, who imbues his barely sane militaristic Harkonnen lieutenant 'Beast' Rabban with unrestrained violent fury) by seeking an unprecedented alliance with the mysterious Fremen and their vast untapped potential. The character of Chani is our main insight into the Fremen, played by an ethereal Zendaya who is scarcely spotted over the course of this film outside of prophetic dreams and enthralling flash-forwards. Further snippets are revealed through peeks of Javier Bardem's character and unique cultural curiosities such as the hypnotic 'sand walk', by which the Fremen traverse the planet's treacherous sands without disturbing the mighty sandworms.
The only complaint I could have is that we do not get more time to spend with these characters, including Jason Momoa's effortlessly cool and gloriously named Atreides fighter Duncan Idaho. Moreover, any film which ends halfway through its source book's story will feel inevitably hamstrung by its need for future development. But it's a pretty nice problem to have if my immediate reaction to the film ending is that I just couldn't wait to see it continue. Bring on the sequels, and if they maintain the high standards set by this first instalment, we have a top-notch movie series unfolding here.
Breathtakingly bold and jaw-droppingly immersive, ‘Dune’ succeeds on all fronts as Denis Villeneuve achieves pure cinematic escapism through expertly crafted storytelling. 95/100