Dune Review

Denis Villeneuve's Dune has all the makings of a movie that can break the box office, please critics, and spawn an outrageous legion of fans that spread to every corner of the internet. But it is Denis Villeneuve himself who puts a brake on the show, to treat Frank Herbert's work with extreme care. Villeneuve steers clear of unbridled action and the creation of space heroes, opting instead to narrate the genesis of a saga as ambitious as the vast number of works he has inspired since the 1960s.

Dune is science fiction in its purest form. Dune brought Star Wars and Star Trek to life , and its most basic concepts have been explored through works as recent as Game of Thrones and as complex and exciting as Mass Effect . Dune is a sacred cow. If you thought the sequel to Blade Runner was something complicated and untouchable, Dune could be up to ten times more delicate. Fortunately, Denis Villeneuve has earned enough trust from the film industry that he's been handed the keys to an entire kingdom .

Knowing the responsibility that has fallen into his hands, Villeneuve bets on his instinct and decides to deliver a small sample of this universe. The director takes his time to explain the conflict that surrounds his protagonists, led by Timothée Chalamet in the role of Paul Atreides, accompanied by several box office giants in recent years such as Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem.

Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) is sent to lead Arrakis, a planet covered by a hostile desert, but which is also the only place where you can get the spice, a substance that serves both to enhance special trips, and to expand the human life. Despite his doubts, Leto accepts the mission, surrounding himself with his most trusted men, but with a view to fulfilling a very different goal, finding the power of the desert .

So important is laying the groundwork, explaining the conflict, and defining the direction of the story, that the film completely sacrifices the action and pacing that audiences may be used to. For several moments silence takes over the room, while we observe the gigantic constructions and the majesty of the spaceships or the armies that we hope to see in action. When the silence is broken our connection with the characters is in the air, waiting to land, but without a clear opportunity to establish a bond with Leto Atreides or Lady Jessica (Rebeca Fergusson), to name a few.

Despite exceeding two and a half hours, the character development is cold, and at first the only thing we can cling to is the most familiar element: a hero born by fate, a chosen one, a messiah . Paul Atreides helps us stay in the story, as we process the names of the houses, their connections, the betrayals and the characters that appear on screen.

It's not particularly complicated, but before you begin to recognize the characters, Dune invites you into the expanse of her universe, she becomes contemplative and in no hurry to get to the most exciting moments. Even when the battle claims the lives of hundreds of warriors and flames erupt in front of our heroes, the pace doesn't pick up. The action feels distant, impressive yes, but without the epicness that the conflict between several space kingdoms could give off.

To this we must add the fact that the structure of the story depends on the dreams that Paul has throughout the entire film, which have connected him with Arrakis, and with a mysterious woman, long before he has even put one foot on the planet Past and future, uncertainty about the course chosen, and a lot of questions only further complicate the plot, without the answers being a priority at this time. Does the story work then? Yes, as long as you accept that you're not looking at the new Star Wars , or even a Lord of the Rings . Dune is something new, and one that demands to be explored with the same care with which it is being produced .

Dune is a visual spectacle worthy of an IMAX screen, with gorgeous photography (Greig Fraser), impeccable performances, a colossal cast, brilliant music by Hanz Zimmer, and a nuanced setting, unimaginable structures, and extraordinary locations. Finding ourselves with this show after the months that we were away from the cinema is to be appreciated, and it shows both the budget that Warner Bros. injected into the project, as well as the skills of the director to handle both special effects, as well as a cast that some of the names most popular of the moment.

Although of course, Dune is also a complicated film. It is not easy to sit for more than two hours waiting for an "epic" moment, which seems to be worked on for a large part of the film, and which in the end is only the true beginning of the hero's journey. It seems that the combination of elements that make up Dune does not respond to what we might expect in the hands of other directors. It is Villeneuve that makes the mix not end in space explosions, and with Dave Bautista fighting Jason Momoa with the theme of Batman in the background. Villeneuve is very clear about his priorities and Warner gave him full permission to do whatever he wanted .

If you were predisposed to love Dune because of the director's choice, his previous works or the fascination with the novel, surely there will be little conflict when it comes to giving the film a chance, surrendering to its rhythm and accepting that you are only at the beginning. of the saga. If you arrive at the cinema to ask which one starts in 10 minutes… it is very likely that you will find a torture of more than two and a half hours , which could even make you leave the room without having passed the first half.

The good

• Denis Villeneuve free to do what he wants
• Enjoy it in IMAX
• Special effects, photography and the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer
• Good adaptation of the original work
• Is there a chance for a sequel?

The bad

• The sequel depends on the box office
• A slow pace that can be torturous
• IMAX con 3D

Denis Villeneuve made his version of Dune and that implies that there are sacrifices in favor of a vision that respects the original work, but whose nature makes it impossible for it to be accepted by the majority of the audience. I don't even think it will reach a point of division among the respectable, because if in its first week on the billboard it doesn't become a phenomenon, I very much doubt that it can rescue an audience over time. Dune may be beautifully executed, but it's not meant to be a show, and that could cost it its future .