Dune

Dune came to the film industry at the right time to support struggling movie theaters and generate interest in grand epic spectacles primarily designed for the big screen. For this category, the choice of the Canadian visionary as director is ideal, and it must be noted that Denis (not only) fulfilled expectations to a T. The film looks and does not function exactly as I anticipated. My relationship with the source material was shaped by my encounter with Lynch's Dune, which was very problematic even during filming and now, years later, looks painfully tacky and ridiculous. The motif of almost half-kilometer-long worms traversing the sand dunes and devouring giant mining machines is unbearable to me in any refined presentation, and above all, I generally do not have a liking for fantasy combined with caricature of the sci-fi genre. Spaceships and intricate machines combined with mysticism and magic, which infected and devalued a significant part of the sci-fi genre, irritate me, and I see the origin of this degeneration precisely in Dune. Unfortunately, I cannot praise Herbert for that. It is true that Dune is not Star Wars, at least not in the sense that the SW world is intended for a childlike and childish audience, whereas Dune aims to appeal primarily to more mature teenagers. But thanks to Villeneuve's top craftsmanship, it is possible to consider it the ideal family entertainment of the present. As I mentioned before, when a screenwriter presents me with a "voice" or "power," I turn the other way. I do not like the use of religious motifs such as the coming of the Savior. Additionally, Dune is clearly influenced by Islamic apocalypticism. My last complaint is that I do not like the cinematic world where elite super-fighters are attacked only to be subsequently massacred in personal combat by a hero who, mind you, is an ultra-super-cool fighter. So why the weak 4-star rating? Because I appreciate Villeneuve's ability to create monumental images and an equally monumental soundtrack, and I am a big fan of Villeneuve. Because I understand that world cinema needed Dune. Because going to the cinema this time was a social event for me in the form of having my daughter with me, whose enchantment with the film has somewhat transferred onto me. Overall impression: 70%, with the understanding that I will not be present for the sequel to Dune. It has nothing more to offer me, nor does it have anything to surprise me with. (07/11/2021)

This was an EXPERIENCE. Once every few years you sit down in a movie theater, and thanks to the subject matter you somehow know what to expect. Yet after a few minutes, all your ideas start to fall apart because everything that happens on the screen inevitably keeps you enthralled for 155 minutes. Not a single part of the film is wasted, the synthesis of image and sound is at its peak, and the gigantic spaceships amaze as much as the intimate story of the young messiah makes you shiver. The people who believed in it at Warner Brothers, and slapped that insane budget on it, are my personal heroes of the capitalist gamble of the movie business. Any objective criticism is beyond me. Along with Interstellar, I place Dune on the pedestal of the best science fiction of the 21st century. (11/01/2022)

It’s not without flaws, but euphoria prevails nonetheless. It’s a soulful epic and a surprisingly moving story about overcoming fear of oneself and the unknown. The distant future could hardly be more realistic and strangely intimate. The figures came out well, and Villeneuve overcomes the hollow mannerisms of Blade Runner and serves up images with sweat and blood. Duncan Idaho has finally replaced Aragorn in my heart. At several moments the film evoked exactly the same intense feelings as the book. However, it stands on its own sturdy legs as a film. I'd watch the sequel immediately... (18/10/2021)

Spaceships galore, but bringing a little water from Norway to the planet in gratitude for spices…just no! As a non-reader of the book, I enjoyed the second viewing more, at least the first half of the half-film. The second, “desert” half, however, was more drawn out in its dreaminess taken to the point of would-be profundity. A key question: If there were no books and only this screenplay existed, would there have been any reason at all to film it, especially in such an expensive production? Besides cool giant worms, what would it bring to today’s world of cinematic sci-fi? Furthermore, if visual splendour without emotion and with phrases having no connection to the philosophical questions of real human life is considered to be art today, I want to go back to 2001-2003, when spectacular cinematic journeys into fantasy worlds based on books could make me cry and fall in love with their characters. I’m giving this a purely IMAX fourth star for the excellent cast, for which this project had been waiting perhaps as much as for the creative visionary Villeneuve, for the display of costumes and make-up par excellence (Skarsgård!) and for the film’s breathtaking audio-visual immensity, boosted by the “heavier” Zimmer. After I listened to it in the car for the first time, I was sure it wouldn’t be the last. It wasn't, and I'm looking forward to hearing the track “Leaving Caladan” on Zimmer’s upcoming concert tour! (20/10/2021)

I didn't think that I would end up agreeing with the more reserved reviews of Villeneuve's Dune (it was by far the most anticipated film of the year for me too). After all the colourful crappy blockbusters from Disney, Marvel and Netflix, it's really refreshing to see something expensive and adult in the cinema that doesn't try to pander to stupid teenagers. Dune is also definitely well made in terms of craftmanship, visual effects, and production design; there is no question that this is an exceptionally refined work in terms of aesthetics – looking at those paintings is a treat, even if their beauty is quite austere. And yet, I can’t bring myself to be thrilled. The first half still offered hopes of it with the introduction of the space politics, the various secret plans and intrigues, which had me reliably hooked and looking forward to seeing how it all would build up. But in the second half we suddenly end up looking into the desert and the film lost me. And that’s probably due to the fact that it failed to establish any kind of bond with the characters; they are all so cold; I just couldn’t enjoy it, even with Chalamet, whom I otherwise like a lot. The character played by Jason Momoa is apparently supposed to serve as the "heart of the film", but we don't really get to know him at all! His relationship with Chalamet is built purely on the basis of a few friendly hugs, otherwise, we don't get know anything about him because we haven’t gone through anything with them. And that's how it is with everybody, and it's hard to develop an emotional bond with them. The only thing you can potentially grasp in the first Dune are emotions, because the "plot" manages to start but doesn't come to anything ("It begins" is a really fitting slogan for the poster). But action is not one of Villeneuve’s strengths. (21/10/2021)