“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
What a powerful quote. I have been talking about Dune to everyone I know for months and it's finally here. And boy, was it worth the wait. Typically, I'll take notes in the theater while watching so I can remember key points to write about later. I only wrote one note for Dune and all it said was "freaking awesome." The highly anticipated film from director Denis Villeneuve is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel. Set many years in the future, the story revolves around Paul Atreides, a gifted young man with a great destiny far beyond his understanding. Paul must travel with his family to Arrakis, the Dune planet, to ensure the future of his family. While there, conflict explodes between House Atreides and their sworn enemies, House Harkonnen, over the precious spice that is mined from the sand of Arrakis. Only by conquering fear can one survive.
My word, even that synopsis sounds awesome. Dune is visually stunning. It's breathtaking how gorgeous this movie is. I'm convinced that Villeneuve somehow went to the future and filmed this, the cinematography is THAT GOOD. The shots of space, the sand dunes of Arrakis, the shots of Caladan, the action sequences... everything technical about this film was flawless. I know it's tempting to watch Dune at home on HBO Max but please, PLEASE, do yourself a favor and go see it on the big screen. I promise it's worth it. It's nothing new for Denis Villeneuve to deliver some brilliant visuals. This is the man behind Arrival, Prisoners, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, which is, in my opinion, a perfect movie. Denis Villeneuve is the best director working right now and he will, without a doubt, go down as one of the best to ever do it when it's all said and done. Couple Villeneuve's directing skills with Hans Zimmer blasting a flawless soundtrack in your ears and you're in for an epic 2.5 hours in the theater.
I haven't even touched on the cast of Dune yet. Timothee Chalamet (Paul), Jason Momoa (Duncan Idaho), Oscar Isaac (Duke Leto Atreides), Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), and Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck) make up House Atreides while Stellan Skarsgard (Baron Harkonnen), Dave Bautista (Rabban), and David Dastmalchian (Piter) play the big baddies. Zendaya (Chani) and Javier Bardem (Stilgar) play a smaller role in Dune: Part One, but make no mistake - they will be essential to Part Two. The star power Dune has is almost unfair. It's really hard to single out one performance from this star studded ensemble because they all acted their butts off. Chalamet was born to play Paul Atreides and Skarsgard was absolutely disgusting as the Baron. They were both exactly what I imagined when I read the book. Momoa was so cool as Duncan Idaho. Idaho is a badass in the book, but has very little page time. Momoa made him even cooler on screen. If I had to pick one performance as my favorite, it would be Rebecca Ferguson. Her portrayal of Lady Jessica was flawless and I loved the relationship between her and Paul.
I'm not going to delve into the political or religious or weird sci-fi intricacies of the Dune plot because I don't want to spoil anything. I've read the book and it's dense, I won't lie. There's new strange words and just some wild stuff, but you don't have to read it to see Dune - if you're paying attention. I think Villeneuve did a really good job of balancing out staying faithful to the source material while making it understandable for those that have not dove into the book. It wouldn't hurt to read a bit of the lore about Dune, but it's not a necessity. Part One covers about half the book and it will feel weird when the movie ends, because it just abruptly stops after proceeding at a breakneck pace. But remember what Zendaya's Chani tells Paul - "This is only the beginning." Part Two seems to be nearly confirmed at this point, and a successful opening weekend helps a lot. I do wish the characters had been fleshed out a little more for watchers and part of me wonders if Dune wouldn't work better as an HBO series like Game of Thrones so that could happen over multiple episodes instead of one 2.5 hour block, but I will never complain about this cinematic masterpiece. It's the best movie I've seen this year. Big, beautiful, and bold. Not to mention the giant killer sandworms.
Dune is without a doubt the best movie I have seen this year, but another really good one I saw last week was The Last Duel, starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, and Adam Driver. Director Ridley Scott's historical drama about the very last trial by combat in France was really awesome. Jodie Comer is a rising star. The costume and sets looked amazing, even if blonde Ben Affleck is shocking. I also watched Halloween Kills and boy, it stinks. Jamie Lee Curtis doesn't even get out of the bed the whole movie. Go see Dune. You won't regret it. I want to talk about it with everyone I know. It's amazing. Villeneuve has laid the groundwork. He has built up this incredible world and characters and he's already said to be prepared for action in Part Two. Dune has the potential to be the next big thing, akin to Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. I can't wait for what's to come.
Fear is the mind-killer.
- BH
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