Dune [2021]

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings obliteration. I will face my fear and I will permit it to pass over me and through me."

If I happen to mention that I've seen a new film on social media there's a good chance that a friend from work will share their opinion on it. Her taste is somewhat questionable- for example, she said she was excited for The Suicide Squad [2021] because she had "liked the first one". To my horror she didn't think much of Dune so I'm going to use this review to explain why she is wrong. 

"I think it was too slow". OK, I don't disagree that this is not a fast paced film. It has a lot of heavy lifting to do as it has to build the world of Frank Herbert's dense novel as well as explain the politics and introduce the characters. It's under no illusion that this is only the beginning of the story- it has the subtitle "Part One" on it's title card. But too slow? No, not at all. 

I felt like Denis Villeneuve has done a superb job at bringing Dune to life. Part of the way the film hooks you in is my impressing you. This is perhaps the most beautiful sci-fi ever made. The spaceships and sand worms look incredible and there's real attention paid to the sense of scale- these are enormous things with tiny people below them. But it's also shot beautifully and artistically, cleverly blending the landscapes in the UAE with computer-generated imagery. The design work is also excellent, with technology carefully made to look familiar to use yet somehow alien at the same time and the costumes subtly telling us which group each character is part of. 

The other thing Villeneuve attempts to do is get Dune under the skin like the sand on Arrakis. His world-building is done really well, explaining the situation without ever shoving us full of exposition. To so elegantly establish the politics and characters of Herbert's novel is a huge achievement. It could have been a confused series of characters explaining the setup for an hour but it's far more than that and if you're anything like me you get sucked in. 

"I saw the film with Star Wars in mind". I can see why you would as Star Wars was heavily inspired by Dune and therefore the visuals are not dissimilar. They are very different beasts and Dune doesn't feel like your normal blockbuster. As much as I love comic book movies I fear they've shifted the expectation of what a big sci-fi film should be and some members of the audience go in expecting a silly romp. Dune though takes itself really seriously and has a level of intelligence that most blockbusters wouldn't dare go near. 

Though Dune is science-fiction it's technology is deliberately toned down. This isn't really a story about different planets, it's a story about people. I loved Paul's journey in this film as he went from an awkward Prince who nobody thinks a great deal of to a true hero who is determined to change the world for the better. The film also has fascinating politics that can easily be connected to events in the real world and feel no less relevant than when the story was originally published in 1965. This isn't a fun romp, it's full of themes that leave you thinking and relating to the real world. 

My friend's comments suggest this film isn't for everyone, though it is hard to come to terms with that when you think it's fantastic. I love Denis Villeneuve's films and it has felt for a while like he has been building to something. It turns out that something is Dune, his magnum opus, of which this is only the beginning. Personally I cannot wait to see the rest!