# First review of Dune is in



## Mon0Zer0 (Sep 3, 2021)

‘Dune’ Review: Denis Villeneuve’s Epic Spice Opera Is a Massive Disappointment
					

Hype is the mind-killer.




					www.indiewire.com
				




Not too complimentary, either. I still have hopes for it, though.


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## sule (Sep 3, 2021)

Dune
					

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the...




					www.rottentomatoes.com
				




It seems Indiewire is more critical of the film than others, at least according to RT.


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## Vince W (Sep 3, 2021)

I'll wait to see it myself before reading any reviews.


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## J-Sun (Sep 3, 2021)

*NB*: People who don't want to read the reviews should skip my post, which is mostly a couple of quotes.

Favorite line from the original review: "the cinematic equivalent of being handed a novelty-sized check made out for six dollars".

On the other hand, I don't think this guy at RT was listening to himself: "Dune is science fiction at its best. Denis Villeneuve has created one of the best fantasy features since Peter Jackson's journey into Middle Earth."

The theory of relativity is science at its best. Einstein has created one of the best magic spells since Newton's journey into alchemy.


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## hitmouse (Sep 3, 2021)

The Guardian loves it.


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## BAYLOR (Sep 3, 2021)

I make it a point to ignore the critics


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## Rodders (Sep 4, 2021)

I sometimes get the impression that critics cannot possible enjoy the movies they watch as they're so busy looking for things to pick up, they don't look for things to enjoy. Their words are tosh and i still very much looking forward to this.


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## BAYLOR (Sep 4, 2021)

Rodders said:


> I sometimes get the impression that critics cannot possible enjoy the movies they watch as they're so busy looking for things to pick up, they don't look for things to enjoy. Their words are tosh and i still very much looking forward to this.



It will do good box office and we will get part 2 .


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## Foxbat (Sep 4, 2021)

I don't normally buy it but Total Film magazine has a 20 page spread this month on the making of Dune. I've only skimmed through it for now but  it fills me with hope that this movie will be worth watching


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## BAYLOR (Sep 4, 2021)

Foxbat said:


> I don't normally buy it but Total Film magazine has a 20 page spread this month on the making of Dune. I've only skimmed through it for now but  it fills me with hope that this movie will be worth watching



So far,  its scoring  well on Rotten Tomatoes . That tends to be a good sign.


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## Mon0Zer0 (Sep 4, 2021)

Rodders said:


> I sometimes get the impression that critics cannot possible enjoy the movies they watch as they're so busy looking for things to pick up, they don't look for things to enjoy. Their words are tosh and i still very much looking forward to this.



I wish critics would talk about the craft a bit more, and less about everything else.


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## Jo Zebedee (Sep 4, 2021)

hitmouse said:


> The Guardian loves it.


Was just about to say this!


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## hitmouse (Sep 4, 2021)

BAYLOR said:


> So far,  its scoring  well on Rotten Tomatoes . That tends to be a good sign.


I thought you said you make a point of ignoring the critics! (See your 11.21)


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## Tanith (Sep 4, 2021)

Mon0Zer0 said:


> ‘Dune’ Review: Denis Villeneuve’s Epic Spice Opera Is a Massive Disappointment
> 
> 
> Hype is the mind-killer.
> ...


The trailers I've seen look rather promising. I see that reviewer managed to work in a swipe at the "Star Wars" franchise so space opera (which I've never really considered _Dune_ to be) is definitely not his thing.


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## BAYLOR (Sep 4, 2021)

hitmouse said:


> I thought you said you make a point of ignoring the critics! (See your 11.21)


Okay, once in while , I do glance at what the critics say  . But it's only a glance.


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## Parson (Sep 5, 2021)

From what I've read it sounds like the movie was ambitious, subtle, and with a lot of character development. That description doesn't sound like the kind of movie which would appeal to the "Marvel" side of the S.F. fans. --- If that's so, it's hard to see it doing really well.


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## Elckerlyc (Sep 5, 2021)

Parson said:


> From what I've read it sounds like the movie was ambitious, subtle, and with a lot of character development. That description doesn't sound like the kind of movie which would appeal to the "Marvel" side of the S.F. fans. --- If that's so, it's hard to see it doing really well.



Added to the 'ambition, subtlety and character development' is that this is Part One. I read in reviews that before the story really gets going the end credits suddenly starts rolling across the silver screen, after 150 mins. Sounds like Ambitious with a Capital, but will leave you with an unsatisfied, hungry feeling. Which could be a problem if disappointing box office figures bars the making of Part Two. 
Still, Part One seems to be jaw dropping and I want to see it! Even if there never comes a Part Two. We've been waiting far too long for a seriously good adaptation of Dune. According to most of the critics this is ambitiously good.

(And I don care what Marvel fans think of it)


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## BAYLOR (Sep 5, 2021)

Elckerlyc said:


> Added to the 'ambition, subtlety and character development' is that this is Part One. I read in reviews that before the story really gets going the end credits suddenly starts rolling across the silver screen, after 150 mins. Sounds like Ambitious with a Capital, but will leave you with an unsatisfied, hungry feeling. Which could be a problem if disappointing box office figures bars the making of Part Two.
> Still, Part One seems to be jaw dropping and I want to see it! Even if there never comes a Part Two. We've been waiting far too long for a seriously good adaptation of Dune. According to most of the critics this is ambitiously good.
> 
> (And I don care what Marvel fans think of it)



Hopefully , they do part 2.


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## Vladd67 (Sep 5, 2021)

BAYLOR said:


> So far,  its scoring  well on Rotten Tomatoes . That tends to be a good sign.


When you say it is doing well, is that by critics' score or the publics' score?


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## Judderman (May 23, 2022)

I watched Dune last week and was very pleasantly surprised. Beautiful scenes and cool spaceships. Plus importantly some great acting and the story was not butchered. Some characters are a bit shallowly drawn but that is the way with converting long books to films. There are few moments of mortal concern for our hero but there is some drama there. Recommended!


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## BAYLOR (May 23, 2022)

Vladd67 said:


> When you say it is doing well, is that by critics' score or the publics' score?



movie goes like it and , it was huge hit.


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## Judderman (May 23, 2022)

Yep, critics positive overall. And the public definitely is.


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## FirsttotheBlood (Jul 7, 2022)

It felt to me like half of this movie was edited from the screen.   Too many clipped scenes with A-list actors.


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## paeng (Jul 8, 2022)

I think it's one of those works that does better as a mini-series.


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## Pyan (Jul 8, 2022)

I think I must have a 180° mind - I seem to enjoy just about everything critics don't...

Mind you:


> *A critic is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men.  *
> _Robert A Heinlein._


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## paranoid marvin (Jul 11, 2022)

Ok , after (eventually) getting over the fact that this isn't David Lynch's Dune, I watched the second third of the movie. And it's not bad. It's _still _not as aesthetically pleasing as the original, and (surprisingly) Lynch's film does explain and show some scenes much better - the new movie for example doesn't really make it clear what was stopping the Harkonnen from attacking, or who and why this was rectified.

To a large extent, the movie seems to be almost a shot-by-shot remake of Lynch's movie. Now I know that they are both based on the same novel, and events occur in a specific order, but it's almost as if the new movie is based on the old movie rather than on the book.

It does have its own style, and as I've mentioned elsewhere the ornithopters are very cool. I don't buy that _everyone _uses swords/sharp weapons, and I'm sure originally the troopers (esp the Saudaukar) used laser weapons. The use of so many swords, and all the unrealistic jumping about waving them, just doesn't seem to ring true when you have laser cannons bringing down spacecraft. 

I've yet to watch the final third section, and if I hadn't seen David Lynch's Dune, I would probably say that it was a pretty good movie. But the simple fact is that this movie makes DL's movie seem even better than it has any right to. In fact if the enormous budge for this remake had been used to tidy up the original movie, along with some added cut scenes and some serious editing time, we could have been looking at the definitive Dune movie.


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## Le Panda du Mal (Jul 11, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> It does have its own style, and as I've mentioned elsewhere the ornithopters are very cool. I don't buy that _everyone _uses swords/sharp weapons, and I'm sure originally the troopers (esp the Saudaukar) used laser weapons.



In the book laser weapons (lasguns) are used sparingly by all factions, because a) shields are common now, and a lasgun beam hitting a shield creates a nuclear explosion and b) the lasguns themselves are unreliable for reasons I forget.  A) is not as much of a problem when shooting at spacecraft. 

I found the Sardaukar appearance a disappointment in the Villeneuve film- their costumes looked like baggy, drab fencing outfits to me. David Lynch's black hazmat suits weren't exactly a triumph either but at least they seemed moderately intimidating. Come to think of it,  I also prefer the flamboyant uniforms of the 2000 miniseries. That said, the ritual on Salusa Secundus is one of my favorite parts of the movie.

Overall, there were some good designs in the new film but it leans heavy on the muted colors and greys that seem all the rage in scifi now, and I much prefer the baroque aesthetic of the Lynch film (or even the aesthetic of the 2000 miniseries) and I think it's a better fit for the world of Dune. 

One other criticism of the new movie is that, while the Baron was well-played generally, he is given some dumb lines, like when Rabban asks him what to do about the Fremen and the Baron stupidly utters "kill them all." This makes the Baron out to be some cookie-cutter mwahaha villain, and is nonsensical in light of his actual plan which is to have Rabban exploit the Fremen for slave labor, and treat them so badly, so that Feyd can come in later as their savior and win their loyalty by being nicer than his brother.


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## paranoid marvin (Jul 11, 2022)

Le Panda du Mal said:


> In the book laser weapons (lasguns) are used sparingly by all factions, because a) shields are common now, and a lasgun beam hitting a shield creates a nuclear explosion and b) the lasguns themselves are unreliable for reasons I forget.  A) is not as much of a problem when shooting at spacecraft.
> 
> I found the Sardaukar appearance a disappointment in the Villeneuve film- their costumes looked like baggy, drab fencing outfits to me. David Lynch's black hazmat suits weren't exactly a triumph either but at least they seemed moderately intimidating. Come to think of it,  I also prefer the flamboyant uniforms of the 2000 miniseries. That said, the ritual on Salusa Secundus is one of my favorite parts of the movie.
> 
> ...




The Baron was far more menacing in the Lynch movie, and his 'floaty' bits looked far more realistic. 

I didn't realise that about the lasers and shields, so thanks for pointing it out. It's been quite some time since I read the books.


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## Le Panda du Mal (Jul 11, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> The Baron was far more menacing in the Lynch movie, and his 'floaty' bits looked far more realistic.



In his grotesqueness I think Lynch's Baron was definitely the most Lynchian part of the film. He would get along with Frank Booth (but probably stab him in the back anyway). Frank Herbert's Harkonnens are not nice people by any stretch but they do seem to occasionally enjoy some of the finer things on their planet (e.g. gardens, art) and the Baron comes across as having a more subtle intellect. Actually I think this is where Villeneuve shows the most influence from Lynch's film versus from the book.


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## FirsttotheBlood (Jul 24, 2022)

paranoid marvin said:


> The Baron was far more menacing in the Lynch movie, and his 'floaty' bits looked far more realistic.
> 
> I didn't realise that about the lasers and shields, so thanks for pointing it out. It's been quite some time since I read the books.


Lynch's Baron had borderline pedophile vibes.


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## Judderman (Jul 26, 2022)

To me this is better than Lynch’s version. Less of a messy watch. But comparing films from decades apart isn’t always fair. The previous version needed to be directed by a visionary and was.


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## SilentRoamer (Jul 26, 2022)

FirsttotheBlood said:


> Lynch's Baron had borderline pedophile vibes.



This is true to the books. The Baron had a sexual appetite for children and the power to provide an endless supply of victims - whom he he also killed.


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## SilentRoamer (Jul 26, 2022)

I watched this and thought it was excellent. The visuals, the casting, the music score. My only criticism was the gender changing of Liet Kynes, which seemed pointless.

The ornithopters were great, the Fremen were visually satisfying. I just all around enjoyed the experience and am really excited for part 2.


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