It says something about the movie industry when there is only one movie that even remotely interests me. That there is only one movie that I’ve seen in the last few years that even remotely got me invested. That movie was Dune, by Denis Villeneuve. This guy is one of my favorite directors, right now. He made the film Sicario, telling probably the most depressing story about law enforcement and the drug war. He also made Arrival, which is easily the smartest science fiction film I’ve ever seen. The he comes out with arguably the greatest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction series, Dune.
The first film wasn’t perfect. It had its flaws. The biggest one being that it goes from hella quiet to overly loud in a microsecond. Plus, it totally nixed the scene of the party, where the Emperor sends his daughter as a token of his affection for House Atreides, which it turns out is a ruse as he was sending his Sar’Dakar killers with the Baron Harkonnen Plus, we didn’t see Fayde, the youngest nephew of the Baron, who is an integral part of the story. Would also have loved to see what their version of the Navigators looked like. Still, it was a fantastic movie that did so much justice to the book series it is based off of.
As you might imagine, I was pretty hyped to see where the next chapter goes. The last film ended with Paul and his mother meeting up with the Fremen, and headed toward an unknown future. It appears this film picks up where that one left off. Let’s take a look, then we’ll break it down.
We begin with seeing Paul and Chani on a sand dune, doing small talk. I like Timothee Chalet as Paul, but Zendaya…I don’t know. From what I hear, she’s quite nice as a person. Apparently there isn’t a single progressive cause that she doesn’t endorse. But I can’t take her seriously as an actress. I blame the fact that my first exposure to her was Spider-Man: Homecoming, and she was insufferable in that movie. Ever since, every time I have seen her in anything, her emotions feel so forced. I was REALLY hoping that if anyone could pull a good performance out of her, it would be Denis Villenueve, but it looks like she is just not that gal. Her emoting feels so forced. Not once does anything she says register.
We then have a scene of a woman being carried by the Fremen. I’m guessing that is the Reverend Mother. Or Lady Jessica when she takes the position. It is being narrated by some blonde chick. Is this the Emperor’s daughter? Color me curious. There is the burning of House Atreides stuff, with Lady Jessica saying that Leto didn’t believe in revenge. Well, he’s not Paul, and someone has to make House Harkonnen pay. The blonde girl asks the obvious question, which seems a little forced. It’s nice to see Gurney Hallack back in the film. I knew he hadn’t died because this film is following the plot of the book.
There are a few things that caught my eye. First, we have the Baron and his excessively pale nephews. Okay. There is the blonde chick going somewhere. I can hope it is to the Baron’s homeworld, as per the book, she goes there for the nephew’s birthday party as a means to get information. We also see a glass thing filled with water. Is that the Water of Life?! I’m hopeful. Though, how would they get it into such a container? The Water of Life is harvested from a baby Worm, which they drown and then the water that comes from it is what it is made up of. This trailer is good in asking more questions than giving answers. I like it.
Seeing Paul get on his first Worm is pretty awesome. I’m with the Fremen, that’s pretty sick. The line that Stilgar gives him is straight from the books, which is awesome. So many little ways that Villeneuve shows that he cares about the source material. Such a rare thing, these days. From there, we have a montage of scenes, which makes me think of the books. We have the blonde chick watching the pale young man fighting someone. I’m thinking that this is the scene of the nephew’s birthday, straight out of the books, where he fights a slave. There is a squadron of Thopters in formation. I’m curious if they are Fremen or Harkonnen. We also see Stilgar looking visibly disturbed when Paul has wrangled the Worm. Again, from the books, Paul is seen as a leader of the Fremen. But this means that he would potentially have to take out Stilgar as a challenge to his leadership. The riding of the Worm is the last major test of his strength. These little details go so far with me.
I love that the tagline for this film is “Long live the fighters.” Again, straight out of the books. Long live the fighters of Mua’Dib! Fuck yeah! These little things go so far with me. We close out with Paul rallying the Fremen and the classic line – May thy knife chip and shatter.
Overall, this looks awesome. It definitely does make me wonder if they are trying to condense this down to two films, or if they are going for a full trilogy. I hope the latter, because this is a BIG story, and I would love if these films took the time needed to make this whole story as epic as it deserves. But this looks like a fantastic chapter in the saga, and I’m stoked for when it is out of theaters and I can watch it at home, where me and mine can pause and have our own tasty food.
Initial Verdict
Cannot wait
Peace out,
Maverick
Lucien Maverick's Den 