Dune Review: The Muad’Dib of the Dune Franchise

By Noah Lugani
Nov. 22, 2021

Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) looking to the horizon (James).
Rating: 9/10

The vast and baron spice desert. The repulsive yet ruthless Vladimir Harkonnen. The
sandworms, big enough to shake an entire planet as they move under the sand of Arrakis.
Villeneuve’s Dune truly brings Frank Herbert’s original story to life through its spectacular
special effects and compelling performances from stars such as Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca
Ferguson, and Stellan Skarsgard. Though it has received some mixed reviews for its lengthy
nature, Denis Villeneuve’s part 1 of Dune seems to lay the groundwork for the frighteningly
complex and intricate world that Herbert intended.

First published in 1965, Frank Herbert’s novel Dune details the struggles of a future civilization
to control natural resources on an extremely arid planet. Though it can be read as a simple
adventure story, there are several layers to the book such as environmentalism, philosophy,
religion, etc. that give it a uniquely realistic take and have allowed it to develop into one of the
greatest science fiction works of all time.

Since, several directors have tried to capture the overwhelming complexity of Herbert’s world on
the big screen. However, none have quite hit the mark. David Lynch’s Dune (1984) ended up
losing $14 million and was “savaged by critics; Robert Ebert call[ed] it, ‘the worst move of the
year’”. Then twelve years later, Richard P. Rubinstein put out one of the only generally
successful adaptations of Dune in his TV-mini-series Dune and Children of Dune; however, the
series lack of special effects made it difficult to really capture the realism of Herbert’s Dune.
“Ironically… the most critically successful film associated with Dune” is Jordorowsky’s Dune, a
documentary recounting Alejandro Jordorowsky’s failed attempt at a production. Not even
noting all the other attempts at Herbert’s Dune that didn’t even make it to the screen, it is clear
that Dune is an unusually tricky piece to fully capture. So, when Villeneuve was hired to direct a
new adaptation of Dune in 2017, many were unsure about how the film would turn out. Luckily,
Villeneuve’s Dune proved to be a success. Within less than two weeks after it’s October 22 nd
release date it passed $300 million in earnings worldwide. It has been described by Alison
Wilmore as a “sumptuous and strange new take on Herbert’s source material” and by Dani D.
Placido as “the most exciting block buster franchise since Lord of the Rings”.

The special effects alone make it astonishing. Villeneuve has always taken a very realistic
approach in the scenes he creates, and Dune is certainly no different. Throughout the film he is
very restrained with his use of lighting in scenes such as the battle between House Atreides and
the Harkonnen to develop an imperfect, and thus more naturalistic representation of Dune.
Villeneuve takes this effort even further in creating a genuine environment for Arrakis. Most of
the scenes we see depicting the baren landscape of Arrakis were actually shot in the deserts of
Jordan. Villeneuve also made frequent use of a recent innovation called sand screens to bring
that realistic lighting and grainy tones to scenes that required too much CGI to be filmed in the
desert. However, these authentic depictions of Arrakis, are certainly overshadowed by the jaw-
dropping scale of Dune’s starships and sandworms. By frequently shooting scenes with these
figures from the perspective of observing characters, Villeneuve really makes the audience feel
their gargantuan nature. The genuine possibility of Hebert’s Dune was one of the reasons it was
so intriguing, and through this expert use of special effects Villeneuve creates a truly convincing
presentation of Dune in a way that no other adaptation has.

Then you add in the remarkable performances by Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Stellan
Skarsgard, to name a few, and the movie becomes a masterpiece. Timothee Chalamet’s ability to
genuinely convey the confused and angst-ridden character of Paul Atreides in scenes, such as
Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) performing the Gom Jabbar test on him, is truly
impressive. Stellan Skarsgard also gave a fantastic performance as the cruel and cunning
Vladimir Harkonnen. In past Dunes this character had been overdone and often came off as a
sort of caricature villain, so Skarsgard’s portrayal was especially well done. And despite not
having very much screen time, Zendaya does an excellent job with the few scenes she has
drawing the audience to her character, Chani, and getting them excited for her bigger role in
Dune: Part II.

However, despite Dune’s eerily lifelike effects and compelling acting, some critics such as Owen
Glieberman have still given it negative reviews, saying, “the story loses its pulse”. To me this
take seems a little bit stiff. While the story may be a little long, this should be understandable
considering Herbert’s novel is almost 800 pages of content. To make an adaptation of Dune any
shorter would be to leave out the complexities that make the story so captivating. Furthermore,
this slower nature is typical for most opening movies in franchises. Consider, Star Wars: A New
Hope or Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; both certainly had their slower points,
but this is normal for a movie beginning a franchise, as it must build the background and context
for the story to later continue. Similarly, everything that took place in Dune, even at the slower
points such as Paul and Lady Jessica’s journey across the dessert, had a purpose in developing
the story. So, though Dune may have been slightly long, I certainly wouldn’t say “it loses its
pulse”.

Outline:

Paragraph 2 (Background):

- Information on Herbert’s original story

- Information on some of the other Dune movies made

- Some plot contextualization

Paragraph 3 (Analysis):

- Talk about what makes the special effects so good and give some examples

- Examine how the amazing acting really helped to develop the story

Paragraph 4 (Critical Background):

- Present some of the views describing the movie as long and underwhelming

- Refute those stating that in order to stay as close to the original story line as it did

Villeneuve’s Dune had to be that long. Also, many franchises begin that way.

Paragraph 5 (Call to Action):

- Tell readers to watch Dune if they haven’t keeping in mind that it is simply the first part

of a much longer and complex series.

 Works Cited

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York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/movies/dune-review.html.

Foss, C. (2017, March 9). Looking back at all the utterly disastrous attempts to adapt dune.

Vulture. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/looking-

back-at-all-the-utterly-disastrous-attempts-to-adapt-dune.html.

Gleiberman, O. (2021, September 3). 'Dune' review: Spectacular and engrossing...until it isn't.

Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2021, from https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/dune-

review-spectacular-and-engrossing-until-it-isnt-1235051928/.

Mendelson, S. (2021, November 2). Box office: 'Dune' passes $300 million worldwide. Forbes.

Retrieved November 29, 2021, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/11/02/box-office-dune-passes-300-

million-worldwide/?sh=5a6c57746430.

Placido, D. D. (2021, October 26). 'Dune' review: The Cinema Strikes Back. Forbes. Retrieved

November 29, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2021/10/26/dune-

review-the-cinema-strikes-back/?sh=55fe0caa4f4a.
Watercutter, A. (2021, October 5). Denis Villeneuve on Dune: 'I was really a maniac'. Wired.

Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.wired.com/story/denis-villeneuve-dune-

q-and-a/.

Watercutter, A. (2021, October 7). Brian Herbert on Dune: 'my father could see into the future'.

Wired. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.wired.com/story/dune-brian-

herbert-q-and-a/.

Willmore, A. (2021, October 22). Dune doesn't care if you like it. Vulture. Retrieved November

29, 2021, from https://www.vulture.com/article/dune-movie-review-denis-villeneuves-

turn.html.