DUNE by Denis Villeneuve
DUNE or the battle between art & entertainment continues…
I started writing movie reviews after The Arrival. Again by Denis Villeneuve, again Sci-Fi. I was so disappointed that I just couldn't hold back. It was a very long, detailed review. I don’t write those anymore.
If you’ve read any of my reviews or know me irl, you must know that I like the entertainment & story aspects of a movie far more than art, idea or feel. I despise arthouse for this same reason and love clever action movies. That was how I started watching movies as a kid. That was how I fell in love with film. However, Denis is someone whose creations are always in between. And whenever he skews a bit more towards good story and entertainment — I tend to love his films and vice-versa. I loved Incendies, Sicario & the new Blade Runner. I hated the Arrival. And I was insanely scared of Dune. It could’ve been either.
There are movies that should never be seen outside of the cinema. This is one of those. Of course, Denis created a massive art, every single shot of Dune is epic. Every. Single. Shot. But I mean was anyone doubtful of this? We know Denis is a craftsman, we know Hans Zimmer is a craftsman. We know they will deliver. And they did deliver. But what else?
Well. I think Denis is saved here by the fact that someone else (Herbert) wrote it. Dune is a well-known and acclaimed novel. He didn’t write it. He just adapted it. And this movie is said to be Dune: Part I. I’d guess they’ll have to shoot 2 more to fully present the story. And I have to say that as Dune: Part I, it was decent. The cinematic experience of it is still the best part but the story was good enough. You could literally see how George Lucas robbed Dune’s story for Star Wars (a franchise that I definitely don’t like). Dune is a more poetic, very well thought, interstellar, feudal tale.
I am definitely not a fan of representing “the good” as these beautiful boys and girls and “the evil” as these fat and bold and angry men. LoTR suffers from this too. I am also not a fan of envisioning the feudal social construct (ruling Houses) as the norm and smth we will eventually fall into again in the future as almost every Sci-Fi or Fantasy has us believe. But that’s just my personal feelings towards the genre overall and not the Dune itself.
Timothee is a gem. He is the representation of the new era of Hollywood men. Less toxic, more feminine, and thus more intact with their masculinity, more self-aware, and by far, more talented. He was insanely good here.
The cinematography was exceptional. It had Roger Deakins vibes but it’s not him. The only problem I have with it is its dark tones. The new wave of DPs are playing too much with night shots. I understand that technology has made it possible to get magnificent shots during the night and it invites to be played with but sometimes they overdo it and it results in you getting bored.
Almost forgot, I didn’t like action sequences. With >$100M you’d think they would come up with smth phenomenal but no. Ships were getting blown up, fire was everywhere and some people were fighting – but I didn’t feel anything. I was just enjoying the shots. And it’s really sad. Like how could you have Jason Momoa in your team and fuck up the fight scenes? Do you remember how we were on the edge of our seats when Maximus was fighting Commodus or when Terminator was fighting Kyle Reese or even in Blade Runner? Nothing of the sort happens here. Sadly.
I planned to see Dune at least 2–3 times as I did with Tenet (watched it 6 times). But I won’t. I’ll just wait for the next one. And this is a compliment.