Movie Review: Dune (2021)

Like most sci-fi fans of my age, I’ve read Frank Herbert’s Dune series so many times I’ve lost count. I’ve read the prequels and sequels written by his son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson many times over as well. I enjoyed the 1984 adaptation, despite David Lynch being David Lynch while directing it. And I found myself wishing the 1984 cast could have been given the script and support the 2000 cast was given for the SYFY miniseries.

So when it was announced a few years ago that a new Dune movie was given the green light, with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson being involved in the project and Denis Villeneuve serving as director, I was pretty jazzed. Here is what I saw when I watched the latest adaptation of the SF/F classic.

The story

For the most part, at least so far as this is only the first of a two-part film and part two hasn’t even begun shooting yet, Villeneuve mostly follows the story line in Dune. The Emperor has ordered House Harkonnen off of Arrakis and turned the planet over to House Atredies, who takes ownership knowing it is a trap. Paul Atredies, son of Duke Leto Atriedies and the Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica, is not only being groomed to take over as Duke when the time comes, but he is also caught in the long-term designs of his mother’s order as well.

Once on Arrakis, the Atreides deal with sabotage and treachery, including an ultimate betrayal by Dr. Wellington Yeuh, who basically hands over the Duke and the planet to the Harkonnens and their leader, Baron Harkonnen. Paul and his mother escape, aided in part by Yeuh, who is killed by the Baron as his reward for being a traitor, and Duncan Idaho. Idaho gives his life in order for Paul and Jessica to flee deeper into the desert, where they meet a band of Fremen, led by Stilgar, who take in the fugitives after Paul is forced to dispatch one of the Fremen in a duel. It is here the movie ends and we are forced to wait at least two years for the next film.

The characters

Paul is the main character of the book and the film, although Villeneuve does his damnedest to make Chani, who Paul has seen in vision dreams while on Caladan, equally important, even though she and Paul do not actually meet until near the very end of the film. He is dealing with the impending move of his entire House from Caladan, a water world, to Arrakis, which is about as bone dry as a world can get and still have life on its surface.

His mother and a Bene Gessirit, the Lady Jessica, has been training him in the ways of her order. His father is Duke Leto, knows he is stepping into a trap by taking control of Arrakis, but has plans of his own to thwart the schemes of both the Emperor and Leto's enemy, the Baron Harkonnen. The Duke, and Paul, lean heavily upon their Lieutenants, Gurney Halleck, Duncan Idaho and Thufir Hawat, as they take up residency on Arrakis.

The people who lived on Arrakis long before the Spice was discovered, are the Fremen. A band of desert people and fierce fighters that Leto hopes to recruit to his side in his battle against his foes. The leader is Stilgar, who allows Idaho to join his band. The other leader of the Fremen is Liet Kynes, who is also serving as the Judge of the Change for the Emperor and has been ordered to look the other way when sabotage against the Duke is undertaken.

The world

The majority of the action takes place on Arrakis, with some scenes on Caladan at the beginning, and brief scenes on Giedi Prime (the Harkonnen's homeworld), Salusa Secundus (where the Emperor's Saudaukar are trained), and a few scenes in space sprinkled in for good measure. But the sands of Arrakis is where the action is and it is on full display. Sand waves working across the surface, giant sandworms slithering below. A climate so arid that special suits must be worn to remain alive out in the open. But the most important aspect of the world is the life-extending Spice Melange, the only thing that makes the planet worth fighting, and dying for.

The politics

There are politics to spare in this film. The Emperor, who remains unseen in this film, fears the rise of House Atreides that could topple him from his throne. House Harkonnen has had a centuries-long feud with the Atreides and is more than willing to play along with the Emperor's schemes, even if it means releasing their grip on the wealthiest planet in the known universe if but temporarily, in order to do in their old enemy. As for the Atreides, they have their own code of honor, but know how to play the political game in order to advance their position and power within the Lansraad - the collection of Houses within the Empire (think of it as an unelected Senate) - and CHOAM - The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles - that controls economic affairs across the known universe. Toss in the long-term schemes of the Bene Gessirit - trying to create a superbeing called the Kwisatz Haderach that they can control - and the machinations of the Spacing Guild - who controls all space travel - and you wind up with everyone having their knives out for everyone else.

Content warning

There's violence, you have large-scale and small scale battles so yeah, there's violence. But aside from that, its your basic PG-13 film. The only real nudity comes when Leto has been stripped naked and planted in a chair, but you only see his chest and up above the table and from about the knees down below.

Who is it for?

Fans of sci-fi/fantasy will enjoy this film. Villeneuve knows how to shoot sci-fi films. (Pity he can't teach that to Rian Johnson, but that's another review for a later time). Fans of Herbert's original six books will also enjoy the visuals, but are going to have to get past some changes from the original material. The primary issue is the unnecessary gender swap of Liet Kynes. There were plenty of strong female characters in this film, so that could not have been the reason. And the primary issue is that a female Kynes is in direct conflict with the Dune Universe Herbert established nearly 60 years ago. If you are going to adapt a classic, you need to respect what made it a classic to begin with.

There are other changes, not so egregious as the Kynes swap, that serious Dunians (hey, should I copyright this term?) will quickly pick up on. But, if you can get past them, then this is a film for you to watch too.

Why watch it?

Setting aside the conflicts with the original material, and my quibble with the choice of actor to play Paul (I just never bought him as the Paul of Herbert's books. Maybe this will change when we get into the next film) this is a visually stunning film. And the rest of the cast played their roles to perfection, especially Oscar Isaac (Leto), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), and Stellan Skarsgård (Baron Harkonnen) who needed more screen time in this film. Even the actress who played Kynes, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, was very good (it just should not have been an actress playing Kynes in the first place).

So yes, I give it a 6 out of 10 - but two points were deducted for the disrespect shown to Hebert's original material - so if you are not an Originalist like me, you really ought to watch this film that should win Best SF/F at the Dragon Awards in September.

Next Week: Dune (1984)