Taken as a corrective for the unfortunately clunky 1984 David Lynch adaptation of Frank Herbert’s dynastic epic sci-fi novel or as a first look at the stunning world of Arrakis, Dune by Denis Villeneuve is worth a trip to the IMAX theatre or a cozy few hours on your couch*. The broad strokes of the House Atreides journey to the spice planet of Arrakis to mine the hallucinatory spice melange, the most precious commodity in the universe, are presented with the utmost elegance and magical intensity. The narrative feels held at a measured distance, alighting with each character for only a short thrilling time. The art direction alone on the villainous Baron Harkonnen(Stellan Skarsgard) is supremely unsettling and demands a repeat performance. One can only hope that this opulent space saga is expanded for future wonderment.
*Don’t suffer any guilt over the pointlessly snobby idea that you have to watch this in a theatre. There are a lot of valid reasons to not visit a theatre right now, don’t be swayed. I watched on HBO Max and had to put the subtitles on after 10 minutes of struggling with the way the dialogue was mixed with the thumping score. Only those who read the novel would be able to follow the plot with the dialogue presented in such terse whispers.
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