Dune Review – Does The Epic Remake Live Up To Expectations?
“It’s jam packed with the right ingredients for a modern epic…”
Its not very often that the sci-fi genre is given a fresh, unique take. In that case, Denis Villeneuve’s remake of the 1984 cult classic is a welcome one. Dune tells the story of House Atreides, a noble family tasked with ruling the desert planet Arrakis, which leads to deadly consequences and a hell of a lot of trouble for house heir Paul Atreides, played by Little Women‘s Timothée Chalamet.
A big plus for this remake is it’s ensemble cast. With powerhouse names like Moon Knight‘s Oscar Isaacs, Avengers: Endgame‘s Josh Brolin and The Greatest Showman‘s Rebecca Ferguson, you know you’re in for great performances. We even get acting legend Charlotte Rampling in the mix.
Related Article: No Time To Die Review
But overall, we’re definitely in safe hands with our lead that is Chalamet. The actor is cementing himself as one of the greatest actors of his generation at the age of just 25 and this performance shows how much he has to give to the craft.
The only sad note for such a great ensemble is that some characters don’t get much time to do anything. A key example here is Dave Bautista who portrays antagonist Glossu Rabban. As hard as Bautista tries to make use of his time on screen, he doesn’t pack much of a punch and feels somewhat useless in the story.
The world building in this film can’t be faulted. Though there is a lot of exposition throughout, especially in the first half, it is spaced out well and it doesn’t feel like too much of a history lesson for this universe we’re seeing unfold. Nothing is rushed and you are pleasantly walked through everything. Having said that, the film does have moments of dragging. I think its fair to say that the first half of the novel, which this film covers, is a bit more stretched than it needs to be.
Without question, Denis Villeneuve has created a brave new world in this outing. The scale and use of costume, decor etc. feels extremely fresh for a sci-fi film. Seeing it all for the first time, I imagine is the same feeling as seeing A New Hope when it first debuted in 1977.
The scale that is created, the superb CGI and the overall cinematography/tone is breathtaking. How long before Villeneuve is approached about giving a fresh approach to a corner of the Star Wars universe?
This new take on Dune is also a new take on the genre it is derived from. It’s definitely played with in the same fashion as George Lucas did way back when. Everything just feels new decades after sci-fi became fully established. It’s nice to go further into the grittier, steam punk style of the genre for sure.
All in all, Dune gives you all of the main components. Unbelievable cast. Excellent directing. Perfect exposition of everything you need to know. It’s jam packed with the right ingredients for a modern epic. Yes, the film does feel a tad stretched and there’s definitely moments upon moments that could have been cut, but it is dealt with accordingly as the film ticks over. If you want to get what you imagine in the novel and prep for an exciting new film saga…this is a film for you.
From us, the rating is going to land comfortably at a 7.6/10.