Dune [IMAX]

First of all, Dune was a highly impressive film and the craftmanship was all-round outstanding. It should definitely be watched on a big screen and in IMAX if possible because the production value was astounding. It was gorgeously shot by Greig Fraser, the score by Hans Zimmer was peak-Zimmer, production design by Patrice Vermette was superb and the team of Costume Design and Hair & Make-up will definitely be in the running for Oscars too. 

However, and this is a big however, the story itself - screenplay credited to Jon Spaihts, Eric Roth and Denis Villeneuve - was an utter disaster. Messy, hollow, shallow and unnecessarily convoluted with none of the nuance and finesse of Frank Herbet's novel. Villeneuve's vision was a spectacle but Herbet's dense source material deserved a treatment similar to Lord of the Rings or even Game of Thrones. The story needs space to breath and the characters deserved to be humanised and fleshed out and given depth, instead of ending up as the one-dimensional archetypes/stereotypes that they were reduced in this film. 

Be warned, this film was Part One of a possible two-part epic, but Part Two has not even been filmed yet and writing as only just begun. It may not even be filmed if Dune crashes. That being said, this film should not be judged on what it could be - maybe great - but what it is - decidedly not good.

What Dune deserved was a commitment like LOTR for a set number of films to translate its story to the big screen. For all its fault, even the less successful The Hobbit gave its characters the time to develop and, like in LOTR, allowed Peter Jackson to really dive into the complexity of Tolkien's world. The politicking, the backstory, the world history and, most importantly, why it all mattered.

That was really what was wrong with Dune. Why did anything matter? What was the purpose? There was no tangible reason to root for anything or anyone. There was no heart and no soul in this gorgeously sumptuous space opera. Things happened, people moved, but no motives were illuminated. 

Herbet's Dune predated George Lucas' Star Wars but the similarities were clear. However, Villeneuve's vision only served to modernise the production which allowed for an expansion of scope but without replicating any of the emotional complexities that made Star Wars such a beloved franchise/story. 

All of Villeneuve's prior projects seemed to have led to this film. There were echoes of all his p[revious English-language films littered throughout the film from the desert landscape and twilight shots of Sicario to the sci-fi realms of Blade Runner 2049  and Arrival, and the slow-burn drama and mystery box of Prisoners and Enemy. However, a common thread was the slow disintegration of human drama and emotions in his films through the years in exchange for large, visual spectacle. Somehow, he has lost the intimacy of Prisoners and Sicario (and even Arrival) with Blade Runner 2049 and now, Dune.

The only actor/character that rose above all that was surprisingly Rebecca Ferguson's Lady Jessica. Now, that was one character who was interesting. What were her motivations? What was her backstory? Why is she like this? Ferguson's portrayal easily conveyed all that nuances. Too bad, she was not the focus.

Other characters/actors that came close were acting stalwarts Charlotte Rampling as the terrifying Gaius Helen Mohiam and Stellan Skarsgard as the scheming Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (who thankfully had an appropriate modern update and ditched the homophobic backstory). Unfortunately, both of whom were given limited screen time, although they absolutely crushed it.

Everybody else seemed overwhelmed and dwarfed by the world-class, world-building that Villeneuve had done. Their characters seemingly swallowed by the self-grandeur of the story. Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides reduced to a Christ-saviour role with puppy dog looks of longing - but longing for what? Chalamet was definitely no Tony Leung. 

Zendaya's Chani was an over glorified cipher and personification of a vision quest, and when she finally entered the narrative proper, you wonder how she managed a Best Actress Emmy win.

Oscar Isaac tried his best, but he was not given the time or the luxury to delve into what was possibly an intriguing backstory. 

Both Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa were reduced to eye-rolling caricatures of the gruff mentor with ?possibly a good heart and the bro-ly subordinate who takes the role of the BFF but will always still be the loyal subject. 

Oh, also, this film was surprisingly racist and non-inclusive. True, granted that Herbet's novel was about imperialism and colonialism, but it would not have hurt for Villeneuve and co to do some updating. Instead, we were left with a white-saviour narrative, white ruling classes lording over indigenous POC who were portrayed as lower class, and of course a mis-used Chang Chen as Dr Yueh the healer of the mystic arts that just so happened to be Asian (three steps forwards and two steps back after Shang-Chi).

Fraser will surely get another Oscar nomination for his outstanding cinematography here. It really worked very well on an IMAX screen. That was a highlight - for me - of the whole film. The visuals were just gorgeous.

Zimmer will also get his perennial nomination. He has gotten this whole space operatic, epic scoring down pat. It worked really well and was exciting at all the right moments. However, it was kind of expected from Zimmer without any surprises.

I really do hope Part Two gets made. And maybe then franchise can be saved. That being said, this film, on its own and by its own merit, was only mildly entertaining. Gorgeous, beautiful and impressive, but shallow, hollow and uninvolving.