this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2024
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Amazing adaptation of the second half of the book. As expected, the cinematography, set design, and music are all beautiful. I was skeptical when Denis said a large focus of the film would be the love story, but was pleasantly surprised they were able to pull off a believable romance between Paul and Chani while trying to fit everything else in this huge story. Stilgar was amazing. I think they also pulled of Alia well, which is understandable since it's kinda hard to have a child character like in the books translated into film without making it cartoonish.
Now for my (minor) criticisms:
We all know how dense the book is, and even with only half the book remaining for this film and almost 3 hours, certain parts still felt rushed; which is understandable because there is only so much you can cram into a movie.
For example, the time Paul and Jessica spent in Sietch Tabr felt so quick, without having a reference/barometer to let audiences know how long it took for them to turn the Fremen to their side and Paul and Chani's relationship to develop. This took years in the book, and book readers will obviously know that, but I feel like non-readers will complain how "fast" it happened. It also doesn't help that since they cut child Alia in this version, this means all the events in the film happened in less than 9 months, which is pretty short for someone to integrate into a planet's native population, train in their ways, and rise up as a messianic figure for an entire planet.
The final big battle also felt rushed. I know it was generally glossed over in the book, but it would have been great if the film took a few more minutes to show some battles before Paul reaches the emperor. Gurney and Rabban's fight scene should've also been a little longer, give Gurney had to emphasize the scar Rabban gave him, which was kinda implying there was a big fight scene ahead.
While I love Christopher Walken, the emperor in this film had barely anything to work with such that you could've cast any other decent actor and it wouldn't have mattered. I was hoping for something special from Walken's portrayal given how unique of an actor he is.
All that being said, it was an amazing film and I was pretty satisfied. It needed 30 more minutes to flesh out the events more, but I understand you can't make a 3.5 hour movie without making general audiences bored. Now on to Messiah to complete a trilogy!
You spoke my mind. I just finished my first screening and sharing my initial thoughts. Disclaimer: I have not read the book.
I really liked the slow pacing of part one, it gave me time to really appreciate the cinematography, it's characters, and the music. This part was paced much quicker, so with me looking forward to "step into Arrakis" again, I left the cinema felling a bit disappointed. I felt that this could have been split into two 2 hour or 2.5 hour movies to flesh out some story bits and the characters. So many new faces, so many potential stories, so little time. It felt like Paul just went to the south for 10 minutes to get his drink, and then we're back north again. I wonder if the book is also paced like that.
Soundtrack was another that got let down by the fast story pace imo. Not to say that it's bad now that I'm listening to the album on Spotify, but the slow burn combination of visuals and sound in part one left such a great impact on me, part two just felt like it passed a bit too quick.
That being said, the bits where they want you to appreciate the cinematography, they let you know and execute it really well. I really appreciate the black and white tone of Giedi Prime, how they portray the cruelty of the Harkonnens, the sandworm scene, the scale. I would still highly recommend a watch, and I plan to watch it a second time (and maybe third). Maybe I'll have different thoughts and learn to like it more after that.
Finally got to see it aswell yesterday. And very much agree with you that it was amazing.
Also having read the book i had the exact same impression. It also meant that the birth and death of his first child with Chani was cut, which i guess wouldn't have fit into the movie anyways with so much going on, but in the book did add more emotions.
As far as minor criticism goes i tenatively agree with another comment in this thread that the soundtrack might have lacked some melody.
It's been a while since i've read the book, but in my memory the death and destruction paul forsees unleashed through the jihad seemed much more intense than what we got in the brief visions in the movie.
Forgive my petulance but I don't understand how any Dune fans liked Stilgar in the movie. They turned him into a goofball, basically a 180 of his character in the books.