Where are the bad reviews?? I can't find them, everybody seems to love this movie. Me as well, I think it might be the best in the last two years, and it will probably stay that way for some time.
Dune is an epic sci-fi fantasy art work, and Denis Villeneuve proves again that he knows how to craft an enormous picture around an actual simple story. For me, 'Dune' talks about the difficult responsibilities a young heir apparent must face when his family, or his House, House Atreidies, gets involved in a huge political game between other houses concerning the distribution of territory and spice, a special resource, on Arrakis. Most characters are portrayed very subtle and without any excessive actions. For me, that way of creating character and depth works, some people may find it a bit difficult to connect with. Rebecca Ferguson stood out the most for me, I think her performance is worthy of an Oscar nomination.
It feels very slow at times, and at times a little too slow. I like Denis' style, and it's not as slow as Blade Runner 2049, but because of the general pacing in this film, there were some moments when I would have liked it a little shorter.
Technically this film is outstanding.... The production design is AMAZING!!! Costumes, sets, scenery, etc. They were all perfect for me! The cinematography is beautiful, not as good as Roger Deakins' work with Denis, but still top notch. And then Hans Zimmer... he does it again. Not his best, but how could he? He's already made some of the best scores ever. It's a little too ambient for me at times, and I would have liked the vocals to be a little more present in the film. Other than that, it's musical perfection, no complaints!!!
I want to talk about one more thing, the style of Denis Villeneuve. Denis is a filmmaker who makes his films on a basis of world building. The best example is Blade Runner 2049, the whole film is one big exhibition in the gigantic universe created by Philip K. Dick in his novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".
For me, that's when Denis is at his best. But I missed a bit of that, it felt like Dune could have felt even bigger. The whole time it felt like we could have gone a little further, just a little bit.
I realize now how bad my review sounds, I'm just pointing out some things that bothered me a bit. I love the movie, and always will!!! I'm still figuring out if I think it's a masterpiece, but for now, I'll leave it for discussion.
