So, I have never seen this movie before, but I have known about it. I’d hear about it on many Dune podcasts, and I could tell by the tone that they would refer to this move as having a reputation. Also, I looked up what the Spacer Guild Navigators looked like, and I got a picture from this movie.

“The rare substance known as melange, or “spice”, possesses the extraordinary property to fold the time-space continuum and expand consciousness, making it the most valuable commodity in the known universe. In the year 10191, two warring clans, the Atreides and the Harkonnen, vie for control under the watchful eye of the scheming Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. However, the coveted material exists only in the arid landscapes of the inhospitable, worm-infested desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Now, against the backdrop of a sinister conspiracy and the murder of a beloved one, a gifted leader emerges, destined to command millions: he is the young son of Duke Leto Atreides, Paul. But can the inexperienced visionary harness the power of the mysterious dry moon and fulfil his destiny?”

If you have never seen the movie or read the book, then this is a scy-fi movie that is incredibly bold in all its choices. If you have read the book, do not go into this expecting a good adaptation, but it definitely is not a boring one.

For this movie, I have four thoughts.

Firstly, to start on a positive note, I enjoy the way that they picked the most ambitious choices. Everything from the sets to the costumes, to the acting, is all the way out there, and one of the things you need to consider is that this was the first adaptation, meaning they chose what things look like. Except for the book covers, people didn’t know what stuff looked like. Also, all the pugs. I find it incredibly cute that the movie has so many pugs.

Secondly, the way exposition was handled in this movie. In this movie, it starts with Princess Iralan’s head floating in space, giving 5 minutes of exposition, and every main character has an inner monologue that we can hear. This feels like the creators thought that the audience was a bit stupid. Now, having looked into it, I understand why they needed to do things the way they did. It turns out that the script for the movie was 3 hours long, but the higher-ups didn’t like that and told them to cut out an hour. This led to the movie we have. I find this interesting because this is the only adaptation that covers this book in one movie, where the other two adaptations either cover it in a three-episode mini series or a two-part movie. There is too much information to fit in one movie.

Thirdly, the weirding way as a weapon. In the book, the weirding way is a Bene Gesserit fighting technique that Jessica agrees to teach to the fremin. But this movie has it portrayed as a gun. In the book, guns, whether laser or regular guns or not used at all because of the regular use of shields. This is why there is so much knife fighting in the book.

Fourthly, Paul as messiah. The movie ends with Paul creating rain, and the Princess Irulan gives a voice-over about how Paul saved everything, but if you have even just read the first book, you would see that the idea of Paul being a religious figure was just what he and his mother were using to regain power. Even in the first book, Paul is very aware of the amount of damage his being a messiah would cause. Which the movie seems to choose to ignore the author’s intentions for a happy ending.

Thank you for joining me. When I told people I was reviewing Dune adaptations, they brought up this movie, and I have to say I’m glad I saw it. Anyway, until next week.

Happy reading to all, and to all a good night.