THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
For generations, there have been a vast array of sci fi films that have been transcendent to cinema. But the truth is, none of them do it like the 2021 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
PLOT
Part One takes place in a fictional 10,191. Duke Leto Atreides of Planet Caladan is instructed by Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV to operate Arrakis, the only planet with the source of spice, a valuable substance that is critical to interstellar travel, but can also extend human vitality. They are replacing House Harkonnen who have operated for 80 years. Leto agrees to take control, with the intent to form a harmonious alliance with the Fremen of Arrakis. His concubine Lady Jessica is part of the Bene Gesserit coven, who have psychic abilities. She was supposed to bear a daughter that would become the Kwisatz Haderach, the chosen one. Instead, she conceived her son Paul. As he grew up, she would train him with his psychic abilities, while he also learns combat skills from the best warriors that are Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho. He would also have dreams that would come true. Because he had one where his friend Duncan would be killed in Arrakis, he tries to join the trip early. But both the sword master and Leto turn him down. Paul does meet the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim, which leads to him passing the ‘Gom Jabbar’ test, where he becomes capable of assessing his impulse control. Gaius knows that the Emperor is actually planning to have House Atreides wiped out at Arrakis, out of fear of losing power. She assigns the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen of Giedi Prime to attack, with the request to spare Jessica and Paul. Eventually, the Duke have settled into Arrakis with his family and Gurney. He hopes to align with Fremen chieftain Stilgar, who doesn’t seem to give him a chance, fearing that he could be as bad as the Baron. He does also meet planetologist Liet Kynes, who informs of how dangerous it is to harvest spice, due to the deserts being full of giant sand worms. During a flight, he, Paul and Gurney save crew members from being attacked by a worm, sacrificing a spice harvester in the process. Due to his exposure to spice, Paul starts having a premonition where Jessica would soon bear a daughter. He does share this with her mother, which surprises her because she recently discovered her own pregnancy. By night, House Harkonnen begins their attack with the aid of three battalions of the Emperor’s Sardaukar army. They only get the upper hand thanks to Doctor Wellington Yueh (Chang Chen) betraying House Atreides by disabling the temple’s shields. He paralyzes Leto and explains that he did this to save his wife that is held captive by the opposing House. However, he gives him a poison capsule and instructs him to bite onto it when the Baron is near him. When entering a dining room, the Baron reveals to have killed Yueh’s wife as he kills the doctor himself. Leto bites into the capsule, which takes his life and every Harkonnen in the room, except the Baron (who activated his own force shield beforehand). While the faith of Gurney appears unknown during the battle, Duncan is able to escape and start searching for Paul. He and Jessica are taken to the desert, as an act of exile. They kill three Harkonnen troops and take enough supplies (planted by Yueh) to survive the desert. As they wait out the conflict from a far, Paul shares another premonition that there will be more bloodshed in the future, resulting in his name will be spread across the Galaxy. Within a day, Duncan finds them and takes them to an old research station. They meet up with Kynes and she explains the Emperor’s actions, who believes he was avoiding being usurped by a faithful household. Shortly after this conversation, more Sarduakar are able to find them. Duncan and Kynes sacrifice themselves, to allow Paul and Jessica time to escape. Believing that they have died in a sandstorm, the Baron instructs his nephew Glossu ‘Beast’ Rabban to wipe out the Fremen, while also taking control of the spice operation. Paul and Jessica are able to avoid a sandworm thanks to a Fremen named Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun) activating a thumper, which distracts the beast. They encounter the group led by Stilgar. Paul takes notice of Chani, a woman who has occurred in multiple visions beforehand. Stilgar offers to take them in, but Jamis objects and challenges Jessica. Her son fights on her behalf and successfully defeats him in a duel to the death. The film ends with the two protagonists officially joining the Fremen, making their way to the closest sietch.
THOUGHTS
After first reading the novel and not being impressed with the 1984 film adaptation, there were high expectations for the first half of this remake. Thankfully, I am satisfied by the time the credits roll because Denis Villeneuve was able to carefully craft and pace this story so well. He is able to make it so immersive to witness and every moment feels thought provoking. When you add Hans Zimmer’s out of this world score, Greg Fraiser’s insane cinematography, unique costumes designed by Jacqueline West & Bob Morgan and incredible visual effects, you just feel like you’re a part of it all. And that feeling makes it all the more special. Aside from each landscape and solar view, the visuals are at their peak whenever you get a look at the sand worms. These things are the stuff that nightmares are made of, they’re so big that you just feel paralyzed when you get a good look at them. That only proves how realistic they appeared in the most bone chilling answer possible. For a story like this, there are always going to be an array of characters to make it even more investing. Thanks to an ensemble cast, they each about each of them stand out. Many young actors could've played Paul Atreides for their youth specifically, but Timothée Chalamet brings everything else that's important to the character. He embraces him to be an observant, thoughtful and stoic person. He may not be a giant figure, but the will he shows proves that size doesn't matter. The pain he goes through in the Gom Jabbar test, which is personally the best acted moment, shows how far he will go to prove himself to others. As each day passes, he is getting much stronger than he is realizing and no one will stop him from bringing peace. It is not the life he expected, but his hesitance does not mean he won't do what has to be done. As Chani said, "This is only the beginning" and that indeed applies for the rest of the journey he is going through. To me, Paul's perspective teaches viewers to make your own path to better your future and if you don't take advantage of your opportunities, you'll regret it later. If this film and the sequel proves anything, he never wasted it. Lady Jessica sounded like a complicated figure on paper, but this time, Rebecca Ferguson makes her presence much clear. She is a powerful figure who is unable to maintains her emotions in her line of work, which makes her relatable because when raising a child, emotions can get the best of any parent. The pressure is high for her because she is training her son to be the chosen one as he is beginning foresee. She may have helped him become as adept with his skills as she is, but only wished to have not taken away his innocence. In the end, loving him and keeping him safe is all that matters now. I also have to admit that the speech "Fear is the mind killer" is the most powerful one I have ever heard because of how it helps the mind to focus. Oscar Isaac was great as well in the role of Duke Leto. He is straight up the most compassionate figure in this movie because he wants to bring harmony to the galaxy, tired of the ongoing conflict. With that kind of motive, it's hard to hate on him. And having a family he loves deeply, it makes sense for him to end things as smooth as he can. He may not live to see his son grow to be the chosen one, but he sure went out swinging in his attempt to kill the Baron. "Here I am, Here I remain" was powerful to hear for his dying words because it makes clear how we wouldn't sway from his duty even if it killed him. Preceding Sir Patrick Stewart is a big pair of shoes to fill, yet Josh Brolin was able to accurately depicts Gurney as the most ruthless of House Atreides, yet noble in between. For someone who has been in battle as much as he was, he knows that not being prepared for the worst is something he cannot allow. If Gurney taught Paul anything, it was to be prepared for anything no matter what. As he puts aside enthusiasm until the enemy is vanquished, Duncan Idaho is the polar opposite. Between being a lethal protector, he gives reassurance to Paul, which is the reason for their friendship to be so strong. Jason Momoa is able to portray as the most admirable and cooperative compared to his brother in arms. It did suck seeing him die as Paul foresaw, but at least he was able to protect him in the most honorable way possible. Leading the Bene Gesserit is not an easy feat as the coven follows prophecies that determine the fate of the galaxy. So in this case, Charlotte Rampling portrays Reverend Mother Mohiam as the wisest figure of all, yet the most strict to keep things in motion. Stilgar and Chani are not the most fleshed out characters here, which is fixed in the sequel. But in the given time, Javier Bardem and Zendaya are able to respectively display them as capable figures who have a fair amount of wisdom to share, based on their experience living in Arrakis. Last but not least, we got a batch of villains that will forever set an impact in pop culture as the protagonists: David Dastmalchian is downright eerie as Piter De Vries. Like Thufir Hawat (Stephen Henderson) he is a Mentat, one that is a living computer, knowing all known knowledge in the universe. Since he is part of House Harkonnen, he knows that knowledge is powerful as power itself. Stellan Skarsgård was oddly remarkable as the Baron. He made his mark for remaining a gluttonous psychopath and whenever he floated, you feel nothing but dread. He is basically a sci-fi equivalent to Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, if he were to rule a planet. As a dictator, it makes sense to have the most loyal warriors at his side. And no one is as loyal as his nephew Rabban. I always knew that this character had to be played by someone who can bring a brute presence and luckily, Dave Bautista brings just that, while also making the character as vile as his uncle. If you think he’s the worst, wait until you meet Feyd. While this film feels perfect the first time around, there were moments that I question during my (HBO)Max rewatch in which I'm not sure the sequel could fix. For starters, how exactly is House Harkonnen richer than the Emperor if he rules all other houses in the Galaxy? I understand that the antagonists made their profit off of the spice, but it’s not like the Emperor would allow someone to be richer than him. And if the Emperor is align with the said house, why risk them at war with Atreides when it would weaken both at the end? There may be other houses but after the success of Harkonnen and even if he helped them with Sarduakar battalions, it was a big risk. Since the said house ran Arrakis for 80 years, how come they never figured out how to eliminate the sandworms? Yes there may be sandstorms that would benefactor in preventing their chances, and the spice originates from the worms, but seeing how determined the Baron is to be unstoppable, it surprises me how he hasn’t thought of something to get it done. They did build a wall to prevent them from attacking, but how did they pull that off if they’re always on the attack? They can only evasively avoid them, so it’s hard to believe they haven’t tried killing them. It is pretty damn intense when Paul survives an assassination attempt, but if the hunter seeker went through the water pipes in the walls, why did it go to his bedroom instead of the bathroom? I don’t want him to die like Tywin did in Game of Thrones. Hell, I don’t want him to die at all, but it Sounds sensible for something to come from a pipe to head to a bathroom instead of a bedroom. It is funny that Stilgar spits during his introduction because moisture is sacred to Fremen, but why doesn’t Duncan mention that? He acknowledges the crysknife because its a weapon, so if he wanted everyone to be on the same page, that extra detail would’ve not hurt. I then wonder how come no one House Atreides checked on the sabotaged equipment House Harkonnen left behind before they went out to use it. Paul almost got killed by a hunter seeker, so they should’ve taken consideration that the opposing house had multiple tricks up their sleeves. Also, do the Bene Gesserits really have other prospects to be the chosen one? If Reverend Mother is serious about finding the one, then she should’ve not even bothered with Paul. Speaking of which, how did he and Jessica survive the night when they didn’t even do the sand walk as they saw House Atreides fell? The worms may have been far, but those things arrive quickly when not doing the walk. The biggest design flaw of all advanced technology shown, it has to be the shields. There is no point in having them if it’s always possible to break through. It may be useful when humans wear it, but it looked pointless when House Atreides fell. And how the hell dod Paul know Duncan was flying when he Can’t even see him from afar until he gets off the aircraft to pick him up. I want to be happy of the reunion, but I refuse to believe he knew so instantly. It’s more baffling than the sandworms not jumping them immediately when he lands. The film’s most stunning moment will forever be when the worm stares down Paul, but why does it stop before the thumper? If it’s related to him being the Kwisatz Haderach, I find it odd how no Fremen acknowledges it. Ignore this, and you’ll still gain the same experience. In conclusion, Dune: Part One is an ambitious story that delivers in being as grandiose as it was first written, which earns its Best Picture nomination in the process. If you truly love science fiction, this film is definitely gonna be up your alley.
Comments