Sci-fi classic 鈥楧une鈥� returns to the big screen. Does it succeed?
The novel from the 1960s influenced subsequent sci-fi epics like the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� franchise. But 鈥淒une,鈥� by Frank Herbert, looks for its own movie magic.
The novel from the 1960s influenced subsequent sci-fi epics like the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� franchise. But 鈥淒une,鈥� by Frank Herbert, looks for its own movie magic.
From the time it was first published in 1965, 鈥淒une,鈥� Frank Herbert鈥檚 densely convoluted sci-fi classic, was ritually referred to as 鈥渦nfilmable.鈥� This hasn鈥檛 stopped directors from trying to film it anyway. Alejandro Jodorowsky tried for years in the 1970s before finally giving up. David Lynch鈥檚 infamous 1984 version, which he disowned after his producers recut it against his wishes, was followed in 2000 by a Syfy channel adaptation that few remember. Denis Villeneuve鈥檚 鈥淒une,鈥� starring Timoth茅e Chalamet, is the latest and certainly the most anticipated attempt, not least because the pandemic delayed its release for well over a year.
With this much buildup, was the wait worth it? That depends, I suppose, on how much of a 鈥淒une鈥� fanatic you are. I鈥檓 not exactly an aficionado, but the prospect of realizing Herbert鈥檚 eco-visionary saga on the big screen, especially at a time when moviegoing audiences are aching to once again be overwhelmed, is palpable.
From a purely pictorial standpoint, this new 鈥淒une鈥� is indeed often overwhelming. The sheer monumentality of it all is impressive. Alas, the film鈥檚 emotional power underwhelms.
Like the first half of the book that it follows fairly closely, the movie takes place in the year 10191 in an interstellar galaxy of dueling planetary fiefdoms ruled by an unseen emperor. One of the planets, Arrakis, aka Dune 鈥� a sort of colonial outpost with gigantic subterranean sandworms and a clannish, Bedouin-like population 鈥� is a parched sandscape prized for its harvested spice that confers supernatural powers and fuels interstellar travel. (Herbert, in all seriousness, called his novel an 鈥渆nvironmental awareness handbook.鈥�)
When the film begins, one of the fiefdoms, the harsh House Harkonnen, is ordered off Arrakis by the emperor and control of the planet is ceded to the more egalitarian House Atreides, led by Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac). The duke rightly suspects the emperor is laying a trap for him but nevertheless transfers his trusted lieutenants 鈥� played by Josh Brolin and, in the film鈥檚 most entertaining performance, Jason Momoa 鈥� to the planet along with his concubine Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and their son Paul (Chalamet). There鈥檚 a great deal more to the story, but lest I demonstrate that 鈥淒une鈥� is not only unfilmable but also unreviewable, I鈥檒l just add that Paul represents that timeworn avatar of sci-fi mythology 鈥� the newbie who mutates into a messiah. He鈥檚 the savior, or at least the savior-in-training, of this brutal world.
No matter how impressive its special effects, a sci-fi movie ultimately has to do more than just wow us with them. Even though Paul is the spiritual center of this epic, his struggles seem rote. Chalamet has the right poetic-romantic look, but without the impassioned underpinnings. This is partly Villeneuve鈥檚 fault; he has a penchant for dwarfing his actors in the frame so they resemble stick figures viewed from an Olympian height.聽
鈥淒une鈥� 鈥� which is billed as 鈥淒une: Part 1鈥� 鈥� has a bigger problem: Because Villeneuve, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts, filmed only the novel鈥檚 first half, much of the action essentially plays as exposition leading up to a more stirring saga that never comes. After 2 1/2 hours, the film rather apologetically offers up the words: 鈥淭his is only the beginning.鈥� And yet no sequel is definitively in the works. At least when the first 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� was served up, we knew we鈥檇 eventually get a full meal.
For 鈥淒une鈥� devotees, none of this may matter much. But for those coming to this galaxy for the first time, the sense of incompleteness can鈥檛 help but be a letdown. And because Herbert鈥檚 visionscape heavily influenced so many subsequent sci-fi epics, especially the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� franchise, we may feel as if we鈥檝e seen it all before anyway. I admire any director who is able to create a self-contained world on such a scale, but this is an epic for the eye, not the heart.
Peter Rainer is the Monitor鈥檚 film critic. 鈥淒une鈥� is available in theaters and on HBO Max starting Oct.21. The movie is rated PG-13 for聽sequences of strong violence and some disturbing images and suggestive material.聽