This third cinematic foray into the Dune universe of Frank Herbert is perhaps the most rewarding yet (I saw and liked the 1984 David Lynch film, even it’s excesses; I own but have not yet seen the 2000 TV miniseries).  I have also never read any of Herbert’s voluminous books, so I cannot judge at all how well the movies adhere to the stories.  This new film covers about half of what Lynch’s colorful 1984 adventure did, and it presents it in a way that the important political elements are as clear as crystal, which is much appreciated.

Denis Villeneuve’s film offers a brief history of Arrakis, the Spice planet, before introducing the House of Atreides, which, by imperial proclamation, is about to take over the administration of the desert planet.  Led by Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), the task proves to be a formidable one, with all sorts of galactic ramifications, but the principal character turns out to be the Duke’s son Paul (Timotheé Chalamet), who is particularly attuned to the struggles of the Fremen, the long-oppressed desert people of the planet.

Fans of Villeneuve’s earlier Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 will note his bleak, industrial-looking landscapes and cityscapes, his dramatic and challenging changes of weather, the incessant dust, the rounded shapes and slow movements of the spacecraft, contrasted with big closeups of characters’ faces.  Even amidst the primitive world of Arrakis he focuses on the people struggling to survive and profit off of the Spice which makes interplanetary travel possible.  His film is tactile and sensory even as it tells its story in very slow, deliberate terms.  Yet it all makes sense and in several stretches is quite powerful.

The music by Hans Zimmer follows the pattern of his Christopher Nolan collaborations and sometimes rises to overbearing levels, even drowning out dialogue.  Not that it isn’t effective, but it’s too much.  And some of the acting is muted more than it ought to be.  But Chalamet shines, Rebecca Ferguson is solid as his mother, and Jason Mamoa is great as Duncan Idaho, with Josh Brolin almost as great as Gurney Halleck, the Atreides security officer.  Science fiction can be expressed in a myriad of ways; this particular way is terrific, and I genuinely look forward to the adventure of Dune, Part Two in 2023.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  25 November 2021.