Dune (2021) ★★★★

Dune (2021, Denis Villeneuve) is the first instalment of a sci-fi epic based on the classic 1965 novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. With an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac bringing stellar performances to the table, Dune establishes an excellent foundation for Villeneuve to build upon in the future.

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet)

The central protagonist of Dune is Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto who rules House Atreides, who have just been granted the desert planet Arrakis. Arrakis (otherwise known as Dune) is habitat to the most valuable commodity in the universe, the spice Melange which preserves life and makes interstellar travel possible. Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice, and whoever controls the spice controls the universe.

Dune is a profound visual spectacle, with every shot being meticulously crafted and visually intriguing. Villeneuve and Greig Fraser (cinematographer) cleverly utilise both practical effects and CGI to create the perfect blend of tactility and visual flair.

Arrakis

From an auditory standpoint, Dune also excels. Villeneuve diligently uses emphatic diegetic sound such as the sand thumpers and ripples and powerful non-diegetic sound, such as Hans Zimmer’s expertly composed score. In an interview, Villeneuve expressed that he utilised Zimmer’s majestic score to replicate the heavy use of character internalisation by Frank Herbert in the original source material.

Hans Zimmer

The film does, however, suffer from a few minor pacing issues. Being the first instalment of a larger franchise, Dune requires a significant amount of exposition and world-building in order to honour the legacy of the novel, which in some aspects hinders its ability to produce a compelling narrative akin to other ‘first films’ such as A New Hope or The Fellowship of the Ring. Other filmmakers in the past such as David Lynch have failed to accurately replicate the essence of Herbert’s ‘unfilmable’ epic, merely acting as a highlight reel of the events of the novel.

Overall, Dune is a fantastic sci-fi adventure which excels in the areas of cinematography, sound design, performance and mise-en-scène and I thoroughly await the newly-confirmed second instalment.