Dune movie review: Denis Villeneuve’s awe-inspiring, grand sensory experience

When the anticipation is feverish, it sets up movies to disappoint and fail. This long-awaited movie smashes those expectations.

Sometimes, when you’ve been waiting so long for a film, it becomes cursed by expectations.

Dune was delayed an entire year and some change thanks to the pandemic, and even before that, there was feverish anticipation for another cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel (David Lynch previously made a divisive version in 1984).

Add into the mix director Denis Villeneuve, the French-Canadian filmmaker responsible for some of the most acclaimed sci-fi screen stories of the past few years, including the Amy Adams-starring Arrival and Blade Runner sequel 2049.

And yet, Dune smashes those expectations. It’s a vivid, euphoric and visually dazzling cinematic experience that engages you on every level and in every moment. You won’t be able to ignore its hypnotic allure – and not just because every member of that cast is impossibly attractive.

Dune is a notoriously complex novel which becomes progressively stranger in subsequent books, but Villeneuve and co-screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth stripped it back to its most elemental.

Dune will have a sequel in 2023. Picture: Warner Bros

While some novel purists may find it oversimplifies Herbert’s work, the filmmakers’ choice serves the dual purpose of making a high-concept sci-fi franchise more accessible, but also really letting the performances and filmmaking take centre stage. That includes Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser’s intoxicating visual tableaux, both sharp and otherworldly.

Newcomers may need to fill in the blanks, but Herbert’s words were far too detailed and dense to directly translate to a visual medium.

Set in a version of the future, the royal House Atreides is commanded by the Emperor to take over Arrakis, a desert planet that is home to the universe’s only supply of a spice that both prolongs life and enables space travel.

Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) understands his house is being played, aware of the dangers of a move against the cruel previous ruler of Arrakis, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), but must obey anyway.

His partner is Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a woman from a mysterious order called the Bene Gesserit. Leto and Lady Jessica’s teenage son Paul (Timothee Chalamet) has been groomed to succeed his father, trained in combat by Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin).

Paul has also been trained by his mother in the Bene Gesserit ways, which includes magical powers such as being able to command people’s will with your voice.

Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto in Dune. Picture: Warner Bros

Paul sits at the intersection of rival groups’ centuries-long ambitions, manipulated into a “saviour” but is he more than a pawn? When he keeps having dreams of a young woman on Arrakis (Zendaya), they portent what’s coming.

And what’s coming is just the start of the Dune story, with Villeneuve’s film covering only half of Herbert’s first book, with a sequel to be released in late 2023. But if the prospect of shelling out for a full-priced ticket for only half a movie grates, rest assured that Dune’s sensory experience, with a well-defined character arc, is worth every dollar.

It’s also why this is a film that must be seen and appreciated on a large screen in an environment that can showcase every lush element that has been masterfully curated, from Hans Zimmer’s penetrating score to Patrice Vermette’s textured production design.

Dune doesn’t over-rely on CGI – even that giant worm works in the moments it appears – and has enough grittiness to its aesthetic. It’s futuristic but it’s a world that has been lived in, it’s rusted and worn – and that is a very difficult look to nail.

The action sequences in Dune are dynamic. Picture: Warner Bros

There’s no wastage here, Dune earns every minute of its runtime. Every scene, every shot, every line of dialogue has purpose. And all the performances, but particularly those of Chalamet, a balance of youthful excitement with the burden of destiny, and Ferguson, are attuned with Villeneuve’s vision.

There’s something baroque about Dune – not maximalism but certainly a sense that Villeneuve has crafted a film that is grand in scope, and which inspires awe.

Rating: 4.5/5

Dune is in cinemas on Thursday, December 2

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Originally published as Dune movie review: Denis Villeneuve’s awe-inspiring, grand sensory experience