• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Dune | Official Main Trailer

Don’t even dare compare FotR to Dune. So much happens in FotR compared to Dune. FotR is a satisfying movie in itself. Dune isn’t. I see plenty of people praise the acting and the technical stuff but I don’t see how anyone can praise the story. It is too weak.
I thought the story was great. Convinced me to watch two hours of lore videos on youtube and pick up the books for Christmas. I think Pual's visions were really interesting in that they told possibly realities instead of just one true reality. I wish we could have gotten more with some characters but overall I was mostly satisfied. Seeing the Bene Gesserit work within the shadows to manipulate people through religion across great stretches of time is a really cool idea.


We are getting a second movie anyway so that criticism is kinda outdated. Also, FOTR was its own complete book where this movie separates one book into two movies. Not exactly a 1:1 comparison imo.
 
Last edited:

Ulysses 31

Member
I thought the story was great. Convinced me to watch two hours of lore videos on youtube and pick up the books for Christmas. I think Pual's visions were really interesting in that they told possibly realities instead of just one true reality. I wish we could have gotten more with some characters, but overall I was mostly satisfied. Seeing the Bene Gesserit work within the shadows to manipulate people through religion across great stretches of time is a really cool idea.


We are getting a second movie anyway so that criticism is kinda outdated. Also, FOTR was its own complete book where this movie separates one book into two movies. Not exactly a 1:1 comparison imo.
Should watch the 3 SyFy movies from 2000. :messenger_fistbump:

Maybe even the Lynch movie. :messenger_winking_tongue:
 
I thought the story was great. Convinced me to watch two hours of lore videos on youtube and pick up the books for Christmas. I think Pual's visions were really interesting in that they told possibly realities instead of just one true reality. I wish we could have gotten more with some characters but overall I was mostly satisfied. Seeing the Bene Gesserit work within the shadows to manipulate people through religion across great stretches of time is a really cool idea.


We are getting a second movie anyway so that criticism is kinda outdated. Also, FOTR was its own complete book where this movie separates one book into two movies. Not exactly a 1:1 comparison imo.
The Bene Gesserit were such a small part of the movie. I read on the lore as well but the movie made the world look smaller than what was written. I could be wrong but I theorise that you appreciated the movie more after reading about it. Mostly because - most people watching the movie alone wouldn’t even know what the Bene Gesserit are about. Ultimately, three of us watched the movie, all 3 of us got bored out of our minds. How many times do you have to watch those shoddily shot visions? And that goddamn dessert music…
 
The Bene Gesserit were such a small part of the movie. I read on the lore as well but the movie made the world look smaller than what was written. I could be wrong but I theorise that you appreciated the movie more after reading about it. Mostly because - most people watching the movie alone wouldn’t even know what the Bene Gesserit are about. Ultimately, three of us watched the movie, all 3 of us got bored out of our minds. How many times do you have to watch those shoddily shot visions? And that goddamn dessert music…
Just because the story didn't pique your interest doesn't mean it was the same for everyone else. It really wasn’t a small part of the story because it was the entire setup for the story. She literally told Paul her plan and you start to see the effect when they land on the planet. Sure, the Bebe Gesserit could have been explained more, but you got the information you needed for the plot to unfold.

The music in the movie was fire, the planet was cool, and learning how the natives adapt to living on it was intriguing. The film didn’t overload you with information and told you the essential things for the narrative. How the fuck were they "shoddily shot?" The cinematography was immaculate. The movie clearly states that Pual is in the same boat as the audience on how he sees things that happen in the future, but most details are lost; not everything happens exactly as presented or how he exactly gets to that destination.
 

Burning Blade

Gold Member
Watched it, enjoyed it - just not as much as some of his other films like Blade runner 2049 and Arrival.
The OST was good, cinematography was really nice but some of the CGI...i don't know, it wasn't top-tier stuff and looked dated on some parts (buildings mostly).
As for the acting, it was fine except...Jason Momoa, the dude just can't act to save his life and he always takes me out of the whole experience when i see him acting, he just can't.

A solid 8 from me, looking forward to the next chapters/parts
This is pretty much my thoughts exactly. Never read the books, and it’s been 30 years since I’ve seen the Lynch version. I’d also put BR2049 and Arrival above Dune. However, I’m perfectly fine with the pacing, and all the acting was good if not great. Casting Jason Mamoa as a gung-ho military guy I think was fine and on par with his acting abilities. Vilenueve is probably the mos talented director working, and to me BR2049 is as close to a perfect movie as I’ve seen, and it’s in my top 3 of all time. I’m pretty hopeful that the second part of the movie will deliver. As a side note, the woman who conceals and then screams while giving Lady Jessica the knife…what the fuck was that!?
 

Raven117

Gold Member
Saying something is an opinion does not magically make it not true.
Saying something isn’t an opinion doesn’t make it not an opinion.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the movie. But lots of other people did. Including many critics (there opinion as well).

but hey. Thanks for stopping by
 
Last edited:
The music in the movie was fire, the planet was cool, and learning how the natives adapt to living on it was intriguing. The film didn’t overload you with information and told you the essential things for the narrative. How the fuck were they "shoddily shot?" The cinematography was immaculate. The movie clearly states that Pual is in the same boat as the audience on how he sees things that happen in the future, but most details are lost; not everything happens exactly as presented or how he exactly gets to that destination.
I suppose every music has its fans so I should not be surprised that people liked the music, not that the movie has music like a Lord of the Rings movie, for example. By that I mean music that you can listen to outside of the movie.
As for the natives, we’re not told anything about them. They develop a suit but we don’t see any of their industries or their cities or anything like that. All we know is that they are good fighters, somehow engineered a magical suit that recycles sweat and believe in a sort of space Jesus.
 

Spaceman292

Banned
Don’t even dare compare FotR to Dune. So much happens in FotR compared to Dune. FotR is a satisfying movie in itself. Dune isn’t. I see plenty of people praise the acting and the technical stuff but I don’t see how anyone can praise the story. It is too weak.
What's the story in Fellowship? Some idiots get together, go to some caves, then leave feeling sad and break up. Yes a lot of stuff happens but not much of it is actually important to the story. I love LOTR but you have to admit that they're comparable as first parts of a larger story.
 

vpance

Member
Dune looks great visually, the cameraman's work deserves the highest mark, but at the same time the plot is weak, in the second half it becomes simply boring and predictable. The actors play well, but many of them just don't have enough time to reveal their character. Maybe television format would be much better solution than separated movie...

If Dune was a 1 season 8 episode TV series, I feel like the movie was an abridged version of episodes 1-5. And then part 2 will be episodes 6-8 combined.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
If Dune was a 1 season 8 episode TV series, I feel like the movie was an abridged version of episodes 1-5. And then part 2 will be episodes 6-8 combined.
I do think it's a legit knock against the film that it omits so much info of the Sisterhood, Guild and even the Emperor(to a lesser extend, Mentats and why there're no computers/AI). It's not reasonable to expect viewers to look up lore online or wait for the next movie to get informed.
 
Last edited:

vpance

Member
I do think it's a legit knock against the film that it omits so much info of the Sisterhood, Guild and even the Emperor(to a lesser extend, Mentats and why there're no computers/AI). It's not reasonable to expect viewers to look up lore online or wait for the next movie to get informed.

Flat out it deserves at least 3 movies to be properly told. There's not enough time for both exposition and beautiful, contemplative cinematography. And it was already heavily tilted towards the latter. DV didn't have that box office power yet but if he did no doubt he'd have pushed for 3.

Maybe someone like Nolan could've made it work in 2 parts, but it would have a completely different feel.
 

WFairfax89

Neo Member
It depends on how many books Denis Villeneuve plans to shoot. However, after a generally successful Game of Thrones experience, for literary works of this size, only the TV format is suitable.
 

QSD

Member
Very LTTP but for what it's worth:

Visually stunning film, but felt a bit 'empty' (i.e. they live / talk in these huge, barely furnished spaces)

Stellan Skarsgard - great pick for the Baron, couldn't place the accent until I remembered chernobyl

I thought Paul came across as a kind of 'mary sue' as he doesn't have quirks, flaws, or a personality, really. I was also constantly reminded of GOT and Jon Snow for some reason (e.g. his character's type, his desire to live with the wildlings etc)

Weird disconnect between huge areal bombardment and on the ground swordfighting (?)

Extremely cool worm design, but what the hell do they eat when there are no harvesters around?

All in all I liked the movie but it felt a bit hollow, probably could have done better as a miniseries with some more time to flesh out the characters/world
 

Jsisto

Member
Very LTTP but for what it's worth:

Visually stunning film, but felt a bit 'empty' (i.e. they live / talk in these huge, barely furnished spaces)

Stellan Skarsgard - great pick for the Baron, couldn't place the accent until I remembered chernobyl

I thought Paul came across as a kind of 'mary sue' as he doesn't have quirks, flaws, or a personality, really. I was also constantly reminded of GOT and Jon Snow for some reason (e.g. his character's type, his desire to live with the wildlings etc)

Weird disconnect between huge areal bombardment and on the ground swordfighting (?)

Extremely cool worm design, but what the hell do they eat when there are no harvesters around?

All in all I liked the movie but it felt a bit hollow, probably could have done better as a miniseries with some more time to flesh out the characters/world
As is often the case with book adaptations, a lot of stuff is cut or briefly glossed over to fit the screen time. If you were interested in the story, I highly recommend reading the book. For a story as complicated as Dune, this is a case where I feel watching the movie before reading the book has some benefits. It’ll ease you into the Dune world, and the movie is only the first half of the book, so you’d have a lot to look forward to. Also, your questions about the worms and sword fighting are answered the book.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
Also, your questions about the worms and sword fighting are answered the book.
What is the answer to the worm question? Does the book also answer what happens to the worms after they would've turned Arrakis green with all the water caches?
 
Last edited:

Jsisto

Member
Sand plankton, which from what I remember are basically tiny creatures that have the potential to grow into sand worms in the right conditions. Dont want to give it all away and I honestly don’t remember all the details, but there’s this really delicate balance of the sand worm lifecycle that makes spice production possible. And to the other question I think the intention was always to leave a portion of the planet desert as to not lose the spice. I’m far from an expert on this, just someone who really enjoyed the book. A lot of these questions are actually answered in the appendix of the book. They go into great detail about the ecosystem and culture of Arrakis.
 

QSD

Member
As is often the case with book adaptations, a lot of stuff is cut or briefly glossed over to fit the screen time. If you were interested in the story, I highly recommend reading the book. For a story as complicated as Dune, this is a case where I feel watching the movie before reading the book has some benefits. It’ll ease you into the Dune world, and the movie is only the first half of the book, so you’d have a lot to look forward to. Also, your questions about the worms and sword fighting are answered the book.
I did actually read the book but it's so long ago now (maybe close to 20 years ago, back when the game Dune 2 was all the rage on the Amiga) I don't remember that much. I thought it was difficult to relate to the characters. A movie should be able to stand on its own IMHO.

There was a lot to love here in terms of set design, casting, music etc etc. A little more screen time (maybe 3 movies or a miniseries) would have given it more room to breathe.
Now it feels like we barely get to know the Atreides before they're all murdered.
 

clarky

Gold Member
Definitely agree with above points. I love the movie but thought it moved too fast.
If it was the same length but ended with the attack on the city the characters would have had some much needed breathing room. But on the other hand the studio wouldn't even commit to a part 2 so you can see why he went the way he did.
 

QSD

Member
Random Q but towards the end when they have to run from the worm for the rocks, the worm raises its head from the sand and seems to make a laughing sound? Did anyone else get that, or understand what it was about?
 

Ironbunny

Member
Random Q but towards the end when they have to run from the worm for the rocks, the worm raises its head from the sand and seems to make a laughing sound? Did anyone else get that, or understand what it was about?

Feels more like its was trying to "echo locate" the prey. It did the same sound once it went after the thumber in the next scene.
 
Top Bottom