Despite the Atreides’ love for their homeworld, they are forced to travel to the dusty, sandy, red planet where the Universe’s entire supply of Spice (a mineral used for interstellar travel) is mined.
But the previous colonialist overlords of the planet, the Harkonnens, led by their Baron (Stellan Skaarsgaard) aren’t looking to turn over their riches so easily. As they hatch a plan to destroy house Atreides, the Duke turns to the native people of Arrakis.
Meanwhile, Paul contends with the prophecy his mother (Rebecca Ferguson) and the Bene Gesserit have given him; he is to be a messiah on this planet. But before he can be, he has to learn how to survive it.
Based on the incredible, and oft thought unadaptable, novels by Frank Herbert, Dune is a masterpiece, crafting a compelling, engaging and beautiful tale out of the first half of the main book and unravelling the dense subject-matter into an easy-to-understand and enjoyable 2-hour 35-minute film.
Across the board, the acting is superb, with Chalamet and Isaac in particular standing out as perfectly cast iterations of their literary predecessors.
That being said, from a performance perspective there isn’t a single weak link here, and every appearance of every character comes with a palpable, tangible excitement that is hard to shake.
Couple that with a tale that is grand, exciting and fantastic in nature. Frank Herbert’s original novel, along with Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, is the base seed of pretty much every sci-fi we have seen on the big screen in recent decades, so there was always the potential that the tale could feel old or stale.
Nevertheless, director Denis Villeneuve circumvents these issues by melding all of the familiar elements together in an unfamiliar, and exciting, new piece that doesn’t feel quite like anything that has come before. Perhaps that is to do with the story, which is confidently told without resolution, in anticipation of a second film.
Then again, perhaps it is to do with the scale. Dune is grandiose to say the least. The costumes are gorgeous, and perfect.
The set design is massive, gargantuan, and endlessly awe-inspiring. Cinematographer Greig Fraser knocks the shooting of the piece out of the park, and every single frame feels like a piece of art.
Despite all of this, without a shadow of a doubt the most impressive part of Dune is the score by Hans Zimmer.
This feels like a seminal work from the maestro, and the audioscape of the piece will stay with you long after leaving the cinema - whether it’s the all-encompassing wave of sound that closes the picture, or the glare of bagpipes as Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck charges into battle.
If this is the most beautiful movie of the year, it’s the score that takes it into the pantheon of classics for the ages.
Dune is a masterpiece that has to be seen to be believed.
Jacob Richardson is Creative Director at Film Focus. www.filmfocusau.com
