Dune is a science fiction film based on the book of the same name written by Frank Herbert and published in 1964. Another movie was made in 1984 under the same name, which did not do well at the box office. Despite the critical acclaim and box office success of the current 2021 Dune movie, I did not like it, but maybe I am an exception. The critical acclaim that it received came from organizations, such as the National Film Institute and the National Board of Review, which should have been my first clue that I would not like this film. I have to say that the acting was fine and the cinematography was excellent, but the cinematic rendering of the plot was far from exciting or interesting.
The film follows the Atreides family as they are involved in a war for the planet Arrakis in the feudal aristocratic empire. Paul Atreides is sent to Arrakis to replace the fief ruler there. Arrakis is the main source of what is called “spice” that is used to enhance an extra sense of consciousness for long space journeys. The ruler, Shaddam, who assigned Atreides to the desert planet, is threatened by Atreides and moves to wipe out the family line. The native fighters, called Fremen, are unfriendly towards the spice miners but are skilled warriors. This part of the plot was shown very briefly at the beginning of the film but was not explained very well. I never felt quite clear about what was actually going on.
As a side story, Lady Jessica is the mother of Paul, the hero of this tale. Lady Jessica is a member of an elite sisterhood whose members possess special abilities. Now, I thought Lady Jessica was Leto’s wife, but apparently, she was only a concubine that gave Leto a male heir, elevating her status. This was not explained. It is revealed by the high priestess of the female sect that Lady Jessica was instructed to produce a daughter who in turn would produce a son that possessed the same abilities as the members of their sect. Apparently, that boy would be somewhat of a messiah. The messiah of what was not revealed at all. There is a scene in the movie where the high priestess admonished Lady Jessica for producing a boy instead of the expected girl, and she had difficulty believing that Paul was the messiah they were looking for. He did have powers, but they were in their infancy, and he needed practice using them. I found Lady Jessica to be weak for someone that was expected to produce a messianic line. She cried all the time.
All of that was the front end of the story. It took a while to get through it. There was a little bit of excitement with a sand creature during the mining of spices and a fight scene where the government was attacked and most everyone was killed. Lady Jessica and Paul escape to the desert where they were taken in by the Fremen, the desert people. That’s where it ended.
A couple of film versions of the book were made previously, making me think that the film industry thought the book had a lot of potential for a film. I think the film adaptation could have done a better job of explaining what was going on in a shorter amount of time without the audience having to guess. If the audience had not read the book, they would be in the dark about some things. The acclaim for cinematography was spot on, but the movie plot needed some work.
This film was in theaters over the Christmas holidays but now is streaming online and available for at-home viewing. Maybe you will like it more than I did; I know several people who thought it was really good. If you are one of those people, you will be happy to know that there will be a part two. Oh, joy!
