Introduction to the Dune Movie Review

 

Dune is a film that was initially shown in the movie theaters for a short time, went to HBO Max, left HBO Max and then returned to HBO Max. Since the Dune movie is once again on HBO Max, I decided to watch it. Did I enjoy watching the Dune movie? Will you? Check out my movie review of Dune to find out.

 

Plot of the Dune Movie

 

 

If you read the Dune novel by Frank Herbert, you may already be familiar with the plot of the movie. I have not read the novel, so my review will be based strictly on my interpretations of the scenarios I saw as I watched the Dune movie on HBO Max.

 

The plot seems to involve a young man waiting to take his father’s place as ruler. The heir is the character Paul Atreides who is played by the actor, Timothee Chalamet. During this transfer of rulers, there are some battles, most of which take place in the wide expanse of the desert. A subplot is the attempt to secure a valuable commodity from their enemies.

 

 

Pace of the Dune Movie

 

 

In my opinion, this movie was slow-moving, except for the few times there were battles going on. If you expect this movie to have never-ending action, you may be disappointed. That being said, it looks like the screenwriter and director took the time to develop the characters, especially, the main character played by Timothee Chalamet.

 

 

Repetition and Redundancy in the Dune Movie

 

 

I noticed that this film followed the movie playbook of someone who was once a friend – then becomes an enemy. This situation happened at least twice during the movie. That being said -- and I editorialize here --since this movie is based on a novel, maybe the screenwriter was only following the book as written.

 

By the way, this 2021 Dune movie is the second reiteration – with the first Dune movie being released back in 1984.

 

 

Attention to Cinematography and Scenic Details tn the Dune Movie

 

 

Hats off to the staff responsible for the Computer-Generated Imagery – CGI, green screens, behind the scene props, etc. in the movie, Dune. In my opinion, they did a good job showing not only the desert environment but also the mountainous and stone structures that were seen during the movie.

 

Zendaya ‘s Acting Role in the Movie Dune

 

I was expecting to see more scenes with Zendaya in this movie, especially since she attended the media events and interviews to promote the movie with the star of the film, Timothee Chalamet. Looking back on the movie, she hardly had any lines and did not even appear on camera until the middle of the movie as well as when the film was almost over. 

 

The lack of Zendaya's screen-time did not go unnoticed by Timothee Chalamet. During one of the media interviews, he mentioned that in the movie sequel, Zendaya would have a larger part.  

 

To Zendaya’s credit – she did not seem to mind having such a small part in the film, given all the publicity she received for her latest Spider-man movie with Tom Holland -- Spider-man: No Way Home. However, that is a different story for a different time.

 

 

Stand Out Actor in the Dune Movie

 

Unfortunately, there were no actors that stood out to me in the film Dune, including the star of the movie, Timothee Chalamet. I think he probably tried to give a good performance, but there was really nothing in the script where he could have shown off his acting abilities. Maybe this had to do with the premise of the story, which did not give much room for any of the characters to show off their acting skills.

 

 

 

 

Ending of the Dune Movie

 

No Spoilers here. I will mention that after you’ve watched the movie Dune, you may forget how it  ended after a few days.  In fact, you may forget this film altogether. The good news is Dune seemed to have brought in quite a bit of box office money, so it cannot realistically be categorized as a flop. However and in my opinion, Dune cannot be viewed as a success from the standpoint of being an entertaining and enjoyable movie – which  unfortunately, it was not.  

 

 

Assessment of the Dune Movie

 

As I alluded to before, I  did not  enjoy watching the Dune movie. Fortunately, I did not rush out to see this movie when it was first released -- which was a good thing. 

 

On a positive note, I admired that the movie Dune is different from similar type movies I’ve seen in the past. I viewed the Dune movie as sort of a science fiction film that is based in the desert, instead of in space. 

 

The question is – Should you watch the movie Dune?  I will leave this question for you to answer. Just keep in mind that the movie Dune is 2 hours and 35 minutes long and there may be other things you probably would prefer to do instead of watching it.

 

Rating of the Dune Movie

 

Based on a rating of 1 star to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest, I rate the Dune movie 2 stars.