Graphic by Joe Weishaar
‘Dune’… ‘Dune’… ‘Dune’. What can I say about ‘Dune’? It is a really good movie, but I wanted to dislike it.
Based on the sci-fi book of the same name by Frank Herbert, ‘Dune’ follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), who is deemed the future of his people. He must follow a specific journey in order to know how to truly lead his people. He waits as his father shows him the ins and outs of being a ruler.
However, Atreides is still young and fearful in his life. He will eventually have responsibilities that can be only handled through the proper amount of experience, and has known about them all his life. Unfortunately, he has to learn these responsibilities fast, because war is waging between dangerous forces in the galaxy.
Now let’s get down to my personal disappointment. When I first heard about ‘Dune’, I envisioned a beautiful war based film. And, do not get me wrong, this movie was truly beautiful in terms of the visuals. The cinematographer really showcased his skillset. They made a fantastic decision by choosing Greig Fraser to man the camera.
When I saw how beautiful it was in the trailer, I thought that the fight scenes would be even better. What is a higher compliment than “beautiful”? I do not know, but I was waiting for this film to show me one.
The fight scenes in this film were dreadful. Oh, did I type “fight scenes”? I mean to type “fight scene”. I am still trying to figure out if it was actually a fight scene as well. Maybe I fell asleep and dreamt of one. I was very disappointed, because I knew this film had potential to showcase a new style of fight scenes but didn’t.
However, I later had to relax and stop being so judgemental. I now know that this film was not about physical fight scenes. It is about mental configuration. It is about the process of being able to handle a multitude of emotions while still functioning in day-to-day life. The true message of this film is about accepting reality, disregarding false hopes in human nature and believing in a prosperous future.
I started to look at this film for what it was, not for what I wanted it to be. And that’s how I found beauty in every visual aspect, mixed with superb storytelling.
This film is based on storytelling. It was not about the dialogue exactly. It was about how the dialogue matched the beauty within the scenery. They complimented each other well. I must admit that this was one of the first films I have seen in awhile that could have told a story just based on the scenery, and I appreciated that.
Overall, ‘Dune’ is impressive. It has a lot more positives than negatives. In hindsight, there might not have been any negatives at all. It can get boring at times, because there is so much dialogue and storytelling to sort through, but it is worth it.
Let me be crystal clear: if you are expecting a film based around high contact action scenes, this is not the film for you. However, if you are interested in storytelling and a mentally stimulating film, this movie is for you.
Personally, I enjoyed this movie more than I thought, and I actually might read the book. I feel like I have to see the origins of ‘Dune’ to fully understand and appreciate the concept.