Non-Spoiler Review
Welcome back Stinkers! Today we have what is one of the best Sci-Fi movies out there, Dune! Part 1… As you know Dune: Part 2 has come out recently and it was absolutely amazing. Well before I can get my review for that out, I gotta review the first part. Now I need to just state the obvious. This is a fantastic movie. It’s a movie that is very rich in world building, and mythology. Honestly one of the most immersive movies that I have ever watched. But it may be a little too rich. Yes, watching this knowing that there is a continuation not so far in the future. But judging this movie on its own, it took too long for the action to start, and I think I would appreciate this movie more once I see part 2, but this as a solo watch isn’t as strong as I wanted it to be. Don’t get me wrong, I love this movie. I’m just trying to say that the pacing is a bit iffy, and it starts to become slow. Now that’s really the only negative I have. By the way, a tip for when you’re watching the movie. I made the mistake of not watching this on the big screen, and I ended up watching the movie on Max months and months later. So, when you’re watching it on streaming, you want to turn on the captains. When I decided to turn on the captains, it made the movie a whole lot better for me. And I usually prefer no captains because it usually takes a little from the movie for me. But you need it for Dune. It helped me understand it a lot more. So, really the key to enjoying this movie is to understand what’s going on, you need to understand the environment. Now making our way back to the actual movie, itself. And when watching it for a second time, I appreciate what it has done a lot more. Like after rewatching it, I just couldn’t get over it. I still can’t get over it! The cinematography was on point, the action that we took so long to get to, almost felt worth it. It also has many enjoyable and compelling characters. You have Paul Atredes, who discovers that he basically wasn’t supposed to exist, yet he is a Messiah type figure to the Fremen, and he’s trying to find his purpose in this grand universe. Yes, I know that it gets explored even more in the second part, but I really enjoyed the hints of what is soon to happen through those dreams that Paul had. He’s also a person that is able to build many friendships and relationships, like Paul and Duncan. Paul and Duncan’s friendship is very very compelling. I also really liked the partnership between him and Gurney. It’s whenever he runs up to give someone a hug whether it is with Thufir or it is with Duncan, where the House of Atreides feels like a family. Which makes it all the more compelling! Circling back to the cinematography, those visuals were stunning. I mean I was literally at aw when I was watching these fight scenes. And when saying that the mythology is rich and filled with a bunch of goodies, that is an understatement. I loved going back to YouTube, learning more and more of these things that I didn’t even realize had a deeper meaning. It makes me want to go back, and I have a feeling that if I were to go back, then I would just appreciate it more and more.
The Characters
Now that is about it for my overall thoughts of the movie, and I want to kind of go back through each topic/opinion I brought up. And in a more organized way I want to further elaborate on those, and even talk a bit of spoilers all throughout. So, you have been warned. Let’s talk about the characters. I loved this cast of characters. The performances from people like Timothe Chalomet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Jason Mamoa, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, and more. And who would’ve guessed. A star studded cast delivers loveable and compelling characters. Looking at you Madam Web. Jokes aside, I loved these characters all throughout here. They are seriously some of the best fictional characters that I have had the pleasure to view on screen. Villains, and Heroes. You have the House of Harkonnen, and the House of Atreides. They make it a world full of different base rules than us, and they honestly function differently than the world has ever known. I also have a feeling that’s why people like the story and universe of Dune so much is because of how relatable or compelling it is, but it extends so far to where it’s unheard of, but still in a way builds off of what we know. And I really dig that. In my breakdown, I plan to get into more of the mythology. But I will give the quick version of it here. It takes place in the future of course, and the three different groups we are introduced to here are the Harkonnen, Atreides, and the native people of Arrakis, the Fremen. And a resource that people in this future rely on is this spice. Spice is pretty much what everything depends on. And from my understanding as of this moment, the galactic emperor has given the planet of Arrakis to the House of Atreides. But as it unfolds, we learn that it was pretty much a setup for the Harokonnen to attack, to not only get back what was theirs, but to wipe out the Atreides. Now, pausing here, don’t worry I’ll still talk about the Fremen. So, with the conflict between the two houses, it was such an interesting thing to see. You don’t even see a whole lot of head to head. You see, army against army, but not really Vladimir and Leto. Now I think that seeing more conflict between the two would’ve been awesome. It was also at such a good pace, and it had pretty much the perfect balance of the good guys and bad guys. And on top of that, they’re able to develop the characters on each side, in an amazing way. Like Leto, he drops in these details, from the moment that we first saw him, to the moment he was betrayed by that doctor. He drops these pieces of his life that make you care about him. And that chemistry between him and Paul was so good as well. So, you really get to spend a lot of time with him, and I’ve really come to favor him more as a character. I mean Oscar Isaac was the only normal one in the family. Probably the most human. And when saying that it just makes me think of him all the more compelling. This movie, like I said, does move a bit slow, but once I see the Fremen appear more in the second one, I think having the two houses plus the Fremen would move the story at a much better pace.
Paul Atreides
So those are my thoughts about the characters and such as a whole, now I would like to just talk about some of these characters more specifically, talk about how much I enjoyed them and the relationships they were able to build within the film, and maybe talk about the houses more specifically. Let’s talk about the main man himself, Paul Atreides. He is very much an infected character. He is more conflicted with the sides of his family. You have the side of his dad, that’s probably his favorite parent. I could see it within Paul, he definitely relates more with his dad. One moment that kind of proved this for me is the talk that they had on their home planet. Where he says he wanted to be a pilot. But, he had to take the mantle of king. From what I could tell Paul doesn’t really want to be the king. But when madness breaks loose on Arrakis, Paul is forced into this role, and whenever the fighting starts that’s when the movie started to kick into speed, and that’s really when it brought the movie home for me. I mean really the only thing that was holding my attention was the relationships and the chemistry of the characters throughout. So, when you unlock the action part of the film, the mix of the chemistry, the action, and the mythology is all I needed, and it got me completely on board with the whole movie.
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
The next character that I want to bring up is Baron Vladimir Harokonnen. I gotta say, Stellan Skarsgard delivered, his presence was very heavy, and intense, he was overall a very threatening villain. Now like the movie, it does take a second for his character to get going, but once that action started, oooh he’s so cool. He’s seriously now one of my favorite fictional villains, at least one of the most threatening. If I had to pick a scene that represents the abundance of a character he is, it would have to be when he is with the Duke in that sort of meeting room. He is just about to kill Leto, he’s looming over not only the Duke, but looming over the audience. That’s what I mean when I say he had such a presence he would loom over top of you, almost forcing yourself to look up to him. Leto then triggers that poison, and he just almost sweeps the room. But later when some Atreides soldiers go into that room, he’s still alive, and he’s barely holding on there.
The Fremen
I now want to talk about the Fremen. Having now seen the second part, it messes with my enjoyment of this film just a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I still really love the first part. Anyways, I think the Fremen should’ve been in here more. For something so integral to the overall story, they were barely in there. It felt like there was a Fremen sized hole in there. They were so important to Paul’s character, but they weren’t really there. I think that they saved a little too much Fremen for the second movie. I mean that’s great for the second movie, it makes it even better. But it only makes this one weaker. The only thing that I can appreciate from the Fremen is that they were able to set up the story well. You start with Duncan living with the Fremen for a while, and then end with Paul and his mom joining them, hiding out from the Harkonnen attack.
Duncan Idaho
Speaking of Duncan, man, how great is Duncan? Duncan was able to bring humanity to the movie. When this movie gets out there, and super fictional, Duncan was able to take that and bring it down on a level to where I was able to connect with the film. Because Duncan was able to bring this into the movie, it makes it more emotional. When he sacrificed himself for Paul and his mom, that genuinely made me sad. He was heroic, and someone that not only Paul looked up to, but I looked up to. He was able to look after the house of Atreides whether it was behind the scenes, or on screen. Jason Mamoa just has such a remarkable presence on screen no matter what role he plays. My boy had such a memorable performance, and I just miss him whenever he is gone. When the Harkonnen attacked Arrakis, I was just cheering for Duncan, every step he made was integral, and just gave me more and more hope for him.
Mythology of Dune
Another thing that I wanted to bring up was the mythology/worldbuilding. From the oceans of Caladan, to the sand dunes of Arrakis, I was immersed from the start. The cinematography done in both parts is truly something special, and something that Denis Vileneuve must not lose. You cannot have the same movie whatsoever without cinematographer, Greig Fraser. From the camera movement, and the shots we get around the room and the characters, truly capture the art of film. Now I should probably stop, before I steer too far away from the actual mythology of the movie. I just needed to mention that because you wouldn’t have this spectacle without it. I mentioned how they were able to capture the art of film, through the camera so well, each shot has a meaning behind it. I couldn’t help, but notice the bulls throughout the home of Atreides. Leto mentions that his father (Paul’s grandfather) was a bullfighter. That fact just brings it a little closer to earth, because of course bullfighting is something that goes on today. But, when it is brought down close like that, things just get real. Star Wars for me felt like something that humans and Earthlings would never get to. But, when they do stuff like this, it feels like this could be a future that we’re heading to. The movie never really has time to dive deep into the reason why there’s no technology in the first place. I’m sure director, Denis Villenueve had a great reason on why he didn’t include the reasoning, but I feel like it might’ve been really important, and that it would’ve made the story a little more deeper in depth. Artificial intelligence was on the rise, and it got to the point where humans were threatened by A.I. and thought that they just might face extinction. That is when all humans simultaneously got rid of all technology, to stand on their own. That sort of messaging could;ve been really powerful for a time where we are getting to. I understand that during 2021, A.I. wasn’t as scary as it is now, but A.I. was still a thing, and it was still stronger then it was before. It only takes someone so brilliant to come up with an idea, for another brilliant man to take it, and make more of a message out of it, and show the world how scary it can be. Frank Hervert was brilliant for what he was able to put down on paper, Denis Villenueve was brilliant for being able to show it on the big screen. This unique plot and idea, never really done before, was able to make the worldbuilding of the movie all the better. The idea presented was captivating, and the politics of the universe was like nothing that I’ve seen before.
House Harkonnen
I guess that leads me to talk about the different houses. House Atreides and House Harkonnen. The House of Harkonnen is a rather cold blooded species. More of a bloodline, but they seem to have steered off the path of human then Atreides has. For the longest time, the Harkonnens have had ownership of Arrakis and its spice production, overseen by Dave Bautista’s, Glossu Rabban. It then gets to a point where the production of spice has made them even more wealthy than The Emperor. Now let me remind you why the spice is so important. Remember this takes place hundreds of thousands of years into the future. And like I just said, Humans have then simultaneously agreed that technology should be gone. There were then mutated human computers that provide analytics and information that is needed, and there are navigators. For space travel, the only thing that can be used is spice that is found on Arrakis. So, because of that, spice is a pretty important import for whoever is in control of Arrakis. Now circling back to The Harkonnen gaining more wealth than The Emperor. What I liked about The Emperor is that Denis Villeneuve was able to make it where he had a great presence, but he didn’t have to be there. That was for The Emperor, Villeneuve might’ve been able to make that happen for him, but that didn’t work for the Fremen for me. Again, saving the great stuff for the second movie. Some ways that’s great, but not for this movie on its own. But, you could already tell how much of a bad person he is without really needing to see him. He’s almost even a genius at putting this whole thing together. He was a jealous old man because of the riches The Harkonnen was getting. To put a stop to that, he gives the planet to the Atreides, to get the Harkonnen mad. That’s when the Harkonnen attacked the city, and once again a masterful job of capturing that action, I was literally just in awe watching all those explosions. Don’t forget too, they brought in another group, The Sardaukar. These soldiers also left me in awe. Just the fighting style alone, between Atreides and Sardaukar. I just can’t get over how cool this fight was! Circling back to the partnership between The Harkonnen. That is just a great representation of how evil and powerful The Emperor truly is. In a lot of stories, there is a puppet master that is able to put the events of the story together. You would usually need to get more of an actual character for that, but the impressive thing is that Dune was able to do it when saving him for the next movie. The only thing I don’t like about The Emperor in here, is that it kind of makes the Harkonnen feel like a pawn. The Baron was someone so threatening, and he’s basically the emperor that we didn’t get. When the Baron literally rises up in the air, it is actually scary! For a group so vicious and threatening, they don’t feel threatening. And they had a crazy amount of potential. And it feels like it’s just me that feels this way. The Harkonnen are such an interesting group of antagonists, and they have just as rich of a mythology that the Fremen do, but it just isn’t explored all that much.
House Atreides
Now let’s talk about House Atreides. We get a lot of time with the Atreides, a little too much to where it gets to the point where it takes away from the Harkonnen a bit. Putting that aside, I think the Atreides side of things was really good. I already talked about the relationship between Paul and his father, but I just wanted to rehash on it just a little bit. The Atreides are a family with true depth to them. Especially in the second half, but I won’t get into it today. Leto is a man that has his passions, but has to adapt, he is truly a great man. He said that before he became the duke, he wanted to be a pilot. But he had that calling, and that was when he knew that he wanted to become the duke. He was wise enough to know that the time had come, and he was able to adapt into someone that was able to lead a whole population of people. Throughout the movie, you just saw how noble he was, like when he had to save the spice workers from the sand worm. “Damn the spice!” That just shows how he didn’t agree to obtain the planet of Arrakis for the riches, but for his people, and the people that follow. Which is all the more devastating, when The Emperor’s plan unfolds, and betrays the Atreides. I still can’t get over that fight, when everyone was asleep, then woken up by the explosions and the Sardaukar soldiers. It really gets them out of bed, and springs them right into the action. It’s a genius move they played. That’s just what makes it even more heartbreaking when the Atreides are basically wiped out. It’s also a bit emotional when Paul and his mom find out what happened. Someone that I kind of feel even bad for is Dr. Yueh. He fell victim to the Harkonnen, and it was another smart move that was played. He did what the Baron asked him of, and he said that he promised him that he’d join his wife, and he killed him. It wasn’t a tear jerker for me, but I felt bad for the dude. He had to betray the people that took him in, and there were a lot of people that he built relationships and friendships with, that he just threw away. That’s kind of the thing I don’t like about him, he went back on so many that cared about him, just for one person. It just didn’t feel like the best idea, compared to the other chess-like moves that were almost brilliant here. He goes against everything he’s built, yet he still tries to help by giving Leto that tooth. I kind of felt that Leto felt that way too, and he just had to work with what he got. That’s when I feel even more bad, with the unfortunate luck that happens when the Baron is still hanging on there. Another part that I wanted to talk about from the Atreides is the politics. Now, I know I’ve already mentioned the politics of Dune, but I just wanted to talk about it even more. I just can’t get over how unfortunate the Atreides’ circumstances were. They were given this amazing opportunity to gain more power than before, but people that they thought were friends ended up betraying them. That’s actually a good lesson you could take from this. I’m trying my best from talking about the second part to save it for that review, but I am going to say that this lesson is explored more in the second movie. The Atreides were able to gain strong relations with the other houses, and people like The Emperor. That’s when The Emperor goes behind their backs, and he gets The Harkonnen to do his dirty work by getting rid of the Atreides. That’s where you can take that lesson, where The Emperor goes behind Leto and the Atreides’ backs and backstabs them. We learn how close Leto was with The Emperor too, and it’s just even more sad. This movie goes hard into politics!
That is going to wrap it up for my review on Dune: Part One. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to check out my review. Make sure you check out The Big Stinker Blog for my coverage on movies, tv, and gaming. And stay tuned for my review of Dune: Part Two. So, until next time stinkers! Bye bye.