OCTOBER 29, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A15
Dune remake worth the watch...if you have the time
Review
BY T.J. REID
For the Keizertimes
The Fremen people have a distinc-
tive way of walking while traversing
the sandy wastes of Arrakis in Frank
Herbert's Dune: all over the place and with-
out rhythm. This is done as to not attract
the giant sandworms that are native to
the hellish planet, and if stars Timothée
Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson are to
be believed, this walk is much harder than
it initially seems. Something else that is
much harder than it initially seems?
Making a good movie adaptation of the
seminal sci-fi novel that is Dune. For the
most part, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune suc-
ceeds, but much like a Fremen sand walk,
it goes back and forth on a few things and
is ultimately a bit uneven.
One aspect of the novel that leads to a
diffi cult transition to fi lm is its sheer com-
plexity (and scope; Dune makes it clear
from the beginning that it is only the fi rst
of a planned two-parter). It is therefore a
bit hard to follow along in the movie when
the actors mumble and don’t enunciate
the silly sci-fi lines they’re delivering.
This, more than the plot itself lead me
to confusion more than once. But the act-
ing is also quite solid despite this, which
is to be expected with a cast that includes
the aforementioned two as well as names
such as Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard,
and Josh Brolin.
The soundtrack, written by Hans
Zimmer, is all over the place both in style
and execution. From bagpipes to tracks
with a distinctly Middle Eastern fl a-
vor, Dune does not really have a unifi ed
sound. For the most part it is nice to listen
to, however, even if it veers into bombas-
tically obnoxious territory from time to
time.
And did I even enjoy watching Dune?
I somehow still don’t know. Sometimes
I was bored with the slow-burn plot and
the political themes, and sometimes I was
enthralled by the world building and the
presentation of it all. When asking this
question of a movie this length I guess
it really comes down to which moments
where the most prevalent. If this is the
case, then yes, I enjoyed Dune.
At this point it’s probably not surpris-
ing that I’m going back and forth between
whether or not Dune should be enjoyed at
the theater or watched at home via HBO
Max. On the one hand, the visuals and
scope are astounding and were clearly
fi lmed with a theater screen in mind.
On the other hand, it was pretty nice
to be able to pause the almost three hour-
long fi lm any time I wanted to go to the
bathroom or ask my family what exactly
was going on. Plus, you know, subtitles.
Those are pretty nice too, especially when
the exposition gets mumbly.
Timothée Chalamet stars in Dune, currently in theaters and on HBO Max.
Despite some unevenness, Dune is
ultimately worth the watch if you have
the time and the patience. "Dune Dudes"
in particular (I assume this is what fans
call themselves… if not, what a waste) can
Submitted photo
rest assured that Frank Herbert's magnum
opus has gotten the adaptation it deserves
at last.
Dune is now available in theaters and
on HBO Max.
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