Dune Is A Masterclass In Large-Scale Sci-Fi

Good science fiction can come in many flavors; adventure movies like 'Star Wars', action movies like 'Edge of Tomorrow', anything from drama (Looper) to crime noir (Blade Runner 2049), to even horror (Event Horizon), there's really no limit to the freedom working with science fiction gives you. One thing I didn't realize was missing from my life until just recently, was science fiction with political intrigue (but more on that in a moment).

And so, along comes Denis Villeneuve, already one of my favorite directors working today. His catalogue includes personal favorites of mine such as Sicario, Prisoners, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049, and there's something all these films have in common that I think makes Villeneuve perfect for directing 'Dune': Creative. Vision.

Villeneuve is a remarkable director who brings a ridiculous amount of creative vision to any project with which he gets involved, and you can see this in his behind the scenes interviews; breaking down a scene, you can see how much thought, how much artwork and sound design and shot composition goes into each and every frame of his films. His meticulousness rivals that of George Miller (who reportedly oversaw the editing of Mad Max Fury Road, more or less frame by frame to slow down or speed up action as needed to create the desired effects), and it shows. To date, Denis has directed two movies that I would consider to be some of the best looking movies of all time: Blade Runner 2049, and now Dune.

So enough preamble, let's get to the actual movie: Dune is awesome, and I mean that very literally. The visuals, the scale, the political drama, they are awe inspiring in their scope and emotional resonance. That said, do not mistake the marketing or my words; Dune is NOT an action movie, it's a slow burn, Shakespearean political thriller that happens to have some action scenes. Being a science fiction political thriller, Dune lives and dies on two major factors: Do the actors make us care about what's happening, and does the sci-fi spectacle capture your imagination, and the answer to both in this case is a resounding YES.

I'll be completely honest, I went in to this movie concerned that the political aspects would be horribly boring, but the biblical scale of the events on screen (even with things as seemingly uninteresting as a treaty-signing), paired with the, at times, Oscar-worthy performances being given by this films all-star cast make almost every second of this film a thrill ride. While everyone in the film is certainly pulling more than their weight when it comes to performances (especially Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson), I have to echo other critics (and Villeneuve himself), and give the highest of praise to Timothee Chalamet. Saddled with the unenviable task of playing a modern interpretation of Frank Herbert's reluctant Space Messiah, Chalamet brings so much emotion and nuance to the role that I forgot I was watching a well-known actor on a screen. He really sells it here.

The real star of the show, however, is the visuals. Dune is quite possibly the best looking movie I've ever seen. As I mentioned above, the scale of things in this movie is nothing short of biblical, and the art design and visual effects don't hold back on anything. Ships the size of small moons, massive cities, and the towering sandworms are all so well realized and well composited (due to some very clever work by the ever-underappreciated visual effects artists) that it's often hard to tell the digital from the practical. The movie is also smart in the way it conveys scale; it always keeps objects in frame that we understand the relative size of, whether that be humans, mountain ranges, or entire planets.

The scale of these visuals is further enhanced by the soundtrack, with Hans Zimmer turning in one of his all time greats. Zimmer is a master at crafting music to fit a mood, and his music shines here, playing off of the stellar acting and cinematography to create anything from unbearable tension, to fear, to triumph (the Gom Jabbar scene in particular comes to mind, with Zimmer's score, Greig Fraser's camera work, and Chalamet's acting coming together to turn what is essentially the worlds deadliest staring contest into a moment of horrible tension and, subsequently, epic triumph).

Oh and it would be a sin not to mention it after posting the above image; the costume design in this movie better win an Oscar, I mean...come on.

Before we call it quits, here's a shortlist of other things in this movie that I thought were just cool:

- The Voice, and the effect it has on people, was handled so well.

- The absolute chaos that ensued when a sandworm was present.

- The fact that characters use sign language to communicate silently was a nice touch.

- The final knife duel in the film has a lot of "blink and you miss it" moments that informed the characters involved which had me going absolutely nuts. This is the kind of subtle detail you get with a master like Villeneuve at the helm.

- Jason Momoa's take on Duncan Idaho (wherein he plays...Jason Momoa, not a bad thing) actually brings a nice lightness to an otherwise dour and serious affair, his charisma really helps push things along when he's around.

Dune is an excellent movie, easily one of my new science fiction favorites, and, I daresay, a modern classic in the making (if its sequel lives up to the standards set by this part 1). A political thriller of truly epic proportions driven by a director who eats, sleeps, and breathes creative vision, bolstered by stellar acting, unreal sounds, and truly awe-inspiring visuals. This one is not to be missed, and comes with my highest possible recommendation.