Desolate planets and sandy winds. Intergalactic travels and fighting your worst enemies. 

This is Dune.

Dune, a new science fiction movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is based on the 1965 Dune book, written by Frank Herbert. The film takes place in the year 10,191 and is about Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), who has to travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to help his family and his people’s destiny. A lot of weight is held upon Atreides’ shoulders.

The film starts with Chani (Zendaya) narrating where the story takes place. In the story, there is a special spice called Melange that is valuable as the most important thing in the universe. It is used for interstellar travel and is a psychedelic substance that many planets fight over. In the film, Paul Atreides is from Caladan, and he keeps having visions of a girl from another dangerous planet called Arrakis. 

It’s an intense and tedious film at some points. I found some parts of the movie lacking, such as the dialogue and the way some characters were written. The movie felt too long, and some parts definitely could’ve been cut. A lot of conservation the characters had such as when they’d arrive at other planets weren’t much to the plot. 

Visually, this film was outstanding. The fight scenes were incredible, and the CGI was fantastic and visually impressive. The way the characters glowed whenever they got hurt or when they took their last breaths were distinctive. The cinematography, costumes, and sets were all beautiful. I thought the cinematography was impressive and every shot was stunning. However, the film should’ve focused a little more on the plot rather than the aesthetic. 

Cultures, traditions, and such impressed me throughout the film. You could really tell that the film wanted to immerse different backgrounds and cultures into the design and costumes. I appreciated the diversity. Dune explores the idea that possibly in the future, tensions between certain groups of people will dissolve, and humans will all work together.

I felt like something Dune needed was a moral or lesson. This would’ve been a better film if it explored more life lessons and had more of a meaning. Characters didn’t necessarily have any character development or meaning. However, after watching this film, I definitely want to check out the book.

A visually captivating yet dull film, Dune will leave you with questions and wanting more. Dune: Part 2 is set to come out in 2023. I will watch the sequels because I definitely was left on a cliffhanger. I would recommend this film to anyone who is interested in science fiction, but it’s not a necessity. Dune captures outer space in a beautiful way, but there definitely could’ve been improvement.