This post will not include any spoilers for the movie
So this movie got an 8.2 rating on IMDB and 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and my only question is why? Don't get me the movie is good for what it is, but 8.2 is also the rating movies like Scarface, Taxi Driver, Up, Heat, and Batman Begins got. The latter, along with Kill Bill Vol 1 that got a lower rating, are the reason I am baffled by the rating.
While both Batman Begins and Kill Bill serve as the first movie like Dune, both feel like their own movies, you leave them with more to come but if that more doesn't, they're still good movies in their own right.
The movie did a lot of things great, the audio, cinematography, the communications of feelings, and the acting was all great in movie. However, all of that serves like a Youtube series of videos more than it does a movie since none of it served toward a conclusion within the movie. Like, below is a scene brilliantly acted and directed in the movie Marriage Story.
The movie has many more scenes that are just as brilliant. Imagine watching all of them, then the movie cuts off 20 minutes before the ending. They're still great scenes but without a conclusion, they're just a collection of well-acted videos on Youtube.
While I did admit that the acting was good in the movie and the way it communicated itself, I still have an issue with the pacing, the movie is so slow. I get that it was done like that purposely to be accurate to the book, but as I said earlier, you didn't give me a conclusion in a movie that lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes.
Accuracy to books should be done in a mini-series or just a series, not a movie. Movies were made to be conclusive, whether, in the plot or just the messaging, we still don't know if Cop in Inception is still dreaming or not, but we do know that he let go of the totem so it is concluded. Batman Begins ends with the Joker sending Batman his card, yes, it serves as a sequel setup, but within the same movie, it served as just a reminder that Batman's job wasn't done yet and that chaos will ensue.
The special effects in the movie do get great, but they also get bad. This hurts because the movie was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who also directed Blade Runner 2049, that movie had the best looking modern-day special effects I have ever seen. With almost 150 million as budget, you'd think/hope that some of the special effects weren't so sloppy-looking.
I get that most of the budget went toward the actors as Dune seems to have gathered every actor with a name on God's green earth, and even from underwater since Jason Mamoa is in the movie. That number of recognizable actors does make some scenes distracting. There's definitely a law of diminishing returns at play here. You can't have so many stars in a movie without it feeling like Seth Rogen's comedy-type of movie.
Some of the concepts introduced weren't that good either, the shields are great. But those dragonflies looked very stupid and impractical
Image source
In a movie that takes itself so seriously as a sci-fi epic, no one should put time into designing something like that.
The soundtrack was mainly great, but some of it was reminiscing of the Blade Runner 2049 movie which is a completely different type of movie despite the genre being named the same. And some sounds were repeated that I am pretty sure I will live to see the future where those sounds are being made fun of. Much like my disappointment with the special effects, I was disappointed to know that Hans Zimmer of all people was the one who did the soundtrack. Also, some of those sound effects seemed completely out of place and ruined the seriousness of some scenes.
Most of the positive things I have to say about the movie are seen within the first 30-45 minutes of the movie. It is set up brilliantly, it communicates the direction of the movie pretty well. I was completely in tune with the movie during that period. Before it went beyond, I had no complaints whatsoever, not about the acting, not about the directing, special effects, soundtrack, and generally the tune of the movie. But after that, the movie disintegrates into a jumbled, prolonged mess. In between a few great scenes here and there I had lost my interest and investment in the movie.
My Rating
5.5/10
In Summary
I honestly don't know how this movie came to have an 8.2 rating on IMDB or 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is an incomplete movie. By the simplest of terms, a movie should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This movie did great in the first part, not so great in the second, and it completely lacks the third. So giving such a high rating makes no sense.
I will come back to watch the movie later and will judge it along with the sequel that I will have to wait two years to watch. But I will judge both as one, very long movie. Because currently, this is not a full movie.
The End
That's my opinion, looking forward to reading yours in the comments.
I felt the same, from a technical standpoint it’s great and there are good plot points but ends outta nowhere... I get that it’s just the first part but meh
Yeah, exactly, like the movie just ends. And that line at the end "This is just the beginning" kind of infuriated me. Yeah, thanks I just spent two and a half hours watching something that is "just the beginning".
For a first part, it is fine, and I would have rated it here even if it was like a first episode or season of a show, but that's not the dynamic of movies.
The problem with this film is that it is not a movie, but half of a movie. It's like Kill Bill, the first part by itself is inconclusive, it's not until part two comes when we can judge if it was a good story or not, however, everything else, everything that is not story, but placing on stage, is really great.
It's true that Batman Begins did very well, but they are two completely different things, Gotham City is not very different from our world. And I think the most important aspect to consider about a movie like Dune, is whether it has the ability to really convince you of that world. And I think it does that very well. On the other hand, about the story, I remember the first season of Games of Thrones, and I'm not quite sure that all the things were in order even after ten episodes, adapting GOT into a movie or two, what would that be like? It's kind of similar to what's happened here, it's a very long story, so it's almost impossible to do it all in one movie.
I know it's not the point to discuss here, but I agree with what you said about Blade Runner 2049, it was just awesome.
Good review.
Thing is, you're comparing it to GOT, a TV Show. TV shows are made for those kinds of stories. I could give it three or even four seasons to set up the world as a show. But it is a movie, so it has to be judged as a movie. I think overall we agree, which is good.
And yeah, Blade Runner 2049 is an amazing movie.
Absolutely, that's why I think maybe Dune should have been a TV show and not a movie. Its story doesn't seem to work very well for movies.
Either way, my friend who read the book says it gets better. So I am looking forward to it.
The story has a strong fan base from the book. This movie is only the first part. I saw it twice, because the first time I saw it I was a bit exhausted, it was at night and I couldn't appreciate it well. The second part is already confirmed and could be released in 2023. The director even talked about a possible trilogy.
Well, I hope the overall series is good and continues with at least the same level of visuals. I am a fan of the director and would hate to see him fail.
I love your review a whole lot, it shows you really do care about movies. I am yet to see it but you gave me an insight on what to expect and for the rating,I think you explained that yourself that the cast of the movie was so big that they probably have the rating put of respect for them.
I will definitely see this movie because of you and hopefully I'll have a different opinion.
PS: I love that you even paid attention to the soundtrack of the movie.
Yeah, you could wait until the sequel comes out and have the full experience. I am not saying the movie isn't enjoyable by the way, just that it is missing the important of what makes a movie. With the ratings it got you'd thing it was a complete movie. I just don't buy into the argument that it sets up something as an excuse for it to be rated high.
I am glad you liked my review. And yeah, soundtracks are important for me. Some movies get 1 or 2 points from me just because of the soundtrack.