‘Dune’ is a spectacle that gets lost in a sandstorm | TIFF movie review

House Atreides is tasked with controlling the mining operation on the dangerous desert planet of Dune, but what they don't know is political intrigue is afoot

On the surface, Dune is ambitious and thrilling. However, it feels like a good movie that flirts with greatness but never quite gets there. Though it's stunningly made and designed, the classic story just doesn't hold the same weight as it did when it was first released and the decision to only release half of it doesn't help.

Why did Blade Runner 2049 work when it really shouldn't have? When it was announced that Denis Villeneuve would direct the sequel to Blade Runner it had already toiled in development hell for nearly two decades, usually the kiss of death even if the film eventually does see the light of day. However, Villeneuve delivered a singular meditative vision that didn't set out to remake the original, but rather expand on the world that was already there and dive even further into its thematic depths. That's what Villeneuve had to do with Dune, especially after David Lynch's much-maligned 1984 adaptation. And while he delivered on the world-building and action, underneath feels like a lack of a beating heart.

Erring closely to Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, Dune follows the members of House Atreides. Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) is tasked with stewarding the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, which is used by the Empire for its endless supply of “spice,” a powerful substance that has supernatural effects on humans. He, along with his concubine Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and son Paul (Timothée Chalamet), journeys to the planet to begin the difficult work controlling the spice mining operation. However, political intrigue is afoot as Vladimir (an unrecognizable Stellan Skarsgård), Baron of House Harkonnen, is plotting the downfall of House Atreides.

The world, captured gloriously by cinematographer Greig Fraser (Lion, Zero Dark Thirty), is built with terrific detail that makes it so fun to explore. The world is littered with fun details in the costumes (Ferguson's Lady Jessica is a fashion icon), ships (dragonfly spaceships!), and culture. The mythology feels rich and deep. Like there are endless layers to parse through.

There is a gaggle of names and places to keep in order, but Villeneuve's deliberate pacing makes it easy to keep track of the story — almost too easy. The story is quite simple, for better and worse. Better because heavy exposition tends to bog down sci-fi. On the other hand, he exposes how thinly built the plot of Dune is.

Though Dune was heavily acclaimed at the time of its release and still stands as one of the most influential novels ever written, nearly six decades later we've seen countless iterations of the “chosen one” storyline that is at its core — Star Wars, The Terminator, The Matrix, even Harry Potter. This undercuts the exceptional world-building that Villeneuve accomplishes by giving us a story that frankly fails to take full advantage of what the world has to offer.

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And the main part of that failure is Paul himself. The movie hinges on our desire for his success and the success of his people. And while yes, it's easy enough to understand that House Atreides and the Fremen are good and House Harkonnen is bad, we're never shown in earnest why we should root for them. We're simply told.

On the surface, Dune is ambitious and thrilling. The few action set-pieces are tight and suspenseful as are the scenes of pure dramatic heft. In particular, many of the scenes between Ferguson's Lady Jessica and Chalamet's Paul start to find the humanistic quality that the rest of the film is missing. In one scene, Jessica and Paul use their shared knowledge of hand signs and telepathic powers to take down a group of soldiers. It's the kind of plot and character-driven action that made Blade Runner 2049 so successful. However, in Dune it feels like it slips away like sand through your hands as soon as it is over because it's difficult to muster up a connection to any of the characters.

Dune, or Dune Part 1 as the title card puts it, feels like half of a movie. Unlike all the “chosen one” films I listed above, it can't stand on its own. Even the introduction of the Fremen people (led by Zendaya and Javier Bardem) feels cut short. There is a lot of story to get through, but the decision to split the film may have stretched the story to its absolute limit. I don't mean to sound overly negative. Dune is a good movie that flirts with greatness but just never quite gets there — much like the chosen one. But perhaps, as the story goes, it'll get there in the end.

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Hey! I'm Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I'm also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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Karl Delossantos

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Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.