4KUHD/Movie Review: Dune

 

There are some that have dubbed this the best sci-fi movie of all time. I would not go that far, but it is a very good movie and looks visually stunning. I cannot really compare it to the David Lynch version since I was pretty young when that one came out, and have only seen a few minutes of it on TV, but this version is very good. For those who are not familiar with the story, it is adapted from the famous 1960s novel by Frank Herbert. The story is centered around the members of House Atreides, headed by Leto Atreides (played by Oscar Issac), who is the Duke of the ocean planet Caladan, Leto is tasked by Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, who is essentially the ruler of a system of planets, to take over the desert planet Arrakis, which is the only planet on which the substance spice, which is critical for interstellar travel, among other things, is produced. House Atreides is replacing House Harkonnen as the rulers of Arrakis which results in the members of House Harkonnen hatching a plot to take out the members of House Atreides, including Leto's son Paul who is fated to become a leader of humanity. This is the first of two movies covering approximately the first half of the book.

The movie has a very strong cast including the aforementioned Oscar Issac and also stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, and Javier Bardem. Some of the actors, especially Zendaya and Bardem have smaller roles in this movie and will very likely have larger roles in part two.

For those who get the 4k Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The UHD disc just has the movie and the regular Blu-Ray disc has all the bonus features. There are great visuals not only of the desert planet but the scenes set in space and the few scenes set on the planet Caladan. The extras include several making-of-and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a feature on the various houses, a feature on creating the sandworms, deleted scenes, and more. All-in-all, over an hour's worth of extras. Some of the bonus material is a bit repetitive, but it is good if you like watching the extras.

Overall, the movie is very good. I cannot say how close it does or does not follow the book, since I have never read the book. But, I can say it is very well acted and it is a good mix of action and drama. The effects are a combination of practical effects and CGI. The CGI looks seamless and does not dominate the movie to the detriment of the overall story, the acting, etc. It is paced fairly well with the action scenes breaking up the slower scenes. If you like Sci-Fi movies this is definitely worth seeing.