Dune (2021)
Whenever I think of Frank Herbert and Dune, I think back to my first year in America. I was in 8th grade, and didn’t know anyone but still marveled at how well stocked the Jr High Library was in Sci Fi. That was the year I plowed through most of Dune and other books by Ben Bova. Sadly I can’t tell you which of Ben Bova’s books I read, but given that Frank herbert is most famous for Dune, that’s probably what stuck in my head.
It probably also stuck around becuase of the 1980s movie that had been memed to death, but that’s a much smaller consideration. Probably my most fond memories is that of me and my brothers playing the 1979 Dune Board Game back in Singapore…
With all that pretext, we come to the movie. to be honest, its been so long since I read the books that the only things I remember about it was that it involved Atredies, the Harkonnean bad guys, the bene gessirt (witches), and the desert planet. and of course sand worms.
Thankfully the movie remains fairly close to the book such that as I watched, more and more details filtered back to me. Duncan Idaho, Chani, Stilgar….
And as a movie, it works. It stays true to the book, while injecting its own interpretation of what Arrakis looks like. Its got great action scenes, showing how the shields of the future might work (it makes no sense, but it serves the author’s purpose), and what a conventional land war might look like when everyone is forced back to a melee sword and spear warfare.
The movie is as preachy as I remember the book being, and you just have to substitute spice for oil to see what the author’s agenda for setting things on a desert planet is for….
the actors and actresses all do an incredibly good job of showing their talents, acting appropriately as they should.
Its just an overall good film. I’m glad I watched it and look forward to watching it with my kids when they get old enough. Highly recommended.