First Take: Dune - this is only the beginning.

SYNOPSIS: Feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel, about the son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy.

Well then. Years of development have gone in to making this new take on Frank Herbert’s novel - often regarded as one of the most difficult to adapt to a feature - and with the mighty Denis Villenueve at the helm, the expectations were incredibly high. I am relieved to report that even in its most basic 4K version, Dune is incredible.

Villenueve’s experience working on Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 has helped him massively, as this is a 2 hour 35 minute film that opens up a new world, sets up many stories, and is done in a deliberate way to keep the option of a sequel open- scriptwriters Villenueve, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth consciously chose to only use the first half of the book just in case the box office return wasn’t up to expectations. This is my only issue with the film, as it ends just as it’s getting very tasty in terms of the story. Greig Fraser’s cinematography though, well, wow. It’s big, wide, far ranging, and truly built for IMAX, much like the score from Hans Zimmer, who once again rips up the rulebook and does what only he can: innovate Hollywood conventions and destroy cinema sound systems.

It is also a mighty ensemble cast too. Timothée Chalamet leads this group expertly, putting him in contention for the awards once again, and joining him on this ride to Arrakis are a real group of heavyweights- Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, David Dastmalchian and Javier Bardem. That is one of the biggest pools of talent ever assembled, and it is Chalamet and Ferguson who not only carry this film, but create that emotional core for the runtime- while it takes a while to get going, this film hits all the right places.

THE VERDICT

Dune is a proper big screen experience - see it big, loud, in IMAX if you can, because Villenueve has done it once again. If this is only the first part of the story, Part 2 (which is officially greenlit for 2023) is going to be big.

RATING: 4.5/5