Dune

 

DIRECTED BY -:
Denis Villeneuve
STARRING -:
Oscar Isaac
Rebecca Ferguson
Timothee Chalamet
YEAR OF RELEASE -:
2021
PREMISE -:
A noble family becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy's most valuable asset while its heir becomes troubled by visions of a dark future.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

THE NEGATIVES-:

• Paul conveniently survives the hunter seeker attack because of the following coincidences :
• Paul was COINCIDENTALLY awake when the hunter seeker entered the room.
• Paul was COINCIDENTALLY watching one of his holographic lessons.
• Paul was CONVENIENTLY close enough to the holographic projections to be able to hide behind them.  

• THE SAND-WORM ATTACK
• A carryall COINCIDENTALLY breaks down when Leto and his team arrive for inspection in the desert.
• Instead of having giant carryalls physically lift and transport the crawlers, why don’t the spotter crafts just  drop thumpers in the opposite direction whenever they see a sand-worm approaching ?
• Gurney and Paul are LUCKILY able to get back to their ship JUST BEFORE the sand-worm can eat them. 

• DR. YUEH's DART GUN
• When Dr. Yueh attacks and incapacitates Leto with his dart gun, the battle logistics of the Dune universe completely fall apart. Why do all the soldiers in this universe still primarily use swords and blades when guns seem to be far more effective in getting the job done? 
• Probable Reason : Even a bullet would slow down upon contact with the opponent’s shield and would take a few seconds before actually harming said opponent. During this short time window, the opponent has an opportunity to remove the slowed down bullet from their shield. Hence, swords are the better alternative.
• The Stupidity : While it is true that bullets slow down upon contact with shields (as we see in the film), the death of the opponent can still be achieved by firing two or three bullets simultaneously. This way, there would not be enough time for the opponent to remove ALL the bullets from his/her shield and it is guaranteed that at least one of those bullets would be able to penetrate through and do the job. So, why aren’t the soldiers in this universe trained to shoot at least thrice at their enemy? Why aren’t machine guns more popular? In fact, judging by the events that transpire in the film, machine guns, laser guns, and chemical weapons should be FAR more popular than the primitive swords and blades that we are shown.

• After the attack on Atreides, the Baron orders his soldiers to leave Paul and Jessica in the desert (so that they're killed by its harsh conditions), instead of killing them directly, because he “gave a word” to the reverend mother to spare their lives. WHY does Baron take this risk instead of simply shooting them in the heads and then disposing their bodies in the desert for the sand worms to devour? It’s not like the reverend mother or ANYONE was going to know the difference. 

• One of the Harkonen soldiers accompanying Jessica and Paul to the desert is CONVENIENTLY deaf. 

• When Paul and Jessica are able to take control of the ship, the ship is remotely crippled by the Harkonens. If they always had the ability to do this, then why wasn’t Duncan’s ship crippled as soon as he took control of it ? Even if we assume the Harkonens ALLOWED Duncan to leave with their ship in order to track Paul and Jessica through him, that still raises the question - Why didn’t the Harkonens directly track Paul and Jessica’s ship instead of crippling it?

• After the attack, how did Duncan find Dr.Kynes?

• DUNCAN'S DEATH
• Duncan LUCKILY doesn’t die the first time he’s stabbed through the chest, and is able to get back up and stop the Sardaukar soldiers from using their laser gun, giving the rest of the characters ample time to escape.
• Paul, Jessica, and Dr. Kynes are visibly very scared of the Sardaukar’s laser gun. There two scenarios which could explain this fear, both of which lead to illogical conclusions : 
• Scenario 1 : They had their shields on, but the laser can cut through shields. 
• Stupidity : If laser guns are effective against shields, then why aren’t they more popular in this universe?
• Scenario 2 : They DIDN’T have their shields on, and were hence vulnerable. 
• Stupidity : Why didn’t Dr. Yueh leave them some shields in the survival kit ? Moreover, were there no spare shields left in the ecological research station ?

• Paul and Jessica LUCKILY survive the harsh sand-storm.

• Before the fight between Paul and Jamis, why didn’t anyone tell Paul about the most important rule (The fact that you can’t yield) of the fight?

• While most of the dialogues and interactions were written well, there were few instances where they felt clunky and amateurish. Such as :
• In the scene where Gurney and Paul are training, Gurney describes exactly how the shields work, even though BOTH Paul and Gurney would be pretty aware of it by that point.

THE POSITIVES-:

• The Performances by everyone in the cast were great and certainly enhanced the viewing experience. I can undoubtedly say that without such a talented cast, my score for the movie would have been much lower.

• The cinematography, as in any Denis Villeneuve movie, was magnificently gorgeous.

• The sound design and background score of the film were great and immensely aided in providing an epic yet melancholic atmosphere to the film. Although this isn’t my favorite Hans Zimmer score (that would be Interstellar), it is certainly one of my favorites.

• The costumes, set designs, and the visual effects, especially of the Sand-worms, were extremely stunning.

• Although the characters weren’t complex, they functioned well enough for the story to work. And, barring a few instances, their motivations and goals made sense.

RATING -: 6/10