Dune: Part 1

 His path leads to Arrakis 

(Spoilers)

David Lynch's Dune is, objectively, pretty bad when you think about it for more then a second. It frantically sprints along like some sort of deranged ostrich grabbing scraps of plot from the first few books in the Dune series, gets most of it wrong and of course has Sting in a plastic man-thong. Some impressive visuals and really good set designs (much of which was salvaged from the now mythical Jodorowsky's Dune) along with some delightful high-camp dialogue and performances helps to keep its head above the waters of obscurity, but not by much. But it was the only true film adaptation of Herbert's work, until that upstart Quebecois came in like a honest to the Maker Kwisatz Haderach and gave us Dune: Part One

To put it bluntly, Denis Villeneuve did something that Lynch didn't, something that made all the difference in the world. He actually read the book. Muad'Dib is no longer a word that fires lasers, the weirding way is not some kind of ray gun that requires said laser firing word and there is no bloody plastic man-thong. And perhaps more importantly, it takes it's time. It jogs along at a comfortable pace, gives a constant supply of plot points and progression, drops some short but needed exposition so people who aren't nerds like me know what the hell the Bene Gesseriet are actually up to. And it even has a a few little additions like the hovering lights that are mentioned in passing in the book which gives the non-book fans a cool visual and makes the book fans like me clap like a performing seal.

But not only that, Villeneuve also goes out of his way to put his own spin on everything that, surprisingly, all works really well. Some modern sci-fi aesthetics mixed in with the unique swords and spice style of the books all go together with surprising cohesion. It feels faithful, whilst also having the inventive spark that Villeneuve's reputation is built around. The films set piece scenes are all giant, but never feel too cluttered or impersonal. There's always someone to follow who we recognise or who does something interesting. Plus the fight choreography is pretty damn cool too, not often you get to see cool sword and knife fights in a sci-fi setting that don't involve lightsabers, let alone settings where using a gun carries the risk of creating a nuclear blast wiping out the shooter and the victim simultaneously.

I do have one complaint, and it is very much a double edged one. It does just kinda stop at the end of it's run time. And it ends at a very weird point in the book, or at least it's very weird to me. But then again, this is only Part One of who knows how many parts? Two, it'll definitely be two, but that next part has the perfect jumping off point. A jumping off point that nearly works as a stand-alone. It is just that damn good. And I can't wait to see how our man Denny handles some of the stuff that's to come. BRING ON THE WORM!