Reviews

Let me start by saying I think this is an excellent film but I'm as conflicted as I am impressed.

Rather than being the second half of the book adaptation of Dune - this brings in more of the ideological analysis and political power play that exist across the galaxy. The bulk of this might've been influenced by "Dune Messiah" but the roles are impacted, changed, squandered, enhanced and fleshed out.

For a long film, less book plot transpires from Dune. The film is asking for a part 3, but may have lost a good portion of its fan base with just how far DV has departed or abandoned aspects of the books.

No longer are we given a visual or narrated insight into Paul's insight and visions of the past, present and future.

His sister remains unborn add therefore her character is developed as a sentient foetus, the victory of taking back Arrakis is swift despite easily taking the entire runtime of the whole of David Lynch's film and giving us more of a sense of her power and precociousness. Her life as as the Dukes daughter and something more is denied in this representation and Chani is transformed to the opposite of her character in the book. For me this choice to "empower" Chani's stance to one of understanding beyond her books character means we lost seeing her wisdom and belief. With the time dedicated, her relationship with Paul is left estranged rather than a deep believer. There was time to develop other characters to portray this revisionism and it is largely borrow from the second novel, Dune Messiah. Exploring how the Bene Gesserates seed prophetic stories and female children to manipulate and control the Houses and the reach of their power over 90 generations and more. No montage and voice over used or needed but the passage of time felt long enough to introduce and develop Paul's sister - she is missed most in the last act. While Chani becomes the voice of decent, Josh Brolin as Gurney becomes sycophantic almost.

The choices fit our current world tensions somewhat but DV withholds enough of the book to justify a third film. Too much in my opinion to make this a satisfying film.

None book readers/listeners and fans will feel short changed from two films of this running time. There was easily more to develop and conclude AND allow for multiple more films. This feels more like a bargaining tool with WB for a franchise.

If the internal voice was silenced from Paul it also distances him from the audience. He is less noble and more vengeful. And the final act seems hurried. With critical fights less impressive and certain kills given to the protagonist.

So I am finding this a mixed bag with David Lynch giving more accuracy and conclusion of the book's narrative. However, in Hollywood money is made in retention and sequels. DV now has a divergent version of Dune to bring around. The book spawned several official sequels and this could be the money maker that saves WB.

The visuals and large scale action is original and bold. Glorious acting by all save Emperor Walken. No gravitas or strategic brilliance on display. I found this weak casting. Austin Butler surprised me.

I felt that the Harkonnen perverse natures was underplayed. Partly because since the book was written, homosexuality is not the non-acceptable sensibility it was in Frank Herbert's time. Also I feel that Hollywood wants money to roll in from countries where representation of such meets censorship.

The cinematography and the restraint shown with the Worms really pay off. If I had not read the books, I think this would be up there as a 9/10 that I gave the more promising and faithful part one. So if part 3 now happens and works better for these choices as the plot and character arcs continue then this might deserve more praise.

As it stands this may have undermined the book fanbase but gained modern audience satisfaction. Could Chani be a willing and understanding concubine knowing she would be his true love but accept a political marriage in this day and age?

It certainly leaves lots to be discussed and hopefully more to be seen. I truly hope this is successful and I understand the posture. I can't help but feel two films was sufficient for Dune. Frank Herbert, it could be argued had to write Messiah to capitalise on his own success and to bridge and retrofit Dune to enable Children of Dune. This way perhaps DV has positioned himself more strategically. Does he have the stamina for the journey to continue? I hope the answer is a YES from Legendary and WB.

Wow. This film has received shed loads of criticism and yet I watched it. The idea of showing the superpower of clairvoyance or premonitions is not easy to pull off. First issue is slow down and don't put your money shots in the first 15 minutes. Give people more to care about and more jeopardy. The opening was rushed and the villain needed better actor and less derivative visual representation. Some originality.

If you're going to spend 90% of the screen time with 4 people (Webb and the Spider-girls), developing interesting discourse and unpacking their stories has to be more than just bad dialogue and stupid choices. I'm not going to waste time saying what many others have pointed out. This isn't the story of the spider-girls and yet the absence of their story arcs being fulfilling, the forcing in of the Uncle Ben arc (didn't bother me too much) and the many plot holes. (Trip to Peru when you are on the run for kidnapping - which would have been resolved in 5 minutes at a police station especially in a world where supers already exist - for a 5 minute character development scene). The girls manage to stay off baddies radar for a week when previously incapable of it for an hour.

So it is a gigantic mess. But it does tug at the strings if things that I'd like to see develop.

Don't bring back the villain. Do find an interesting way to give each of the spider-girls their powers and work for Miss Webb. If she opens a brothel and they start working johns, then she will be "Madame Webb".

The early shot of the girls in costume and using powers would've served better as a post credit scene of them taking down a decent spider verse villain.

It's the least superpowered origin story but didn't own that. Camera work need to slow down, stop trying to rotate around action. Better script, villain and edit and this could've been something better.

However, is it the worst Sony - Superflick. Nope. That still belongs to Venom 2: Let there be rubbish.

In my exploration of Kubrick's films I've yet to find myself with the rave response of many who saw the films at the time of release or at some point in their formative years. So this is a non-fan opinion. A 48 year old film student and now simply sharing my tuppence

Watching this in 4K UHD MST-HD, started as an reminder of Kubrick's film grammar and conventions. I've studied them in his other films so, a slow burning and stark auteur. However, being familiar with the novel and other adaptations there is less focus on the back story to the property and Nicholson begins almost as psychotic as he ends up. I'm less appreciative of the paranormally stimulated breakdown than others have celebrated. I'd have like to have seen a different casting choice. Someone who started wholesome before loosing there rocks.

The stand out shots of Danny racing round the Overlook Hotel and apparitions of the twins are genius tracking, axe chopping shots and much more. There's a lot to appreciate conceptually but how much of that is the source material, the iconic score and the choice of locations.

My take is that Kubrick went for a more singular adaptation and gained appreciation for that but in being selective he chose to leave much unexplained and he likes that in film where wider interpretation can be etched on to his work. That's obfuscation intentionally and the material is there. The film points to the book then but it also feels like a poorer choice and adaptations that have opted for their unique stance must rise up and elevate themselves to a different quality in the alternate media.

This simply isn't achieved and I suspect more think that the emperor is wearing a whole lot less than we have been led to believe. They should admit it. The signature flaw in Kubrick's work is that we empathise for no one. We aren't sorrowful for the demise of his characters. They aren't warming and then desperate. Wendy, Danny, the Herculean efforts of the cook to return . . . It holds no matter. The lifeless, frozen insanity left to thaw in the maze. It's simply the shot and there is no sorrow or loss to contemplate. Just a spooky photo.

Underwhelmed.

The broad concept and plot had potential but as we have discovered, split narratives only work where we move at an entertaining pace and have a good script.

When we add very annoying teenage protagonists (Billie, Jade and to a lesser extent, Simon) and the flash forward to their equally annoying grown up versions... we aren't on to a winner.

I found myself rooting for the zombies but they just don't stack up against TWD either in outdoor spaces or in the high lights of the show, in the underground bunkers. The original video games constrained angles led to more claustrophobia and jump moments.

The good news is it got cancelled.

This might not be what you think of watching this but for me there was less humour and more charm in this film that seem to be a tale of two souls regaining there value outside of being Rangers. They are military cast-offs and they become bonded but the chemistry between Tatum and the 3 dogs playing Lulu wasn't there for me. Each could be charming etc but the episodes provided smiles rather than laughs and with little inspired dialogue (the journal was actually quite good and a shame we heard too little).

Other human relationships were alluded to but a little fleshing out, a bit more high jinx and perhaps this would've been better. I don't know what dog ptsd looks like, and whilst the protagonist is clearly in need of man's best friend, during his night terrors, Lulu doesn't really endear or contribute initially. Perhaps they were trying to keep to subtle relationship development throughout but the light touch made this pretty yawn full for me and I typically cry at anything. This just never pulled me in. I would say I'm prime audience for this from personal circumstances and longing for a German Shepherd but nada. 4 is generous.

So this is the Norse legend that Hamlet is based on. Hence the Oedipal aspects but overall (if you remove the slavery, raping, pillaging, burning alive of children in a barn, drug induced hallucinations and a few other aspects), it's a happier tale 😬 Read: The Ophelia (equivalent character) survives to better days (we hope).

That's about the only upside I can find.

I think I was expecting something with more content than "brooding" but I'm not sure the reviews I read really set it up well enough: It's bitter and somber and if the historically accurate depiction of slavery in the 900s isn't an sense of the savagery that is on display, there's entrails. Lots of entrails.

The cinematography likes long side tracking shots and I liked this, but we trade potential action sequences for blood letting and the grotesque outcomes. The character development is also non-existent and any ground made is lost. Nicole Kidman plays the survivor role and is convincing but this film misses the soliloquies that Hamlet offers to bring the self-psychoanalysis to the screen. Not that you'd expect it here. However, for the runtime, what you get is to see how from a small tale, Shakespeare created something meaningful and much more corporeal than The Northman, despite introducing ghosts. A plagiarist he was not.

Glad I watched it but would not revisit nor recommend.

Slight Spoilers: I'm sure I saw this originally as "A film by Alan Smithee". Glad to see that David Lynch associates himself with the film. However, it exhibits the great issue with adaptations, finding the essential narrative and pacing it through the run time with the peaks and troughs that books are not limited by.

Some of the production value, actors of the time and unnecessary additions (voice modules and grotesquely deformed spacing guild) detract from the better moments. Effects and soundtrack were enjoyable. But the pacing is far too weighted to the expositions when the action is potent.

I was not drawn into the journeys of Paul from boy to man nor the losses and sacrifices.

This is watchable, more than endurable and yet know mostly for being less than it could've been.

Re-reading and the books and watching the mini-series ahead of watching the new Dune (2021), brought me back to this, Lynch's preferred cut. It's position fragile. Maybe Alan Smithee would do with making a comeback? Harsh?