[FULL SPOILERS] - My raw impressions of Dune 2021

[Xisiqomelir]

+

• Pacing is much more coherent than 1984, the scene-to-scene transitions don't feel jarring at all
• Absolutely zero irritating Hollywood quips and one-liners. This movie is decidedly anti-MCU in feel (I approve of this wholeheartedly)
• Real flapping 'thopters!
• Nice chunk of Leto 1
• Stilgar spits on the table!
• I really like Paul's actor
• Bautista isn't given a lot of time but his Rabban is pretty good too

- (Mostly will be my fanwank)

• No Guild Nav
• No Feyd-Rautha
• No Shaddam IV
• Waaaaay too many spicedreams
• The set designs feel really bleak and anti-ornate. I loved every room and stage in 1984
• Kynes is female for no reason I can discern
• Barely covers half the first book, but takes like 3 hours to do it
• Don't like the shield effect

Overall 7/10 did not hate. Mini-series still my preferred adaptation thus far

[Solauren]

I give it 7/10.

I look forward to the next half, and I want to see the mini-series that have been done now.

[Khaat]

"You can speak freely, it doesn't understand your speech."
*using The Voice* "Leave." *it leaves* Huh.

[Wien1938]

I really enjoyed it. Will go back and watch again (also masw me dig the book off the shelf!).

[Anacronian]

Bad acting from pretty much every actor/actress in the film.
First hour is everybody being exposition-robots, rest of the film they are just robots.
Bland and uninteresting set design.
Bland and uninteresting vehicle design.
Music is great but doesn't really seem to fit this film.

I would give it a 5/10

[KraytKing]

I overall liked the movie, but there was some stuff I definitely did not like. First and foremost, there were too many damn spice dreams. They should have cut down on those so they could have had a cooler Harkonnen attack, and actually show why the Sardaukar were needed and regular Harkonnens weren't enough. That said, the dreams showing Jamis being a friend and then suddenly reversing that was HELLA cool.

There's a lot more that I really liked about it, but the thing that stands out to me is this. While watching, I suddenly got this feeling that this is what the Star Wars prequels should have been. The Sardaukar, clad in white plasticky armor on a rain planet, could have been a MUCH more metal version of Obi-Wan visiting Kamino and seeing the surprise clone army. Paul Atreides being not a whiny bitch would have been nice as Anakin. And the way he was tortured by the horrific future he saw was just a way better way of doing Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.

I know it isn't Star Wars or inspired by Star Wars, it was just interesting to me that this movie based on much of Georgie's inspiration managed to hit every point he did so much better. And it got me pissed off at the stupid ass prequels again. Fuck.

[The_Saint]

... While watching, I suddenly got this feeling that this is what the Star Wars prequels should have been. The Sardaukar, clad in white plasticky armor on a rain planet, could have been a MUCH more metal version of Obi-Wan visiting Kamino and seeing the surprise clone army. Paul Atreides being not a whiny bitch would have been nice as Anakin. And the way he was tortured by the horrific future he saw was just a way better way of doing Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.

I know it isn't Star Wars or inspired by Star Wars, it was just interesting to me that this movie based on much of Georgie's inspiration managed to hit every point he did so much better. And it got me pissed off at the stupid ass prequels again. Fuck.

Good to know I wasn't the only one getting "prequel but better" vibes.

I liked that there were a number of scenes where it seemed they just used D1984 as the storyboard animatic. Not many but there were a few. I still like D1984 and in some ways I definitely prefer it to this one (I still wish there had been a Dune by Jodorowsky) but I think Villeneuve's style of disciplined film making made this a fairly coherent tightly put together film.

[Darth Lucifer]

Bautista isn't given a lot of time but his Rabban is pretty good too

Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban is pretty fucking awesome, easily surpassing both Paul Smith and Laszlo Kitch. While Dune '84's "Beast" was a literal beast of sorts (OMG that cow tongue), Dune 2K's version was really bad; not intimidating at all, whiney and poorly acted. There were times when this guy needed a pacifier and a diaper because the way he screeched his lines came off exactly like a baby having a tantrum.

Not this Rabban. He's exactly what this movie needed. I almost jumped out of my seat when he yelled during his scene with Piter and the Baron. And Bautista brings a gravitas to the role that was lacking in previous portrayals.

The set designs feel really bleak and anti-ornate.

Dune 1984 and Dune 2000 were much better in this regard, minus the tacky greenscreen areas and indoor sound stages for the latter. The former movie's sets in particular are glorious to behold, especially the palace scenes on Corrino and the city of Arakeen.

Waaaaay too many spicedreams

For all the spice dreams we saw, I felt they undersold the true importance of the spice Melange (I don't think we even heard it called by name). A casual moviegoer may not get that it grants prescience, extended life, and just how addictive it is. Hopefully they'll touch on this in the sequel(s). The first 6 Dune books mostly revolve around spice. Spice is everything. That quote about "He who controls the spice controls the universe" is true in the literal sense.

Why was Jessica chanting the Litany Against Fear? She wasn't the one with her hand in the box. This made it look like she was helping him and as we all know that is strictly forbidden. Also, the scene went on way longer than it should have.

nitpick: they were missing the Mentat mantra, but I love how Thufir's eyes rolled into his head when doing a calculation.

No Guild Nav
No Feyd-Rautha
No Shaddam IV

While I did go into this knowing that we would not yet see Feyd, I didn't expect Princess Irulan and Shaddam IV to be no-shows. Food for Part 2, perhaps. Anya Taylor-Joy would be perfect for the princess. As for her father...they should cast the O.G. Paul Atreides himself, Kyle MacLachlan, as the Padishah Emperor. It’s a meta choice, sure, but I think it would be cool AF if done right.

As for the navigators, I'm pretty sure it's these guys; note the cloud of orange gas in the helmets and the white design of their clothing, which contrasts with the black robes of the Bene Gesserit.

[tezunegari]

Why was Jessica chanting the Litany Against Fear? She wasn't the one with her hand in the box. This made it look like she was helping him and as we all know that is strictly forbidden. Also, the scene went on way longer than it should have.

I kinda like that change.
It shows her conflicting interests of Bene Gesserit vs mother.
As a Bene Gesserit, she knows exactly why that test is necessary, and why she shouldn't interfere.
But as a mother she wants to protect her son, a son she was forbidden to have but still had because her love for Leto overcame her training.

There's also the fear about what Leto will do when he finds out that she essentially lead the Atreides heir / his son to his death.
And considering that ALL males that underwent this test died... to her it must have looked like certain death.

[Kurgan]

I liked it (as everyone else has said, the aesthetics especially), even if it still lacks much that I love in the 1984 versions (whether Lynch's original or the longer tv cut).

As for lack of quips... this is either a good thing or a bad thing. People said there was no humor in the movie, others said there was.

"Smile Gurney... I am smiling."
"Did you get some muscle? Did I? Nope!"

I too missed the missing characters. "They're not human they're brutal!" was kind of a cringe line. Missed opportunities to say more about Mentats and things. Supposedly there will be no extended cut, but not even some deleted scenes?

Though never explained in this movie, was that a lore error where the Harkkonens are shooting laser beams at Duncan's (apparently still shielded) ornithopter?

While cool, there are elements missing from the Shadout mapes scene that would have made it better (you return the knife unbloodied? they made sure to show this later after the meeting in the desert).

Looking forward to part 2, in any case, especially the scene where the Baron is giving a speech about how you can't paint the F-word on the side of your 'thopter because it's obscene, right before Paul hacks him to death with a huge blade. j/k (maybe...)

I have no hope (or desire) for the mini-series, other than that hopefully any toxic, franchise ruining crap will be shunted off there so it won't infect the movies. We don't need another game of thrones, please.

[Darth Lucifer]

People said there was no humor in the movie, others said there was.

Piter: "You can speak without fear. Our pet doesn't understand your language."
Rev. Mother (weirding voice): "Leave."
*spider leaves*
Rev. Mother: "It understands."

I LOL'ed when this happened. While I'm on this part, Charlotte Rampling is awesome in this role. On a trivia note, she was interested in portraying Lady Jessica in Alejandro Jodorowski's production.