dazzling

Who knew if a director would ever get the chance to handle Frank Herbert’s 1965 book “Dune” again after the epic flop that was David Lynch’s 1984 version. Of course it wasn’t all his fault and there is probably so much anger and suffering behind that to inspire so many more David Lynch films.

But the new “Dune” was a step in the right direction, a darker and more ominous take than Lynch’s which also is given the time to let the expansive story gestate. If “Blade Runner 2049” and “Arrival” didn’t already do it, this was enough to make Denis Villeneuve one of the most visually arresting sci-fi filmmakers ever.

The story concerns spice. Not the stuff most people use to make chilli but actually a resource found on the planet of Arrakis. It’s potent enough to aid in the health of the planet’s inhabitants, a desert people known as the Fremen, but it can also be made into a fuel source for space travel and the emperor wants it.

The family of House Atreides is called upon to travel to and mine the planet. Their son Paul (Timothee Chalamet) is expected to stand by the side of his father, The Duke (Oscar Isaac), and assist in forming an alliance with the Freemen, yet its his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) who really might be controlling his destiny. She is part of some cult of women involved in mind-control and envisioning the future, and she has passed this on to Paul, who may be some messianic figure for a better future.

Adding to the weirdness of the plot is House Harkonnen, headed by a 600 pound Baron (Stellan Skaarsgaard, in fat suit) who can float. They once ruled the planet themselves and are keen on revenge for being ousted by House Atreides.

And so Villeneuve sets this all up using Arrakis as his battlefield, making sure to hit on Herbert’s themes of family legacy, destiny, prophecy, and an oppressed people in the Freemen being occupied by various forces, the Atreides clan included. You can also throw betrayal into the mix later on.

Arrakis is a grand bit of sights and sounds. The expansive desert vistas and sweeping sands become a huge part of living on the land, while massive compounds/forts are imposing and the interiors even a little intimidating. And I got a kick out of the ornithopters, which look like a cross between helicopters and dragon flies.

But by far the best of the best are the gigantic sandworms, which lets be honest, is the reason to see this movie on the biggest screen possible. Villeneuve doesn’t reveal too quickly but as the sands shift and we first see the big gaping hole for a mouth, and later so much more, the suspense these things create is wonderful.

Chalamet, all 120 pounds of him, is certainly a choice to play action hero here. He stays the same lanky kid throughout, which does well in adding to the question surrounding his untestedness. Ferguson is probably the only other actor who comes close to equaling his amount of screen time and her spiritual determinism is never understated.

This is a huge character dump. People played by Josh Brolin (a security officer), Jason Mamoa (another security officer), Javier Bardem (the leader of the Freemen who I assume we’re going to see more of in Movie # 2), and Zendaya (another Freemen, mostly seen here in Paul’s dreams) all come in for what amounts to walk-on cameos.

One other thing worth mentioning is the sound fx and James musical score, which is unique and somewhat indescribable other than I think it’s using a didgeridoo at points. “Dune” can be convoluted, can feel like it’s taking too much time, and often feel like more visuals than story but as set-ups go, it’s fairly dazzling, and leaves us wondering just how far this series can go.