Movie geek that I am, I went to the Fox theater with a friend to see DUNE, the new science fiction movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve, as soon as it was released. This movie retells the first half of Frank Herbert’s novel DUNE, and part two, covering the second half of the book, will be released in a couple of years.
The best way to describe this movie is as a cinematic masterpiece. The visuals are unrivaled. The acting makes you feel as if you were a part of the action. Although my friend found the intellectual, political plot a little hard to follow, he 100% enjoyed the movie for its cinematography.
I did see flaws in the CGI. At one point early in the film, when a ship port rises from the sea, the waves that are created are just a little unnatural in the way they roll.
But once the action starts, the explosions are the most amazing, bright and loud experience, and scene changes are so vivid: hard changes between dark and light that are really felt in the theatre. I really felt the harshness of the desert planet that the movie is set on.
An aspect of the movie that truly makes it feel original was the use of visions. The main character has moments of prophecy, and the director makes these visions feel different than the other scenes. Music and special lighting give these scenes a special feeling of intensity.
Critics and audiences agree on this one: the movie earned an impressive 82% rating on Tomatometer and a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many movies today have a better rating by critics than audience, and that has been the downfall, publicly, of many movies.
If the cinematography of Part 2 is as impressive as the first one, as I see it this will be a huge sequel. I can’t wait!