Post by Brad Nelson on Nov 26, 2022 15:30:24 GMT -8
Dune (2021) : Part One
Apparently part two is well into production and should come out in 2023. I think the two parts cover the original first book of Dune.
Never have a I seen a story told better with such a relatively weak cast. The Original 1984 David Lynch cast included:
Kyle MacLachlan
Brad Douriff
Richard Jordan
Linda Hunt
Jürgen Prochnow
Patrick Stewart
Virginia Madsen
Dean Stockwell
Max von Sydow
Sean Young
José Ferrer
Freddie Jones
Siân Phillips
Sting
I'm not a Dune-o-phile but I thought the 1984 movie was good, if hard to follow. Subsequent longer editions have improved it significantly.
The cast of this 2021 version includes only a couple names that I recognize. Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (and he's predictably good, if understated, in the role). Josh Brolin is fine as Gurney Halleck but I didn't recognize him on screen. I also recognized Charlotte Rampling who is a good choice as Reverent Mother Mohiam.
Other than that, these are all new faces to me although my brother recognize Lady Jessica from some other series he has watched. Heading up the fair-to-middling cast is Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. We know how it is these days. We want the population of anything (sports teams, movies, politicians) to, quote, "Look like us." Well, Timothée Chalamet looks sort of like a low-testosterone wimpy snowflake whose skin has gone pale living in his mother's basement. And there is plenty of that kind of "us" around these days.
That said, there is a plus to having (mostly) no-names. The characters tend to fade a little more into the background and the overall story takes center stage.
I'm going to assume that director and co-screenplay writer Denis Villeneuve kept faithfully to the book because the question that will be paramount in most people's minds is, "Even if I like this story, do I really need to see it told again?" And the answer is, Yes. There are tons of elements in this movie that I haven't seen, either in the 1984 Lynch movie or the mostly excellent 2003 Children of Dune series.
This 2021 movie presents many elements or scenes (presumably from the book) that I haven't seen before. There are also many steampunk machines and visuals new to cinematic Dune. And the soundtrack is the best of any of them.
And it's a little woke, of course. You can see them ticking off the check boxes here and there, especially with a black chick playing the role originally played by Max von Sydow (although her acting is fine). But maybe she was a woman in the book. I doubt it, but it's possible.
But mostly they don't hit us over the head with much nonsense. And they seem to stick to the story, although I've never read the book. But the story told is mostly coherent, although we never learn why (perhaps the book glosses over this too) Duke Leto Atreides (portrayed forgettably by Oscar Isaac) was so easily led into the trap. And then once in the trap, why he seemed to let down his guard.
Other than that, the story flows well. And there's ample budget to make the visuals not only look good but carry and support the story further and better than any other production has thus far.
Okay, the dichotomy of metro-sexual Timothée Chalamet playing a character who would soon become master of the universe (the Kwisatz Haderach) is a stretch. Even so, this is probably something few would notice or care about these days. But it makes you long for the more robust and manly Kyle MacLachlan. If you're going to be master of the known universe, at least don't look like you might rush off to your safe space at any moment.
I guess Jason Momoa is okay as sort of a head-banger-looking Duncan Idaho. But another checkbox was ticked with Zendaya playing Chani. There's a sort of beauty there. But if feels more like the mainstreaming (force-feeding) of ethnic.
All in all, I thought this was a very good movie and am looking forward to Part Two.
Apparently part two is well into production and should come out in 2023. I think the two parts cover the original first book of Dune.
Never have a I seen a story told better with such a relatively weak cast. The Original 1984 David Lynch cast included:
Kyle MacLachlan
Brad Douriff
Richard Jordan
Linda Hunt
Jürgen Prochnow
Patrick Stewart
Virginia Madsen
Dean Stockwell
Max von Sydow
Sean Young
José Ferrer
Freddie Jones
Siân Phillips
Sting
I'm not a Dune-o-phile but I thought the 1984 movie was good, if hard to follow. Subsequent longer editions have improved it significantly.
The cast of this 2021 version includes only a couple names that I recognize. Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (and he's predictably good, if understated, in the role). Josh Brolin is fine as Gurney Halleck but I didn't recognize him on screen. I also recognized Charlotte Rampling who is a good choice as Reverent Mother Mohiam.
Other than that, these are all new faces to me although my brother recognize Lady Jessica from some other series he has watched. Heading up the fair-to-middling cast is Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. We know how it is these days. We want the population of anything (sports teams, movies, politicians) to, quote, "Look like us." Well, Timothée Chalamet looks sort of like a low-testosterone wimpy snowflake whose skin has gone pale living in his mother's basement. And there is plenty of that kind of "us" around these days.
That said, there is a plus to having (mostly) no-names. The characters tend to fade a little more into the background and the overall story takes center stage.
I'm going to assume that director and co-screenplay writer Denis Villeneuve kept faithfully to the book because the question that will be paramount in most people's minds is, "Even if I like this story, do I really need to see it told again?" And the answer is, Yes. There are tons of elements in this movie that I haven't seen, either in the 1984 Lynch movie or the mostly excellent 2003 Children of Dune series.
This 2021 movie presents many elements or scenes (presumably from the book) that I haven't seen before. There are also many steampunk machines and visuals new to cinematic Dune. And the soundtrack is the best of any of them.
And it's a little woke, of course. You can see them ticking off the check boxes here and there, especially with a black chick playing the role originally played by Max von Sydow (although her acting is fine). But maybe she was a woman in the book. I doubt it, but it's possible.
But mostly they don't hit us over the head with much nonsense. And they seem to stick to the story, although I've never read the book. But the story told is mostly coherent, although we never learn why (perhaps the book glosses over this too) Duke Leto Atreides (portrayed forgettably by Oscar Isaac) was so easily led into the trap. And then once in the trap, why he seemed to let down his guard.
Other than that, the story flows well. And there's ample budget to make the visuals not only look good but carry and support the story further and better than any other production has thus far.
Okay, the dichotomy of metro-sexual Timothée Chalamet playing a character who would soon become master of the universe (the Kwisatz Haderach) is a stretch. Even so, this is probably something few would notice or care about these days. But it makes you long for the more robust and manly Kyle MacLachlan. If you're going to be master of the known universe, at least don't look like you might rush off to your safe space at any moment.
I guess Jason Momoa is okay as sort of a head-banger-looking Duncan Idaho. But another checkbox was ticked with Zendaya playing Chani. There's a sort of beauty there. But if feels more like the mainstreaming (force-feeding) of ethnic.
All in all, I thought this was a very good movie and am looking forward to Part Two.
