Starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, Chang Chen, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster

(4-Bad Film)

Tedious. Hollow. Superficial.

Duncan Idaho: Dreams make good stories, but everything important happens when we’re awake.

How long are you willing to stare at something beautiful that you don’t connect to? The newest adaptation of Dune, directed by Oscar-nominated director, Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049), helped me answer this question, because I couldn’t make it past the first twenty minutes without wanting to be somewhere else. With no prior experience with the world of Dune or its source material, my understanding of the plot is certainly limited. As much as I could follow, the story follows Paul Atreides (Chalamet), the son of Duke Leto (Isaac), as he and his family move to a new planet, Arrakis, and attempt to establish themselves there. While acclimatizing themselves to Arrakis, the Atreides are beset on all sides by hostile natives, rivals, and traitors. Dune is often as beautiful as advertised. The problem for me is that it’s devoid of personality. No humor, no distinct characters or character development, no compelling villain, no wit or colorful dialogue. Dune is a chore.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

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