Felt like it was finally time for me to return to the cinema after my 3-month broken-leg-induced hiatus. And what better way to do it with this much-hyped epic sci-fi blockbuster. Now, I did have some reservations. I thought Part 1 was… OK. At least the first half. The second half – after the Harkonnen attack – everything slowed to a crawl and I couldn’t wait for it to end. The sequel definitely doesn’t have the pacing issues the first film had and is mostly successful in terms of providing plenty of action and spectacle. But even this one was still just a bit.. boring. There was never a character in this film I was really rooting for. They’re all so dull and one-note. It makes Christopher Nolan look like Martin Scorsese.
I’m one of those oddballs who really likes the David Lynch version of DUNE, despite the awkwardly truncated running time. Actually, maybe BECAUSE of the truncated running time, because it certainly zips along, unlike this ponderously stoic duo. I prefer the production design on the ’84 version, which was vivid and sumptuous. The Villeneuve version is drab and feels like Orthodox: The Movie. And the still-suits look like generic ass compared to the Lynch version. Sure, The 1984 VFX are horribly dated (even at the time, they weren’t considered great) but I can forgive that when you have characters that actually have something resembling personality – even if some of those performances go full pantomime. The banal versions we have in Villeneuve’s film just feel utterly lifeless. Well, apart from Dave Bautista and Austin Butler maybe. But bloody hell – who thought it was a good idea to cast Christopher Walken as the Emperor? The dude just looked old and confused all the way through it. Not helped by his costume design that looked like some kind of unisex smock from a secure housing unit for the mentally impaired. I didn’t for one second buy him in the role. And it’s maddening, because there’s so many other options they could have gone with. Charles Dance? Ralph Fiennes? Micheal Gambon? Oh – and the Toto/Brian Eno soundtrack to the 84 film versus the generic Zimmer score we have here… no contest.
Now, I don’t want you think I HATED the film. I was mostly, sort-of entertained. There’s a couple of really impressively-staged action scenes and I love the grounded sense of realism that DV seems achieve here. The VFX work is top-notch and completely seamless. But overall, I can’t see myself rushing to see this again. Is it worth seeing? Well, if you liked PART ONE, then of course – yes. Me… I’m glad I saw it (in 70mm too!) but next time I watch it I’ll probably need drugs to get through it. Err… I mean, the spice melange.
