'Dune' (12A)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya

Where can I watch?: Dune is in cinemas now

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Denis Villeneuve is hot property right now. In the last 10 years alone, he's directed some of the most celebrated films in Hollywood, from the gritty, psychological dramas of Prisoners and Sicario to the visually stunning, considered-nigh-impossible Blade Runner 2049. Sticking with cult sci-fi, Villeneuve now tackles Frank Herbert's Dune, bringing with him an A-list cast and one of the greater composers working today, Hans Zimmer. 

The first in a trilogy, Dune was always going to be weighed down by the sheer size, scale, politics and history of Herbert's Imperium. It's no surprise, therefore, that the film takes a little while to get going while we're introduced to all the moving pieces, including Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet, looking his most brooding and most ethereal). Luckily, what the film lacks in plot (Timothee spends a lot of time daydreaming about Zendaya...), it more than makes up for in terms of spectacle, which it lays on thick and fast. Echoing the vast scale of the set pieces in Blade Runner 2049, Dune simply looks amazing. Whether it's the whale-esque shapes of the huge spacecraft hanging in the dusky, orange light, or the brutal, angular shapes on the homeworlds of the enemy, each shot is something of a work of art in itself. And then there's Hans Zimmer's booming, engrossing score. Marrying powerful female vocals with synth-based instrumentals, Zimmer has created a soundtrack that's both bombastic and beautiful - possibly Zimmer at his most Zimmer-ish.   

Despite the film's great strengths, however, there are some elements that cannot be forgiven, including the dialogue. 'Clunky' doesn't even begin to describe some of the exchanges between characters, and the very use of language seems wrong: I'm not expert, but I'm almost 100 per cent sure that Frank Herbert's Paul didn't ask his mother 'You all good?' at any point in the source text. The dialogue is distractingly all over the place, and at times so stilted you cringe. Aside from that, my biggest issue comes from the film's conclusion. If you look back at other great film trios, such as Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, each movie is interconnected but also stands strong as its own entity with a clear beginning, middle and end. The same cannot be said of Dune, which struggles with uneven pacing from the start and then tapers off at the end without any real resolution. It all felt a bit unsatisfactory - almost a prologue as opposed to a complete story. Yes, it undoubtedly leaves the viewer wanting more, but there's also a feeling of disappointment at the rather unfinished feel.  

A Must-Watch?: Obviously, yes: this is cinema at it's most cinematic and, despite my reservations about the rather unsatisfactory ending, it's really quite the spectacle, both visually and aurally. Besides, Villeneuve's Dune trilogy is already being billed as this era's equivalent of the original Star Wars films and Lord of the Rings series - do you really want to miss out on such a cultural phenomenon? If you're heading out to see Dune soon, take my advice and see it on the biggest screen with the loudest speakers you possibly can.