Review | Venice 2021: Dune movie review – Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya star in epic sci-fi masterpiece that leaves space for a sequel or two
- Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is the definitive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel, brilliantly imagined and with a stellar ensemble cast led by Timothée Chalamet
- Villeneuve’s version of Dune makes his recent sci-fi films Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 feel like warm-up acts to this astounding vision of a faraway future
5/5 stars
Denis Villeneuve recently compared watching his new film Dune on a television to driving a speedboat in your bathtub. He couldn’t be more right. Unveiled out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel belongs on the biggest of screens.
Wisely, Villeneuve has only taken on the first half of Herbert’s enormous novel, leaving room for a second or even third movie. The poorly received David Lynch version from 1984 will now surely be consigned to oblivion, for this must be seen as definitive.
Timothée Chalamet, in his most adult role yet, plays Paul. Heir to House Atreides, he accompanies his father (Oscar Isaac) and his father’s concubine (Rebecca Ferguson) to the desert planet of Arrakis for a life-changing mission.
It is here where the drug Melange is mined. “Spice”, as it is nicknamed, has medicinal and metaphysical properties, making it “by far the most valuable substance in the universe”.