Dune - An Experience Unlike Any Other

Dune 

“Fear is the mind-killer.”

Wow, Dune didn't just meet my incredibly high expectations; it succeeded them. Villeneuve has crafted one of the most masterful films I've seen in a while. It's a visual marvel and cinematic triumph. It deserves to be on the best screen possible. It reminded me of the potential stories have to offer. Villeneuve and the rest of the team behind the scenes of this movie did a miraculous job crafting the world of Dune. I could spend a whole other two and a half hours in this world. Villeneuve has never worked at a scale this massive, and he makes the best of it. Every set piece is memorable and mind-blowing. The epic visuals are certainly unlike anything I've seen this year, but they gave me flashbacks to the first time I saw The Fellowship of The Ring and even 2001. Villeneuve made Dune an experience and visuals with ingenious editing.

It's surprisingly one of Villeneuve's most emotional movies (Arrival being him at his most emotional), and it works to the film's favor. I cared for these characters and their connections. From Paul's relationship to Chani, which was awe-inspiring, to the Bene Gesserit Mother's relationship with Jessica, every character here is fascinating to watch. I legitimately loved every character. Paul feels like the character fiction cinema needed. There are so many bland heroes at the centers of these large-scale movies. Paul feels like the critique of this overdone archetype. His relationship with his mother I found endlessly fascinating. They each have a deep love for one another, but they have two completely different agendas. Seeing the two clash in moments was effective. Chani and Paul's connection is something so hard to pin down with words. All I know is that it was chill-inducing at times, how powerful it was. Duncan Idaho was a blast of a character. It was my favorite Jason Momoa performance, and he's the fun that made this movie sing at times. Stellan Skarsgard as The Baron was everything I wanted him to be after reading the book. The Baron was arguably my favorite character from the book, and Skarsgard's transformation was incredible. He had so much menace, and he's become one of my favorite villains.

If Hans Zimmer doesn't win an Oscar for his work, here I don't know what I'm going to do. It is easily one of his best pieces, and it's such an instrumental part of the mood. More so than most scores out there. Letting this masterful soundtrack wash over me in IMAX was an experience like no other. 

Many will have grievances with this being one of two, but I honestly thought that Villeneuve brought this movie to a beautiful close. It ended right where it should have. Herbert's novel is so epic I don't know how he'd of brought it home by adapting the whole novel. The end gave me chills. I wanted more, yet I felt satisfied. 

Villeneuve has given us one for the ages. The theater experience I had tonight was unlike any other I've had before. Being in a packed IMAX theater with the rest of my family, loving the movie is one of my all-time favorite things to do. I loved every moment of Dune. I haven't been this invigorated by a film in a long time. Earlier today, my brother asked me why I liked movies so much, Dune is the film I'd use to respond. 

Strongest of Recommends

10/10

- Noah Newcomb

Dune Trailer