NPR review: Villeneuve's Dune is visually staggering but only half a story · cho.sh
NPR review: Villeneuve's Dune is visually staggering but only half a story
Dune
NPR review: Villeneuve's Dune is visually staggering but only half a story
Justin Chang calls the film immersive and overwhelming, describing a 2 hour 35 minute runtime that feels like being pummeled by sandstorms.
Denis Villeneuve split Frank Herbert's novel into two movies, and this first installment covers only part of the plot with cowriters Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth.
The review contrasts this adaptation with prior failed attempts: Alejandro Jodorowsky's abandoned 1970s project, David Lynch's disowned 1984 film, and a 2000 miniseries.
Chang says Villeneuve's version is lucid and faithful to the source material but still feels rudimentary, as if the director managed the book without fully mastering it.
The critic notes he is not generally a fan of Villeneuve's prior films like Prisoners and Incendies, though he rates Arrival as probably Villeneuve's best work.
cho.sh