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.