I watched a couple of films this week which I could have reviewed today. One of those was Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (2021), and I feel like it is worth giving a short review of here. Basically, if like me you are a fan of Wes Anderson’s work, you’ll most likely enjoy it, if you are not then I think you’ll despise it. It does feel in many ways the most Wes Anderson-y of Wes Anderson films. Anyway, this isn’t a review of that film. This is instead a review of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021), one of the years most anticipated films. Adapted from the novel by Frank Herbert, the film follows Paul (Timothee Chalamet), heir to the house Atreides who have been ordered by the Emperor to harvest the spice from the planet Arrakis.
The first thing I want to mention before cracking on with this review, I have neither read the book this film is based on nor have I seen the David Lynch 1984 adaptation (although by all accounts I am not missing much). I will also mention that this film is only part one of this story. I only feel like this is worth a mention as I do not believe it was mentioned in any marketing for the film and it took me by surprise when watching the film, so just as a heads up. I would also try to give a more in-depth synopsis than I did, but to do so would be a fool’s errand. This film's narrative is not exactly simple. There is quite a lot going on both in the story itself and in the world-building which can feel a little intimidating at first, especially as Villeneuve chooses to just put you in the world rather than explaining how everything works or how all the relationships between all the characters work. This works as both a positive and negative for the film. On the negative end, it means that you can feel a little overwhelmed trying to work all this out, especially towards the beginning of the film, and even more so if like me you have no prior knowledge of this franchise or world. On the positive side, the film never gets bogged down or steps away from its central narrative to deliver exposition. It is quite brave from the director, but he is good enough and the cast is good enough that it works. And the cast is really good. Everyone is doing great work throughout and all did brilliantly in fleshing out their characters.
But I still haven’t answered the most important question, did I like the film? That is a big yes. As sci-fi blockbusters go, this one is right up there in terms of scale and execution. I have already mentioned the world-building in small part, but it is excellently done, especially on a visual level. Now, this won’t be too surprising for anyone with any knowledge of the director’s prior work. My own knowledge of his work is not at all big, with the only film I had seen prior to this being Blade Runner 2049 (2017), but one of the big positives of that film was how visually impressive it was, and this film is exactly the same. It is a treat for the eyes throughout, and every aspect lends to this. The costuming and sets, which are a mix of practical and computer-generated, are all superb, and the scale which the film has lends itself to some exquisite cinematography. I think it is worth talking about the CGI directly as it is fantastic. I am not a massive fan of CGI heavy films, and this film very much lands in that group, but it is not an issue in this film. There is one moment of CGI that looks a bit wonky, but otherwise, it is exemplary work. But what really makes this film is the action set pieces. They are so, so, good. The fight sequences are choreographed brilliantly, and the more large-scale battles are as exciting as any I have seen in a good while. There is one scene in particular in this film that had me more gripped and excited than I have felt in a cinema for a long, long, time. And a lot of this has to do with the score which is excellent. I was unsurprised to find out it was a Hans Zimmer score, but for me, this is some of his best work. It works both as another tool to shape the world of the film, as well as an added weapon in creating an emotional response in the audience. It may be the best aspect of the film.
This has turned into one of my longer more recent reviews, and it is no surprise. This is an epic of a film and I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of what could possibly be said about the film. It isn’t perfect. Like I said earlier, it can feel like a lot at first because of the scale of the film, and it is also a long film. But apart from that, I am struggling to find many other negatives to speak about, it is that good. I am actually glad that this turned out to only be a part one because I want to go back into this world and see more of this story. If you are planning on watching this, or even if you are tentatively interested, I implore you to go and see it in cinemas. This is a film that really needs to be seen on the biggest screen.
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