Beautiful, Brutal, But Relevant? A Review of Dune Part 2

Well, about two weeks have passed since we were first able to return to Arrakis after (checks notes) just shy of a 2.5 year wait. Already it seems like everything that can be said about the movie has already been made into some kind of listicle or think piece, but I’m still going to give you MY thoughts because you’re here on MY blog.

I saw the movie on opening night, so most of this post was jotted down the next morning, but I wanted to let my thoughts marinate a bit before posting (I also wanted some time off from writing lol).

Essentially, I felt the special effects and set pieces were fantastic (some of the desert scenes were so bright and clear I kinda wished I’d worn sunglasses into the theater). Well worth the price of admission. If nothing else Dune Part 2 is a beautiful movie. However, I walked away weirdly ambivalent to the whole experience and generally lacking the enthusiasm that I could sense coming from everyone around me.

I have no doubt that the two films (parts 1 & 2) will be considered the definitive adaptation for an entire generation (ala Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings), but 2.5 years ago when I watched part 1, I asked if Denis Villenueve’s adaptation would be Dune’s Kwisatz Haderach?

With only half the story in front of me, I was unsure. Now, with the full product in hand, I’m left wondering about the relevance of such a story, and even whether or not a movie is the most meaningful way to experience it.

But there was quite a bit to enjoy about the film so lets start there . . .

The Good

To list a couple automatic wins, we have a futuristic desert setting, SANDWORMS, awesome starship designs, 1v1 sword/knife fighting and of course . . . Zendaya.

I want to draw particular attention to the sword/knife duels as for me, they were generally some of the most exciting parts of the whole film. Paul Muad Dib fighting Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was especially tense, and despite prophecy and Paul’s ability to see the future (and me knowing how the story ends from reading the book), I legitimately wondered what the outcome would be.

There’s always a kind of Jason Borne esque practicality to knife fighting that just feels so much more dangerous than sword fighting. The knives our combatants use are basically as long as swords but that sense of intensity and danger remains. There was only one unnecessary spinny-twisty flip in the whole scene and it actually did feel like the best way to dodge that slash. Good choreography that is.

Part Two’s opening shot will probably also stay with me. There was something just strangely compelling and alien in the way the Harkonnen troops were just kinda weightless. No explanation given or even wanted. Just badassery. Very fun.

I would also say that Part Two features some of the coolest sandworm riding we’ve seen yet in a Dune adaptation. I couldn’t help but wonder how you STOP riding a Sandworm but perhaps these details are unimportant.

Given how serious the tone of this movie is, I greatly enjoyed the brief respites of humor sprinkled throughout. Paul saying he was not the chosen one and Stilgar freaking out because the chosen one would deny his chosen-one-ness made me actually laugh out loud in the theater. However, I think they may have over used this bit as Stilgar essentially becomes a bit of a meme by the end of the film, his fanaticism actually serving to undermine the drama rather than increase it.

Finally, the POV of the Empress was an interesting inclusion. In the books I think we only see her POV in the epigraphs she leaves at the start of the chapters which, in all fairness, are kinda the coolest part. So much hinting. So much vague foreshadowing. Prophecy! But the way it was handled here did feel somewhat fresh.

The Bad

Now all that I’ve just gone over seems like a lot of wins, but Part 2 had some rougher spots too.

In spite of the dazzling effects and amazing landscapes, I think I still managed to pick up a few technical errors in the Editing / filmmaking. For instance Feyd-Ratha’s mouth not moving while he’s speaking and then a hasty jump cut away seemed like an attempt to cover up a flubbed line. I’ll have to watch it again, perhaps it was meant to be voiceover/interiority but if that was the case, it was not at all clear.

Austin Butler played an incredible Feyd-Ratha, who is rightly many people’s favorite part of this story, but I wish his cadence and voice had been less similar to the Baron’s (who’s voice and sinisterism are so unique!). Still Feyd-Rautha punched above his weight in this movie. Strong Jared Leto Joker vibes. What a psycho lol.

The Why Of It All

Admittedly, these few quibbles probably wouldn’t normally tip my review from positive to negative, and indeed the minor issues I mentioned above are not what is ultimately causing me to struggle with the film.

What is hanging me up is perhaps more existential than that. Having more to do with Dune‘s legacy, and the moment we’re in right now.

Basically, I can’t connect the two.

Dune is a franchise that takes itself VERY seriously. There are pages of lore to justify quirks of the setting like why a futuristic society still fights with swords and knives instead of guns, or creating an entire ecology so that some giant worms guarding vast pits of sand – like a dragon guards its hoard — actually makes sense.

This attitude has certainly carried over to Villanueve’s direction for the film which presents Arrakis as both brutal and breathtaking. It apparently cost $190 million to make Dune Part 2 and while this doesn’t even crack the top 60 most expensive movies ever made it is still well above average (100 – 150 million).

The seriousness in approach lends itself to the feeling that Dune is a movie which should say — or attempt to say — something. But what is it trying to say?

On the surface, a few things stand out. First, the dichotomous use of ‘The Chosen One’ trope, which in Dune Part 2 seems to tread unstable ground between subversion and reinforcement by the ascension of Chalamet’s Paul Atreides.

We have writers like Sue Obeidi saying (about part 1) Dune Repeats Tired Tropes of a White Savior in a Middle Eastern Setting, while the director, Denis Villeneuve, feels that (Part II):

“…It’s not a celebration of a savior. It’s a condemnation and criticism of that idea of a savior.” – Nerds of Color: Is ‘Dune’ Truly a White-Savior Story

I think I would agree with the director that Dune Part II leans more into condemning the white savior narrative (Paul very much feels like a villain by the end of the movie), but this feels like ground we’ve already covered as a society.

Would it not be better to elevate another story? To dump $190 million into something else? Perhaps a story that is more recent, and not written by an old dead white guy?

Another issue which Dune Part 2 could arguably be about is the environment. The positioning of Arrakis as a desert planet, exploited for resources so ruthlessly that only the toughest can survive — the parallels between spice and oil — is baked into the original premise of the book, and cannot really be divorced from the the stories other elements.

If we are to consider Dune Part 2 as a piece of climate fiction however, I would have expected the messaging to perhaps be more front-and-center. Yes, like the spice itself, the issue is prevalent and part of every aspect of the movie, but as such, kind of invisible.

I think very few people walked away from Dune Part 2 thinking “I should really start recycling more,” or “maybe it’s time to buy electric”, or even worse (best?) “I could see why global warming is bad”.

Kwisatz Haderach?

Ultimately, I’m not sure that question really matters, because I’m not sure Dune really still matters in 2024 other than that we’ve made it matter by throwing boat loads of money at it. I cannot deny that Arrakis calls to me, as a place which fascinates and terrifies, but the story of Paul Atreides might leave something to be desired.

All this has me wondering if I even want a Dune movie, or if the way this story should unfold really ought to be more personal . . . like perhaps an MMORPG such as Dune: Awakening

Perhaps this entry into the Dune legacy will be, in the words of the Baron Harkonnen:

“My desert. My Arrakis. MY DUNE!”

That’s all I have for this week. Has everyone seen this movie already? What are your thoughts? Am I missing something big here? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

A #Dune #BookTag because why not?

Two weeks ago, I reviewed Denis Villenueve’s Dune adaptation, and last Wednesday I gave my thoughts on the book, but why stop the fun there? It’s been a while since I’ve done a book tag (last one was probably the Jurassic Park Book tag I did back in June) and I thought it would be fun to do one for DUNE, but lo and behold I could not find one (if you know of one please link it in the comments).

So I thought I’d give it a shot. Since the new movie is no longer on HBO and I didn’t think to pull quotes from it while watching, I decided to base the prompts off of Irulan’s epigraphs in the book (honestly one of my fav parts of reading Dune).

Anyway, there are only a couple rules to participating which are basically the same rules as every book tag:

• Link the original post, and whoever tagged you 
• Pick a book that fits each quote theme.
• Have fun!
• Tag 3 or more people.

Here we go!

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care . . . “
— from “Manual of Muad’dib”

What’s your favorite SFF Opening? (aka “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit“? or “It was a dark and stormy night.”)

This is actually a pretty difficult one for me. My writer brain feels like it should have an immediate answer, but nothing came to mind. I looked in some of my writing notes and I did have some examples of openings from favorite books, but neither seemed particularly interesting to me right now.

Perhaps it’s just because I’ve been watching the show, and reading about The Wheel Of Time everywhere right now, but the line that came to mind was: “. . . a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”

Now I know there are technically other lines in front of this, but I just really like how contradictory the whole passage is and yet still understandable, prescient to the book (and whole series), and poetic. Very nicely done.

“The wisdom of seeding the known universe with a prophecy pattern . . .
— from “Analysis: The Arrakeen Crisis”

What is your favorite chosen one story, whether played straight, inverted, or subverted?

Sometimes it’s really hard for me not to just pick Mistborn for every book in every tag hahah. But while I do think Sanderson did a cool thing with the “chosen one” trope in that book, I think I’m going to try and branch out a bit.

The book that jumped to mind next was actually kind of surprising to me. Surprising in that it was the next thing to come to mind (cause I’m not sure it really left a big stamp on me otherwise) and surprising in the way it used the trope.

This book would be Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey. I won’t go too much into the specifics because it would literally spoil the entire story, but I think I can say what I enjoyed about the trope’s use without giving too much away. 1) The main character isn’t The Chosen One which was kind of interesting and refreshing, and 2) The chosen one is fully cognizant of “being the chozen one” (as far as I can remember) pretty much the whole time and this effects their character motivations in ways that I totally did not expect.

Maybe I should a reread of Magic for Liars. Or maybe Gaily should write a sequel! hahah

“There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles”
— from “Collected Sayings of Muad’dib”

A book you did not enjoy reading but are glad you did.

I think for this one I’ll choose a relatively recent read for me: R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War. This book was a hard pill to swallow, but I think it really pushed me to learn a lot, and (thought it’s set in a 2ndary world) dig deeper into the history of a culture and time period which took place IRL.

When you read, have some soothing herbal tea nearby though . . . or maybe whiskey.

“Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife — chopping off what’s incomplete and saying ‘Now, it’s complete because it’s ended here.’”
— from Collected Sayings of Muad’dib”

A book that ended too abruptly. Or, one that didn’t end soon enough.

Perhaps ironically, I think I’m going to choose the book that inspired this post to answer this prompt. Frank Herbert’s DUNE. It’s insane that a 792 (for my edition) page book could feel like it ended abruptly. Consequently, there were many times while reading that I thought it would never end. Perhaps that’s what made the ending feel abrupt. We read and read and read saying “Are we there yet?” and then when he hit that last line:

“While we, Chani, we who carry the name of concubine — history will call us wives.”

Herbert, Frank: Dune. pg 792 1965 (please forgive that I basically just made up that citation style haha)

We’re completely surprised it’s actually over. And yea . . . that’s what it ends on. So weird. I kept turning the page thinking there was more to the story (don’t get me wrong there was more to the book . . . like 5 appendixes more), but that was the end. I’m still not parsing it. Oh well.

“Muad’Dib could indeed see the Future, but you must understand the limits of his power.”
— from “Arrakis Awakens”

A book who’s ending you saw coming. Or . . . maybe one you totally didn’t.

I have lots of love for Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, but I pretty much guessed who killed Miguel the moment the character was introduced. However, this almost didn’t matter as the book is about so much more than just who dunnit . . . Still though. I called it! hahah

Party’s over . . .

Welp. This has been fun. I’m sure I could have gone on and on — there are a lot of epigraphs in DUNE — but at the risk of my post falling victim to the Arrakeen Attitude of the Knife, I’m going to say that this post is over (and so it will be over).

I’ll tag Benedict over at The Oasis Book Blog, and . . . that’s all I got for the tagging portion. I don’t have many friends yet haha. Anyway Maassalama! I hope to see you all next time. What were your thoughts on this tag? Should I create more? How about the books? Let me know everything in the comments!

Rereading Dune After a Decade . . .

Two weeks ago, I asked if Villenueve’s adaptation was Dune’s Kwisatz Haderach? You probably didn’t need (pumpkin) spice fueled prescience to look forward to this moment and see that I would write a review of the book that movie was based on . . .

But when you recorded the near infinite amount of data and minutiae, to compute a vision of this exact moment, what did you see? An argument against this book’s virtue and excellence which was but the strike of the match which triggers the revolution? Or did you see the blind faith of a fanatic who dares not look past the veil of his belief, but rather tear down any naysayer in a universe spanning jihad?

Or did this review hide from your prescience, appearing at exactly the right moment to make you doubt that you ever knew what I might write at —

Ok, I can’t keep that nonsense up any longer. I’m going to review Frank Herbert’s Dune now. Hop on your nearest sandworm, we’re going for a ride.

Catch Me Up!

Well, if you’ve never left the sietch before in your life, there’s a dry and dusty world out there just waiting for a chance to eat maim or kill you to explore it called Arrakis. This terrifying and distinctly badass place is the setting for Frank Herbert’s debut (I think it’s his debut) novel DUNE. According to Herbert’s Wikipedia article it took him six years to research and write this massive tome, and while it was published in two parts by Analog, it took quite a while to find a publishing house, and commercial success.

Once it did take off however, it was quite popular, winning the Nebula Award in 1965 and shared a Hugo award in 1966 (maybe I’ll have to add this review to my list of Hugo related reviews). It’s continued to have a profound influence on the science fiction genre and regularly gets awarded accolades such as “Best of all Time” etc.

My personal history with the book was explained in my previous Dune post, but essentially I read it for a project in my high school science fiction class (I’m still amazed how lucky I was to have that) and loved it. But crashed and burned on the second book, Dune Messiah. I’ve watched the 1984 film with STING and even seen a ballet of Dune in a theater in Baltimore. My folks referenced Dune on and off throughout my childhood, but never as much as Starwars or anything else.

So . . . After more than decade?

After more than a decade, I’ll admit that his book did not hold itself as firmly in my esteem as it once did. In general I can still say that I enjoyed it, and am glad I read it (I have a book club discussion about it tomorrow so perhaps I’ll be a bit less hard on it after hearing about all the stuff I missed) but I often felt myself pushing through chapters, and looking to my TBR for reassurance while reading.

I’ll start with the parts I enjoyed, which was undoubtedly the worldbuilding. As a reader, Dune is an incredibly immersive experience. I’m sure there are holes in this world, but as a casual reader, you’re not going to see them, and what you do see is incredibly intricate, and just plain cool. Giant Sandworms, Ornithopters, and underground seitches? The Bene Gesserit? A hallucinogenic spice that permeates every aspect of the planet? Semuta music!

There’s just so much here to dig into that you can’t help but be in awe of the world that is Dune.

As a writer, I can also say that Herbert has more or less written the playbook for worldbuilding. He shows you how he built the world as he shows the world to you. There is a chapter in which we attend a Fremen funeral. This chapter to me specifically, was incredible because we really got to see just how far the sacrality of water/moisture really seeped (lol) into every aspect of Fremen culture. Stunning.

Where I think the book suffers, is in its ability to resolve the tensions it has built over its absurd amount of pages. And there IS plenty of tension, especially with Irulan’s words being sprinkled on top of the beginning of each chapter, always hinting, hinting, hinting. But somehow, I never really doubt that Paul and Jessica are going to pull through.

I think Paul’s prescience and Jessica’s Bene Gesserit ways actually do them a disservice in this area. While each have limits, I never felt we ever saw those limits reached, pushed, surpassed, anything. It was just like oh here’s a problem, and then Paul or Jessica solves the problem (at least IMHO).

Recommendation?

Despite my misgivings, I still would cautiously recommend this one. If you love worldbuilding, here’s your book, go have fun. If you have trouble staying focused on things, this one is gonna be tough. At the very least though, you’ll be at least generally familiar with a significant work of Science Fiction history. I don’t normally think that is a great reason to read a book, but in this case I feel there’s enough there that it won’t be the ONLY reason you’re reading the book.

Anyway, that’s all I got. What do y’all think? Is this book the greatest thing to ever sit on a book store shelf? Just Meh? What’s your favorite part? Please let me know in the comments.

See you next time!

Is Villenueve’s adaptation Dune’s Kwisatz Haderach?

So this week, I’m taking a little break from my normal book reviews, and have decided to review a movie which I’ve been waiting to see for what feels like forever: DUNE

With over 4,000 theaters showing this movie opening day, and 190 million households watching at home, it feels safe to assume that this 2021 adaptation of DUNE is without a doubt, one of the most popular cultural phenomena happening right now (fall 2021 ish), and probably even more important to fans of Speculative Fiction. This is THE MOVIE to talk about, know about, and have opinions about right now.

Added to that, is the property’s 56 year legacy, starting with the original novel, Dune, by Frank Herbert, and followed by fourteen prequel/sequel novels, a previous adaptation for the silver screen in 1984 (directed by David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Sir Patrick Stewart and Sting), a miniseries in 2000, and even a ballet in 2016. (I’m sure there’s plenty of spin offs and adaptations I’m missing but a man can only know sooooo much hahah)

Needless to say, it is hard to know where to even start with such a review, or from what angle to approach such a culturally loaded subject. Perhaps it is just easiest to give a little background on the various points at which my path has intersected with Dune, my experience with the story, and whether or not I felt this movie added or took away from that experience.

Be sure to watch for wormsign, and don’t read too rhythmically.

“A Beginning is the Time for Taking the Most Delicate Care that the Balances are Correct . . .”
— from “Manual of Muad’dib”

According to Goodreads I shelved this book back in January of 2011, a date which is somewhat surprising considering my memory has me reading this book in my senior year of high school, 2008. I suspect the inconsistencies lay with the fact that I did not have Goodreads before 2011 and therefore could not have shelved it any earlier. It is shelved next to a group of books like Ender’s Game and a few others which I know I read in my 12th grade Science Fiction Lit class (awesome right?). For context here, Harry Potter is shelved AFTER it which I know I read in middle school so I’m assuming I just batch loaded everything in whatever order I could think of it.

In any case, it’s been well over ten years since I read Dune and almost as long since I finished Dune: Messiah (I really thought I DNF’d Dune: Messiah but Goodreads is saying I finished it).

At some point along the way, I watched the aforementioned David Lynch adaptation (which is a weird and wild ride), and then my only other big memory of Dune was seeing the (also aforementioned) ballet in 2016.

I believe my parents were pretty cognizant of and sometimes even referenced Dune (the novel) while I was growing up, but otherwise I did not have much interaction with the story other than those few adaptations.

The wisdom of seeding the known universe with a prophecy pattern . . .
— from “Analysis: The Arrakeen Crisis”

Of course, references to Dune are everywhere, and even though I’d only read the book (so many years ago) and really just remembered the general shape of the story, it was still easy to pick out Dune’s influence upon all that came after. One that really stuck out to me, was that the Aiel — from one of my favorite book series, The Wheel of Time — are very similar to Dune’s Fremen. According to ScreenRant there are a bunch more influences on WoT too which I’m noticing during my second read through.

” . . . But their shout was more a question than a statement, for as yet they could only hope he was the one foretold . . . ”
— from “Manual of Muad’dib”

But obviously the big question we are all wondering before we watch the film was whether or not THIS adaptation would succeed where others had failed. Would THIS adaptation be the best one yet? Or is Dune just one of those stories that will always be better as a book (and I’ll admit even the book has some flaws).

Could Denis Villenueve’s Dune be our chosen one? Our Kwisatz Haderach?

“Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part upon the myth-making imagination of humankind.”
— from “Collected Sayings of Muad’dib”

There is plenty of greatness in Villeneuve’s Dune. The visuals and aesthetic of this film is hands down its most impressive feature. Nearly every scene seemed to feature some beautiful and futuristic design for which the audience first asks, “What is that?” and then once we’ve figured out the answer: “What if that were real?”

I also loved the casting of Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto, and Jason Mamoa as Duncan Idaho. I thought both were perfectly suited to the task. I hope someday that I can grow a beard that looks as amazing as Isaac’s Leto.

I keep seeing criticism of Rebecca Ferguson’s portrayal of Jessica. That the movie takes away her agency and turns her into an anxiety riddled mother who’s ultimately ineffective at doing anything other than worrying about her son. I didn’t feel this way at all. She is strong when she needs to be, and she SHOULD be worried about her family. Her worries ultimately prove correct; they are in a TON of danger all the time.

I think the director made a choice to bring out a certain aspect of Jessica’s character that in the book was perhaps under utilized. There is one scene in particular from the books which I agree really shows Jessica in the prime of her badassery that was cut, but I don’t think the movie suffered too much for it. She still manages some pretty epic fighting and manipulation anyway.

Finally, I think I’m just happy to be back on Arrakis. There’s so much there to explore and I believe that no matter which parts I get to see during which adaptations, I’ll enjoy the (sandworm) ride.

“There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles”
— from “Collected Sayings of Muad’dib”

That is not to say that every part of this movie was perfect. I think they took Gurney Halleck’s character in the wrong direction, making him more grizzled and warrior-like than what I’ve noticed in my second read through of the book. For the life of me, I can’t really understand why they made this change. My running theory, is that they didn’t want to throw design time into coming up with futuristic instruments for our warrior-bard to play . . .

I was also slightly disappointed in the design of the spice mining facilities. Perhaps the only part of the movie (or really any movie) that actually looked cooler in my head (usually hollywood is more imaginative than I am).

“Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife — chopping off what’s incomplete and saying ‘Now, it’s complete because it’s ended here.'”
— from Collected Sayings of Muad’dib”

Perhaps the last part of which I can comment is the end. In general, I think I appreciate that they did not try to cram the entire book into a single movie. Already, many elements were cut, and I feel if they had cut any more, we really would have lost some of what makes Dune such a unique and inspiring story.

However, I’m not entirely sure they ended this first half in the right place. It was already almost three hours, and certainly the last hour of the movie felt more like the beginning of a second movie.

So . . . Kwisatz Haderach?

I hate to end a post without a decision, but I really think that it will be too soon to tell. This movie feels like it’s meant to be watched with its second part, and I think I’ll have to wait until both parts are complete to really make the determination.

However, this first entry has given me hope, and I’m very excited to watch the next part.

Have you seen this movie yet? What were your thoughts? What did you like and dislike? Leave your thoughts in the comments. It’s time to talk DUNE!!!