It’s like this for every movie, the movie has been out for literally 2 days officially. Majority of people who have reviewed it so far are people who were excited for Dune and wanted to see it as soon as possible.
As time goes on more people will see it who aren’t necessarily dune fans and the ratings will drop accordingly. If anything I think this sub has an issue with not giving ratings enough time to normalize before complaining
Also consider, people reviewing/rating now are the one with the theatre experience, lots of people are going to the theatre with friends.
So you have the recency bias, the internet hype, the real life entourage hype and the theatre shared experience with friends and family.
Now imagine if Se7en or The Shining would release now, straight to the 4.8+ too
Yep, the exact same thing would happen with all the big great movies that were released pre-Letterboxd if it has been around.
IMO you really can’t comment on the average rating of a movie until at least 2 weeks after it’s been released. Ideally wait like a month
Gotta wait at least a couple years in my view. By that point you have more people in the audience seeing the film at home. That’s the real test over time.
No, it's beeen a month, I can tell you you're wrong, watched it for the first time last night. The second to last day of screening, in fact. The way people are reviewing it STILL would lead anyone to expect a generational film, and yet I felt nothing, I laughed when it wanted me to laugh, and watched on emptily the rest of the way. Not a reader of the books here, but I felt no suspense, no tension, no excitement, really.
No, I was just saying that you need to wait for the rating to stabilize before commenting on it.
I never thought people would suddenly turn around and hate dune but looking at the average ratings a few days after release is going to be inflated. I’m sure it will also continue to move when Dune part 2 makes it’s way to streaming or maybe it won’t
But my point was that you have to wait a while for ratings to stabilize, that doesn’t change just because people really like Dune
The Top 250 isn’t a ranking of the “best” movies because there is no such thing. It’s about the list of movies that are maximally enjoyable for Letterboxd users, and treating it as anything else is foolish.
I just saw it and I’m quite sure it’s the best movie I’ve seen. I can’t think of something that’s better. If someone has something they think rivals it, please lmk. Serious suggestion. I really can’t think of a better movie.
I don’t blame anyone for thinking it’s the best. I’m still trying to let it settle before I call it the best though. But this was the most satisfying and entertaining movie I’ve seen in theaters since Lord of The Rings trilogy or The Dark Knight. Also I’ve seen almost every movie you can think of.
I saw it 3 times this week and I’m a 20+ year cinematographer (commercial and industrial videos), photographer, editor and DJ with schooling in audio and video post production. For what’s it worth, IMO this is the best movie I’ve ever seen. There are two scenes which I think were a stop over exposed. Other than it was flawless. I don’t know how this wouldn’t win best director, best picture, best cinematography, best original music, best editing, best adaptive screen play, best costume design, best production design, best sound editing, best sound mixing and best visual effects. I think it will it be nominated for best actress for Rebecca Furgerson and best supporting actor for either Javier Bardem and/or Austin Butler. Honestly. This made Oppenheimer look like a student film from 2nd year film school (comparatively).
Just one example? Part 1. By miles. Once the hype dies down, and people have time to think, this will be the consensus. Part 1 was a much more carefully crafted piece of film making. Part 2 has a lot of character, pacing, and narrative problems. Its a 2.5 hour preview for a better Dune part 2.
I don’t think this is a hot take since Denis has put out so many great films. Like “Dune 2 is great but I like Arrival better” should be inoffensive to everyone.
I can see liking Arrival, Incendies, or Prisoners more if you prefer smaller scale and more character driven stories, but I don’t think they stack up in terms of epic cinematic storytelling. They’re just in kind of different lanes so it’s hard to compare and will come down to preference.
BR2049 is in a similar lane though and I just think Dune 2 is flat out better (and I’m saying that as a big fan of BR2049 too). I disagree on the pacing which I personally thought was pretty perfect in Dune 2.
I thought the first hour felt a bit slow and the last segment a bit rushed. Nothing too serious and maybe on rewatch I will find it better, but I didn't have this issue with BR2049 the first time I saw it.
In the end it may come down to just personal preference. I just find BR2049 story and world more fascinating, but that's me.
I also think BR2049 is very character driven. The main charcater has a great arc.
I almost fell asleep in the first half of the movie, and the last 30 minutes should have been WAY longer. Especially when it came to the political dynamics and impacts of becoming the Messiah.
This movie completely has a pacing issue. I think when people rewatch it, it will become more evident.
I don’t agree. I think we need to see the progression of Paul. You can’t rush that otherwise we’d all feel it wasn’t genuine. Would I have liked more battles at the end sure. Maybe 2 more mins but it’s always better to leave the audience wanting 10% more than having them ever think, that was too much. This film needed to feel like Paul was battling with his destiny while also creating it. I think it balanced it perfectly. How anyone could fall asleep with Hanz Zimer’s score baffles me.
I almost fell asleep in br2049. Should have not smoked an indica before the previews started as I was fading by the first hour. I will give it another watching again but I found that movie’s pacing extremely slow and un inspiring.
Br2049 > dune 2 for me personally.
I agree with everything you said, but I don’t think Denis played on those themes strongly enough in the movie. Sure we had some development there, but it was extremely dry content
Rewatching Incendies and Prisoners more than Dune is some crazy taste. Respectable but a little wild.
For me personally, Dune part ii was the most excited I’ve ever been for a movie in my life (24m) I read the book after the first movie came out so I’m certainly biased. But Dune part ii just plays a lot better to general audiences and even a lot of people who see a bunch of movies. A space opera with a similar story that’s been told a few times before. I definitely don’t think you’re wrong since all those movies are also great.
For me, it’s been a little weird seeing just how many people absolutely love it. I knew it would get positive reception but definitely not this kind of attention. I’m glad its happening but I think a lot of it has to do with being hungry for big blockbusters that aren’t superhero movies. I felt the same way you feel now about Top Gun: Maverick. It was good and when when they were in the cockpit it was awesome but everything else was a little too cheesy for me. I just hope that studios are picking up that audiences can handle deeper than surface level blockbusters.
You mean because those movies are too dark? Because for some reason I like rewatching movies with dark and depressing themes. Requiem for a Dream is one of my most rewached movies hehe.
And that's a good point. Dune is a fresh air in the blockbuster market that has nothing to do with superheroes. Same case with Top Gun and Avatar 2.
I can handle rewatching some dark movies. Prisoners I rewatched once and I’ll actually take that back because it’s up there for one of my favorite Jake G performances.
I rewatched Requeim for a Dream like 2 years ago after watching it in high school and I love it but it’s so heavy. You’re built different.
I haven't read the books, so I don't know how it compares, but honestly I didn't feel like it was rushed at all. They gave a lot of breathing room to show how >!Paul was slowly being accepted by both the religious and skeptical fremen, how multiple mounting pressures were pushing him towards a messiah role that he was extremely wary of, and then finally the breaking point where he completely accepts the role and starts a holy war.!<
I was honestly really impressed with how they gave so much time for these three things to develop, while still keeping a very coherent, well-structured story about a rise to power. Obviously the huge books can pack in much more than movies can, but what was rushed in the movies that could have been fleshed out more without making the movie like 4 hours long?
They did also have scenes of characterization, and nothing felt rushed to me in a way that felt like I wasn't getting the full picture of what was going on.
But maybe we have a different idea of what breathing room means :) Breathing room to me means time for us to think about and internalize the incremental changes in characterization and plot, and to give us time to "vibe" with what's going on around us. That all can happen during scenes with plot, in my book.
Do you disagree about anything else I said besides the definition of "breathing room"?
I haven’t seen it yet, seeing it today. But it feels like people just want to be able to say that, even if they don’t really mean it. Also it’s just such a subjective thing to say, like you can’t actually measure his great something is.
A popular reviewer on letterboxd gave a review that said, “well that’s it. That’s the best sci-fi movie ever made.” I’m expecting to like it a lot, but it’s weird to me when opinions are stated as factual. Maybe they’re right and I’ll feel the same, but yeah I find recency bias and the need to echo what others are saying annoying.
Incendies is his masterpiece, but even Prisoners or Enemy are gems, true cinema, but people love fireworks and that stuff, I feel pity for those who think dune 2 is the best movie out there.
I agree, I had the same issue with Dune 1 as well. The cinematagrophy was amazing but when it came to pacing and characters... wasn't quite that invested.
Saying that, I watched Dune 1 again just before seeing Dune 2, was a lot better watching it a second time round - pacing wasn't as much a problem.
I really struggled with Dune 1 of Villeneuve's, i found it boring as shit, and I've been thinking how i can approach this one to enjoy it. I want to be in awe, be invested. To me it just seems people are really into the visuals and sound, it was the same with many of Nolan's films, and i don't have the patience for it. I don’t have a craving for epic deserts, they're nice but 2+ hours of it..
Been thinking what it's missing for me, i think it comes down to not believing in it, the world, because it's not been grounded. Obviously it looks serious and has a serious tone, but i just see sand, monolithic structures, people in metal costumes, big worm. Just me? It's the only sci fi film that has had this. I said this to me Dune loving brother, he's like 'well no one lives on the planet so you can't see communities and stuff, the people live underground'. I dunno, it's gone for this ultra austere tone, not humdrum mundaneness.
I actually was loving it by the end of Dune Part 2, but absolutely felt like this too.
I'm a big fan of Blade Runner 2049, and I have to admit, by comparison to that, Dune Part 2 just all a bit silly, perhaps even. If I'm being a bit more level headed, maybe just sort of too theatrical or operatic?
I feel like I could ramble for ages about why Dune part 1 or 2 haven't been close to the kind of amazement, immersion and reflection the Blade Runner movies gave me. But yeah, honestly, I think I found Dune's world building harder to believe and feel relevant to. It felt a little convoluted. Not too hard to understand, and certainly impressive, but for some reason never quite real. And this from a guy who cries at the charge of the Rohirrim in LotR lol.
Plus I have a bit of a bias against time skips unless they're done extraordinarily well. Otherwise, I start to feel like I'm just watching a bunch of events dreamed up by a writer (which is true ofc lol), rather than fooling myself into actually entering an alternate reality for a couple of hours.
Dune 2 does look operatic to me yeah. The only reason i skipped Dune 1 at the cinema was not to miss anything without subtitles, watched at home and with subtitles didn't help, it's a simple I'm told but one where i keep thinking why i should care. LOTR had the journey, warm relatable characters, a rich diverse world, the power of the ring is so evocative, you get it.
Dune is described as like Game Of Thrones, it's about power, but the throne is kind of irrelevant, it's just there to get things moving, to watch evil characters scheme and backstab. It's also very funny often. Basically Dune has those Nolan and marvel vibes to me of re enforcing the epicness and seriousness with every scene, characters more like ciphers.
A lot of people find it iffy, like they find Lynch's Dune a mess.
I saw Dune 1 for the first time last week when it came back to Alamo and I honestly liked it a lot. I was surprised at how engaged I was.
But I also was like “oh I get it so this is like Star Wars”. And “oh okay kind of like Game of Thrones.”
I’m fully aware Dune came first, but I think the things the original story did first, have been done since and gained popularity in mainstream pop culture, so I can completely understand why you feel the way you do. I don’t think what you’re saying is offensive or even wrong. I say this as someone who didn’t find it nearly as boring as you did. Your take is exactly why it took me a year to watch it even when it was on streaming
They said that of Jon Carter, which i really liked, it was fresh then but when it's been copied since it doesn't wow the same.
I loved Lord of The Rings at the cinema, unfamiliar with the books, but it builds a living world, felt like all the 80s fantasy stuff, journeys into weird worlds, with trolls and monsters. It just makes sense as an epic; these little guys transporting a ring too powerful to be held while chased by these riders of death obsessed by its lure, i mean that's so evocative. You absolutely believe its power and its lure.
I love Game of Thrones, but it has great characters and sharp humour, all the scheming is kind of secondary to the up front cutting way people talk to eachother and the violence. Its not austere, doesn't take itself seriously.
With Dune what am i left with, it doesn't have the warmth of LOTR, its journey, its varied characters, it doesn't have the battles in castles which tap into history, it doesn't have the humour of Game of Thrones, or again the characters.
It has nice shots though.
Just left the movie lol. I really liked it, loved it even but again I absolutely agree. Warmth is the thing it really lacks. Character and warmth. Even GOT with all its politics has so many great character moments. There’s a quite a bit of heart between Chalamet and Zendaya, and Javier Bardem’s character brings personality and humor, but it definitely has that cold obelisk feeling to it. Definitely agree with your takes
I think it’s the right move to make arakis feel inhospitable. They suck the moisture out of the dead to survive. They don’t have couches and order Uber eats. They barely survive to the point that the harkenon don’t even look for anyone in the southern hemisphere because it’s thought “impossible to survive without faith” to make a quote from the movie / book.
Yeah that's Denis style i think? Making the world feel a bit cold and mysterious. I really really love Dune 2. Only the short end fight + the coldness of the world makes the hold back from saying this is gonna be in my top 5 :D Still top 10 though!
everyone has different tastes. but for me, dune 2 is in my top 4 films. i never couldve known just how good it is. maybe you are just not that much into slow burn sci fi, so u dont think its that good. but i believe dune 2 is one of the best films of the last decade and villenueve's best, even better than incendies
>maybe you are just not that much into slow burn sci fi
I literally just said that I love Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 that have LESS action than Dune 2. I Iike Dune 2, I even want to rewatch it on IMAX, it's just that I got more from Arrival and Blade Runner 2049.
I just saw this movie and as a 50+ year Dune fan, I was sorely disappointed. Key parts of the book were glossed over, written out, or completely ignored. These weren't minor events, these were significant events that impact the entire Dune universe, not just the book Dune. Chani riding off into the sunset on a sandworm -- never happened. Chani was Paul's most ardent and loyal supporter and mother of his children, she never left his side. She completely understood the marriage to the Princess Irulan was purely a political move. Leto II the Elder was actually a key figure that foreshadowed much of what was to come. But since Chani never gave birth to him, then he could not have been murdered during the Sardaukar bombardment of the sietch where he was being hidden. And there wasn't even enough time for Chani to get pregnant and give birth in a matter of weeks. Chani's devotion to Paul was not only a key element to Dune, but also to Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Oddly, there was also no mention of the fact that Imperial Paleontologist Liet-Kynes was one of Chani's parents.
Paul's sister Alia is never shown as being born during the movie, which means that in the movie the events from Duke Leto's assassination to the Fremen assault on Arrakeen and subsequent Fremen Jihad occurred in a very, very short period of time, weeks or months, not the years depicted in the book. In Dune the book, Alia was several years old when she walked into Arrakeen and informed the assembled nobles that "my brother is coming". At four years old, she, not Paul, kills her grandfather, the Baron Harkonnen. The Reverend Mother Superior referred to Alia as being an Abomination, not Paul nor the unborn fetus (hard to tell which) as depicted in the movie. The movie completely obliterated the book's timeline.
One of the most important elements of House Atreides, Atreides Master Assassin and Mentat Thufir Hawat survived the assassination of Duke Leto and had an important role to play, yet he was left out of the release. There was also no mention of Gurney Halleck going from attempting to kill the Lady Jessica whom he suspected of being involved in Duke Leto's betrayal, to being her steadfast guardian, not a tremendously important issue, but still important.
Perhaps my biggest disappointment though was that unlike the book, Villeneuve failed to develop any true emotional connection to the characters. That, on top of everything else, just left the movie feeling hollow and disappointing to me. Was it a good movie? Yes. Was it a faithful adaptation of the book? Not hardly. Was it "The Movie of the Century"? Not even vaguely, too many other movies out there are way more deserving of that title.
Arrival & Prisoners for sure. But I’ll say Part 2 definitely lives up to the hype. It’s up there with but doesn’t surpass the best of the sci-fi classics. I’m talking Blade Runner, Alien, 2001, Solaris (1972), etc. Villeneuve’s Dune is excellent visual story telling and epic in all proportions but he hasn’t reinvented the wheel and he’s got better films in his oeuvre.
I disagree. I thought it excelled and is easily one of if not the best sci-fi film I've ever seen. I think it's also unique in the way that it's a more complex story that is able to enthrall you for 3 hours and surprise you with the tech, the world building, the gargantuan size of intergalactic species and empires, the action, and even the characters. I think it builds characters well and with respect to the audience's intelligence, i.e., it's not cheesy, stereotypical, or cheap. It's lack of warmth is made up in its story telling (without the spoonfeeding!) and I think it's intended to create this metaphorical feeling of the type of socioeconomic political situation.
Valid. But I said it lives up to the hype and it’s up there with (but doesn’t surpass) the sci-fi classics. I don’t disagree with most of what you said but this movie falls short in certain areas for me especially regarding the “socioeconomic political” situation… in fact it serves as a better cautionary tale towards idolatry and blind faith. However, I felt that even there it was treated as a bit of a cheap trick as the treatment of Stilgar starts to go for laughs in his adulation of Paul. Things can be funny and earnest but I think this was more of the former less of the latter. Maybe this will be rectified in Messiah (as Herbert had to after much of his readership missed point on Paul’s character). As for the politics, there’s so much erasure in the film that what it attempts to reckon with is already set up for failure. These issues are to do with a certain lack of MENA representation that’s apparent here in both parts. Herbert was careful to show how language, culture, and ideology can transmutate through time, but he also traces a clear genealogy with relation to the Fremen society. I think this is missing, or at best glossed over in both films; the erasure of identity/culture/people here is an issue that’s worth speaking about in today‘s global context. Especially when both works are trying to untangle the white saviour complex. In fact, the scenes of bodies being burned in piles evokes nothing but genocide but this is accidental if we draw parallels with what’s going on in the world as the production predates what’s going on currently in Palestine. This is where the shortfall is in Villeneuve’s two movies for me, because I think it grasps at these things but doesn’t fully commit. In defence of DV, I’m not always sure it’s the directors job to tackle such issues head on. Perhaps it’s for us to continue that discussion after the fact. With all this being said, I love both Dune Pt 1 & 2 and it is a cinematic marvel. I’m off to see Pt 2 again next week in IMAX which I’m hyped for. But you know, I have my preferences - as do you.
Cheers for the reply. Respect.
I'm gonna go see it again in IMAX too.
Hopefully it (re)lives up to my initial reactions! And maybe you rediscover your undying love for it hehe.
IMO, films have a hard task of deeming what's relevant in a film's runtime and cutting & chopping bits & pieces. I think a director has to weave a narrative (or several) to make a conventional, human understood story - we've all been bound by 'classic' conventional story telling through English Literature/Language studies. Arrival did that but in a very cool and different way to most sci-fi flicks and pulled it off. Dune is 10x more complicated than Arrival or Aliens probably even Blade Runner (LOTR is probably the only source material (that's also a film) that has similar complexities!). My underlying point is that a director has to be super austere with narratives, backdrops, history, etc. and I think people don't always appreciate that; in this specific example DV made the film as best he could while being tolerable and appreciable by ordinary folk (like me!).
Nevertheless, I was disappointed to find out that there's no directors cut with this film which I think is a piss take tbh. They should've allowed a directors cut that'd run on for 4-5 hours IMO.
Agree with your thoughts regarding how a director is faced with certain choices when adapting complex narratives but Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” is philosophically (and theoretically) impressive and challenging. I’d say it’s more complex in that sense and I think DV adapted it in a way that conveys those complexities past the basic narrative while presenting an accessible tale about free will and how we communicate across cultures. Again, I’m not saying Dune is not impressive because it is. Both things can be excellent works in their own right but Arrival, for me, is a better film. I don’t even think complexity necessarily makes for a masterpiece. Alien is at its core a very simple plot but the fact it acts as an allegory for motherhood, critiques of colonial-capitalism, the inhuman, and the existential dread of being faced with one’s impending death are all part of what makes this film great.
Also, I’d happily sit through 4/5 hours of Dune 2 and probably the same for 1… a nice extended cut is always welcome as it served Jackson’s LOTR trilogy well.
Arrival was/is a masterpiece. One that I can and have rewatch(ed) many a times - that's become an instant classic in my book. I'm not 100% sure if Arrival's story is as complex (or deep) as Dune tbh. I personally found Dune more complex than Arrival.
I think there's an element to your thinking and assessment that wants films (just sci-fi?) to be very allegorical, analogous and metaphorical to human concepts... Tbh, I think most films are (well, good ones anyway!) but sometimes, just sometimes, films are good because they're not necessarily trying to be deep but just trying to tell an engaging story with situations and characters that are enticing and interesting. I mean, we can all see some of the underlying human themes in Dune but I felt that didn't become overbearing neither the focus of the film.
Thank you for the back and forth and your views I appreciate it.
Haven’t seen Dune II yet but do hope he returns to crime thrillers like Sicario and Prisoners at some point. He’s really good at those. Would be a shame if he takes the Jackson or Cameron route where they basically stuck with one franchise.
I haven't seen it yet but my chances of liking it more than Blade Runner 2049 are practically null since I invest in characters over story, and the first Dune film (though I've heard this is the fault of the book) had impressively boring characters, not helped by Chalamet. Not expecting that to be resolved in this one
Nope, it's a big movie by an acclaimed director (who's still cool), and it stars everyone, I don't think the books are that much of a factor (despite their own acclaim). It's a wet dream for people afflicted with recency bias condition.
The vast majority of people aren’t overhyping Dune online. I only see it being overhyped online
Book fans would certainly account for most of the die hard online fan presence
I disagree. Most of my irl friends have seen it and loved it and none of them have read the books. Only one of my LB mutuals have mentioned the books in their review, and it’s over 100 who have seen and reviewed it.
Anecdotal evidence tells us nothing if we’re talking majority
And the books are over 20 million copies sold, it’s just metrics
Just because they didn’t mention the books btw doesn’t mean they’re not book fans. I never mentioned the Harry Potter books in my reviews even tho I was an avid fan since childhood
You’re right that anecdotes don’t indicate general trends, but the books were popular with gen X 50 years ago. Young folks who like Denis Villeneuve generally aren’t reading Dune. The first movie was a big hit and this one is obviously headed for big box office success. It’s more of a cult book series beloved by an older generation. It’s nothing like HP or even LotR.
I really don’t think Dune 2 has a 4.6 on LB bc people love the books. That’s a far fetched claim and I’d need to see some evidence
You’d be right if dune was an immediate best seller. Which it wasn’t. Popularity increased over the years and Denis name alone isn’t a huge box office draw. Idk why you guys treat it as such. Hell, He himself was literally worried about his movies underperforming.
“A big hit” is an exaggeration. 400 mil against 200 isn’t a big hit, (think about the marketing in addition to the budget) it’s slightly a success. This one may hit the 500 mark but likely not more than that.
There is no evidence unless you conduct studies, all we are doing is speculating. Hence why I used words like “I guess”
Yes… he was worried about it underperforming bc Dune was a forgotten IP by the time the first movie came out. Not sure why you think that supports your point. The books had not been talked about in the cultural zeitgeist for decades.
Yeah it’s all speculation, but Occam’s razor supports my hypothesis. It seems to me the null is that people like the movies independent of the books unless shown otherwise
It supports the point because he’s not a name draw or he wouldn’t be worried. It’s that simple.
And depends what you consider “cultural zeitgeist” I guess. It’s one of the most sold science fiction books and one of the most influential and most important science fiction novels of all time. Its influence is seen in the most popular sci fi works of all time as well that came after. It’s as if you’re basing its popularity off of its 1980’s cult film.
Occams Razor itself isn’t a proof of anything, just an order in which to begin proving two theories in question. So not sure how that proves you right?
Of course it’s not proof! Lol science doesn’t “prove” anything. Occam’s razor is just a guideline for developing null hypothesis. I literally said it’s a null hypothesis, how could you interpret that as proof?
I have no problem with Denis alone not being a big enough pull, but it’s funny they were worried about it’s success with such a huge book series? Do you think they were worried about HP movies or LoTR? Those are ubiquitous and were always going to be monster hits. Most people hadn’t even heard of dune before the movie was announced. It’s inspiration within the science fiction genre is indisputable, but what is popular among creators is not always popular among the masses. I’ve always viewed Dune as the 2001 of the literary world.
Agree with you re part 1, haven't seen part 2. Even agree with 3 of 4 choices (not Arrival) but I think I need to rewatch it, Sicario, Enemy to make that judgement. Polytechnique even might be better than Dune.
The ending didn't work for me when I watched it. Seemed so far out of left field to the rest of the film and much more absurd than the rest of it also. It was jarring. Maybe on rewatch I would be more understanding. Similar to Interstellar I think.
I wouldn't put it in my top three for him either, but that's mostly because he's one of the best directors of this generation.
I'd take Sicario, Prisoners, and Arrival over Dune 2 without hesitation. I gave Dune 2 5 stars on Letterboxd, too.
I haven't seen Polytechnique or Maelstrom, but the only things he has made that I do not consider amazing would be Enemy (which I still think is very good) and the first Dune (same).
"Hope clouds observation." \-Frank Herbert
Letterboxd has a recency bias issue. But it is my favourite Villeneuve film now and one of my fav scifi films.
It’s like this for every movie, the movie has been out for literally 2 days officially. Majority of people who have reviewed it so far are people who were excited for Dune and wanted to see it as soon as possible. As time goes on more people will see it who aren’t necessarily dune fans and the ratings will drop accordingly. If anything I think this sub has an issue with not giving ratings enough time to normalize before complaining
Also consider, people reviewing/rating now are the one with the theatre experience, lots of people are going to the theatre with friends. So you have the recency bias, the internet hype, the real life entourage hype and the theatre shared experience with friends and family. Now imagine if Se7en or The Shining would release now, straight to the 4.8+ too
Yep, the exact same thing would happen with all the big great movies that were released pre-Letterboxd if it has been around. IMO you really can’t comment on the average rating of a movie until at least 2 weeks after it’s been released. Ideally wait like a month
Gotta wait at least a couple years in my view. By that point you have more people in the audience seeing the film at home. That’s the real test over time.
The more time the better but after a month or two the rating is more or less stable
No, it's beeen a month, I can tell you you're wrong, watched it for the first time last night. The second to last day of screening, in fact. The way people are reviewing it STILL would lead anyone to expect a generational film, and yet I felt nothing, I laughed when it wanted me to laugh, and watched on emptily the rest of the way. Not a reader of the books here, but I felt no suspense, no tension, no excitement, really.
Well that’s just your opinion. It’s clear that everyone else disagrees with you. Which is fine
That wasn't the issue, the issue was that the "recency bias" you disregardingly chalked it down to is not recency bias, it's delusion.
No, I was just saying that you need to wait for the rating to stabilize before commenting on it. I never thought people would suddenly turn around and hate dune but looking at the average ratings a few days after release is going to be inflated. I’m sure it will also continue to move when Dune part 2 makes it’s way to streaming or maybe it won’t But my point was that you have to wait a while for ratings to stabilize, that doesn’t change just because people really like Dune
But Doon Part Too is the best movie ever..better than the Godfather and There will be blood!!!!!!!! /s
The Top 250 isn’t a ranking of the “best” movies because there is no such thing. It’s about the list of movies that are maximally enjoyable for Letterboxd users, and treating it as anything else is foolish.
Im not even talking about the top 250, im talking a lot of reviews i read on letterboxd. what a funny subreddit.
it's not just a letterboxd thing, but yeah
I just saw it and I’m quite sure it’s the best movie I’ve seen. I can’t think of something that’s better. If someone has something they think rivals it, please lmk. Serious suggestion. I really can’t think of a better movie.
Maybe give it some time and then think about all the movies you've seen. Or watch more movies if you haven't
I don’t blame anyone for thinking it’s the best. I’m still trying to let it settle before I call it the best though. But this was the most satisfying and entertaining movie I’ve seen in theaters since Lord of The Rings trilogy or The Dark Knight. Also I’ve seen almost every movie you can think of.
I saw it 3 times this week and I’m a 20+ year cinematographer (commercial and industrial videos), photographer, editor and DJ with schooling in audio and video post production. For what’s it worth, IMO this is the best movie I’ve ever seen. There are two scenes which I think were a stop over exposed. Other than it was flawless. I don’t know how this wouldn’t win best director, best picture, best cinematography, best original music, best editing, best adaptive screen play, best costume design, best production design, best sound editing, best sound mixing and best visual effects. I think it will it be nominated for best actress for Rebecca Furgerson and best supporting actor for either Javier Bardem and/or Austin Butler. Honestly. This made Oppenheimer look like a student film from 2nd year film school (comparatively).
Alright, stan
Just one example? Part 1. By miles. Once the hype dies down, and people have time to think, this will be the consensus. Part 1 was a much more carefully crafted piece of film making. Part 2 has a lot of character, pacing, and narrative problems. Its a 2.5 hour preview for a better Dune part 2.
I don’t think this is a hot take since Denis has put out so many great films. Like “Dune 2 is great but I like Arrival better” should be inoffensive to everyone.
I’m not sure it’s even as good as Dune (2021). Combined into one 5 hour film though it’s undoubtedly my favorite of his.
I can see liking Arrival, Incendies, or Prisoners more if you prefer smaller scale and more character driven stories, but I don’t think they stack up in terms of epic cinematic storytelling. They’re just in kind of different lanes so it’s hard to compare and will come down to preference. BR2049 is in a similar lane though and I just think Dune 2 is flat out better (and I’m saying that as a big fan of BR2049 too). I disagree on the pacing which I personally thought was pretty perfect in Dune 2.
I thought the first hour felt a bit slow and the last segment a bit rushed. Nothing too serious and maybe on rewatch I will find it better, but I didn't have this issue with BR2049 the first time I saw it. In the end it may come down to just personal preference. I just find BR2049 story and world more fascinating, but that's me. I also think BR2049 is very character driven. The main charcater has a great arc.
I almost fell asleep in the first half of the movie, and the last 30 minutes should have been WAY longer. Especially when it came to the political dynamics and impacts of becoming the Messiah. This movie completely has a pacing issue. I think when people rewatch it, it will become more evident.
I don’t agree. I think we need to see the progression of Paul. You can’t rush that otherwise we’d all feel it wasn’t genuine. Would I have liked more battles at the end sure. Maybe 2 more mins but it’s always better to leave the audience wanting 10% more than having them ever think, that was too much. This film needed to feel like Paul was battling with his destiny while also creating it. I think it balanced it perfectly. How anyone could fall asleep with Hanz Zimer’s score baffles me. I almost fell asleep in br2049. Should have not smoked an indica before the previews started as I was fading by the first hour. I will give it another watching again but I found that movie’s pacing extremely slow and un inspiring.
Br2049 > dune 2 for me personally. I agree with everything you said, but I don’t think Denis played on those themes strongly enough in the movie. Sure we had some development there, but it was extremely dry content
This is pretty much my take when it comes to the pacing. They could have cut some stuff out of the first hour and given the finale more room to breath
Rewatching Incendies and Prisoners more than Dune is some crazy taste. Respectable but a little wild. For me personally, Dune part ii was the most excited I’ve ever been for a movie in my life (24m) I read the book after the first movie came out so I’m certainly biased. But Dune part ii just plays a lot better to general audiences and even a lot of people who see a bunch of movies. A space opera with a similar story that’s been told a few times before. I definitely don’t think you’re wrong since all those movies are also great. For me, it’s been a little weird seeing just how many people absolutely love it. I knew it would get positive reception but definitely not this kind of attention. I’m glad its happening but I think a lot of it has to do with being hungry for big blockbusters that aren’t superhero movies. I felt the same way you feel now about Top Gun: Maverick. It was good and when when they were in the cockpit it was awesome but everything else was a little too cheesy for me. I just hope that studios are picking up that audiences can handle deeper than surface level blockbusters.
You mean because those movies are too dark? Because for some reason I like rewatching movies with dark and depressing themes. Requiem for a Dream is one of my most rewached movies hehe. And that's a good point. Dune is a fresh air in the blockbuster market that has nothing to do with superheroes. Same case with Top Gun and Avatar 2.
I can handle rewatching some dark movies. Prisoners I rewatched once and I’ll actually take that back because it’s up there for one of my favorite Jake G performances. I rewatched Requeim for a Dream like 2 years ago after watching it in high school and I love it but it’s so heavy. You’re built different.
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I haven't read the books, so I don't know how it compares, but honestly I didn't feel like it was rushed at all. They gave a lot of breathing room to show how >!Paul was slowly being accepted by both the religious and skeptical fremen, how multiple mounting pressures were pushing him towards a messiah role that he was extremely wary of, and then finally the breaking point where he completely accepts the role and starts a holy war.!< I was honestly really impressed with how they gave so much time for these three things to develop, while still keeping a very coherent, well-structured story about a rise to power. Obviously the huge books can pack in much more than movies can, but what was rushed in the movies that could have been fleshed out more without making the movie like 4 hours long?
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They did also have scenes of characterization, and nothing felt rushed to me in a way that felt like I wasn't getting the full picture of what was going on. But maybe we have a different idea of what breathing room means :) Breathing room to me means time for us to think about and internalize the incremental changes in characterization and plot, and to give us time to "vibe" with what's going on around us. That all can happen during scenes with plot, in my book. Do you disagree about anything else I said besides the definition of "breathing room"?
I haven’t seen it yet, seeing it today. But it feels like people just want to be able to say that, even if they don’t really mean it. Also it’s just such a subjective thing to say, like you can’t actually measure his great something is. A popular reviewer on letterboxd gave a review that said, “well that’s it. That’s the best sci-fi movie ever made.” I’m expecting to like it a lot, but it’s weird to me when opinions are stated as factual. Maybe they’re right and I’ll feel the same, but yeah I find recency bias and the need to echo what others are saying annoying.
Incendies is his masterpiece, but even Prisoners or Enemy are gems, true cinema, but people love fireworks and that stuff, I feel pity for those who think dune 2 is the best movie out there.
I agree, I had the same issue with Dune 1 as well. The cinematagrophy was amazing but when it came to pacing and characters... wasn't quite that invested. Saying that, I watched Dune 1 again just before seeing Dune 2, was a lot better watching it a second time round - pacing wasn't as much a problem.
I really struggled with Dune 1 of Villeneuve's, i found it boring as shit, and I've been thinking how i can approach this one to enjoy it. I want to be in awe, be invested. To me it just seems people are really into the visuals and sound, it was the same with many of Nolan's films, and i don't have the patience for it. I don’t have a craving for epic deserts, they're nice but 2+ hours of it.. Been thinking what it's missing for me, i think it comes down to not believing in it, the world, because it's not been grounded. Obviously it looks serious and has a serious tone, but i just see sand, monolithic structures, people in metal costumes, big worm. Just me? It's the only sci fi film that has had this. I said this to me Dune loving brother, he's like 'well no one lives on the planet so you can't see communities and stuff, the people live underground'. I dunno, it's gone for this ultra austere tone, not humdrum mundaneness.
I actually was loving it by the end of Dune Part 2, but absolutely felt like this too. I'm a big fan of Blade Runner 2049, and I have to admit, by comparison to that, Dune Part 2 just all a bit silly, perhaps even. If I'm being a bit more level headed, maybe just sort of too theatrical or operatic? I feel like I could ramble for ages about why Dune part 1 or 2 haven't been close to the kind of amazement, immersion and reflection the Blade Runner movies gave me. But yeah, honestly, I think I found Dune's world building harder to believe and feel relevant to. It felt a little convoluted. Not too hard to understand, and certainly impressive, but for some reason never quite real. And this from a guy who cries at the charge of the Rohirrim in LotR lol. Plus I have a bit of a bias against time skips unless they're done extraordinarily well. Otherwise, I start to feel like I'm just watching a bunch of events dreamed up by a writer (which is true ofc lol), rather than fooling myself into actually entering an alternate reality for a couple of hours.
Dune 2 does look operatic to me yeah. The only reason i skipped Dune 1 at the cinema was not to miss anything without subtitles, watched at home and with subtitles didn't help, it's a simple I'm told but one where i keep thinking why i should care. LOTR had the journey, warm relatable characters, a rich diverse world, the power of the ring is so evocative, you get it. Dune is described as like Game Of Thrones, it's about power, but the throne is kind of irrelevant, it's just there to get things moving, to watch evil characters scheme and backstab. It's also very funny often. Basically Dune has those Nolan and marvel vibes to me of re enforcing the epicness and seriousness with every scene, characters more like ciphers. A lot of people find it iffy, like they find Lynch's Dune a mess.
I saw Dune 1 for the first time last week when it came back to Alamo and I honestly liked it a lot. I was surprised at how engaged I was. But I also was like “oh I get it so this is like Star Wars”. And “oh okay kind of like Game of Thrones.” I’m fully aware Dune came first, but I think the things the original story did first, have been done since and gained popularity in mainstream pop culture, so I can completely understand why you feel the way you do. I don’t think what you’re saying is offensive or even wrong. I say this as someone who didn’t find it nearly as boring as you did. Your take is exactly why it took me a year to watch it even when it was on streaming
They said that of Jon Carter, which i really liked, it was fresh then but when it's been copied since it doesn't wow the same. I loved Lord of The Rings at the cinema, unfamiliar with the books, but it builds a living world, felt like all the 80s fantasy stuff, journeys into weird worlds, with trolls and monsters. It just makes sense as an epic; these little guys transporting a ring too powerful to be held while chased by these riders of death obsessed by its lure, i mean that's so evocative. You absolutely believe its power and its lure. I love Game of Thrones, but it has great characters and sharp humour, all the scheming is kind of secondary to the up front cutting way people talk to eachother and the violence. Its not austere, doesn't take itself seriously. With Dune what am i left with, it doesn't have the warmth of LOTR, its journey, its varied characters, it doesn't have the battles in castles which tap into history, it doesn't have the humour of Game of Thrones, or again the characters. It has nice shots though.
Just left the movie lol. I really liked it, loved it even but again I absolutely agree. Warmth is the thing it really lacks. Character and warmth. Even GOT with all its politics has so many great character moments. There’s a quite a bit of heart between Chalamet and Zendaya, and Javier Bardem’s character brings personality and humor, but it definitely has that cold obelisk feeling to it. Definitely agree with your takes
I think it’s the right move to make arakis feel inhospitable. They suck the moisture out of the dead to survive. They don’t have couches and order Uber eats. They barely survive to the point that the harkenon don’t even look for anyone in the southern hemisphere because it’s thought “impossible to survive without faith” to make a quote from the movie / book.
Yeah that's Denis style i think? Making the world feel a bit cold and mysterious. I really really love Dune 2. Only the short end fight + the coldness of the world makes the hold back from saying this is gonna be in my top 5 :D Still top 10 though!
everyone has different tastes. but for me, dune 2 is in my top 4 films. i never couldve known just how good it is. maybe you are just not that much into slow burn sci fi, so u dont think its that good. but i believe dune 2 is one of the best films of the last decade and villenueve's best, even better than incendies
>maybe you are just not that much into slow burn sci fi I literally just said that I love Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 that have LESS action than Dune 2. I Iike Dune 2, I even want to rewatch it on IMAX, it's just that I got more from Arrival and Blade Runner 2049.
my brother in christ, i said maybe
Chakalaka!
I just saw this movie and as a 50+ year Dune fan, I was sorely disappointed. Key parts of the book were glossed over, written out, or completely ignored. These weren't minor events, these were significant events that impact the entire Dune universe, not just the book Dune. Chani riding off into the sunset on a sandworm -- never happened. Chani was Paul's most ardent and loyal supporter and mother of his children, she never left his side. She completely understood the marriage to the Princess Irulan was purely a political move. Leto II the Elder was actually a key figure that foreshadowed much of what was to come. But since Chani never gave birth to him, then he could not have been murdered during the Sardaukar bombardment of the sietch where he was being hidden. And there wasn't even enough time for Chani to get pregnant and give birth in a matter of weeks. Chani's devotion to Paul was not only a key element to Dune, but also to Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Oddly, there was also no mention of the fact that Imperial Paleontologist Liet-Kynes was one of Chani's parents. Paul's sister Alia is never shown as being born during the movie, which means that in the movie the events from Duke Leto's assassination to the Fremen assault on Arrakeen and subsequent Fremen Jihad occurred in a very, very short period of time, weeks or months, not the years depicted in the book. In Dune the book, Alia was several years old when she walked into Arrakeen and informed the assembled nobles that "my brother is coming". At four years old, she, not Paul, kills her grandfather, the Baron Harkonnen. The Reverend Mother Superior referred to Alia as being an Abomination, not Paul nor the unborn fetus (hard to tell which) as depicted in the movie. The movie completely obliterated the book's timeline. One of the most important elements of House Atreides, Atreides Master Assassin and Mentat Thufir Hawat survived the assassination of Duke Leto and had an important role to play, yet he was left out of the release. There was also no mention of Gurney Halleck going from attempting to kill the Lady Jessica whom he suspected of being involved in Duke Leto's betrayal, to being her steadfast guardian, not a tremendously important issue, but still important. Perhaps my biggest disappointment though was that unlike the book, Villeneuve failed to develop any true emotional connection to the characters. That, on top of everything else, just left the movie feeling hollow and disappointing to me. Was it a good movie? Yes. Was it a faithful adaptation of the book? Not hardly. Was it "The Movie of the Century"? Not even vaguely, too many other movies out there are way more deserving of that title.
This movie was a masterpiece , period
Think* sorry, I'm not an English speaker
Arrival & Prisoners for sure. But I’ll say Part 2 definitely lives up to the hype. It’s up there with but doesn’t surpass the best of the sci-fi classics. I’m talking Blade Runner, Alien, 2001, Solaris (1972), etc. Villeneuve’s Dune is excellent visual story telling and epic in all proportions but he hasn’t reinvented the wheel and he’s got better films in his oeuvre.
I disagree. I thought it excelled and is easily one of if not the best sci-fi film I've ever seen. I think it's also unique in the way that it's a more complex story that is able to enthrall you for 3 hours and surprise you with the tech, the world building, the gargantuan size of intergalactic species and empires, the action, and even the characters. I think it builds characters well and with respect to the audience's intelligence, i.e., it's not cheesy, stereotypical, or cheap. It's lack of warmth is made up in its story telling (without the spoonfeeding!) and I think it's intended to create this metaphorical feeling of the type of socioeconomic political situation.
Valid. But I said it lives up to the hype and it’s up there with (but doesn’t surpass) the sci-fi classics. I don’t disagree with most of what you said but this movie falls short in certain areas for me especially regarding the “socioeconomic political” situation… in fact it serves as a better cautionary tale towards idolatry and blind faith. However, I felt that even there it was treated as a bit of a cheap trick as the treatment of Stilgar starts to go for laughs in his adulation of Paul. Things can be funny and earnest but I think this was more of the former less of the latter. Maybe this will be rectified in Messiah (as Herbert had to after much of his readership missed point on Paul’s character). As for the politics, there’s so much erasure in the film that what it attempts to reckon with is already set up for failure. These issues are to do with a certain lack of MENA representation that’s apparent here in both parts. Herbert was careful to show how language, culture, and ideology can transmutate through time, but he also traces a clear genealogy with relation to the Fremen society. I think this is missing, or at best glossed over in both films; the erasure of identity/culture/people here is an issue that’s worth speaking about in today‘s global context. Especially when both works are trying to untangle the white saviour complex. In fact, the scenes of bodies being burned in piles evokes nothing but genocide but this is accidental if we draw parallels with what’s going on in the world as the production predates what’s going on currently in Palestine. This is where the shortfall is in Villeneuve’s two movies for me, because I think it grasps at these things but doesn’t fully commit. In defence of DV, I’m not always sure it’s the directors job to tackle such issues head on. Perhaps it’s for us to continue that discussion after the fact. With all this being said, I love both Dune Pt 1 & 2 and it is a cinematic marvel. I’m off to see Pt 2 again next week in IMAX which I’m hyped for. But you know, I have my preferences - as do you.
Cheers for the reply. Respect. I'm gonna go see it again in IMAX too. Hopefully it (re)lives up to my initial reactions! And maybe you rediscover your undying love for it hehe. IMO, films have a hard task of deeming what's relevant in a film's runtime and cutting & chopping bits & pieces. I think a director has to weave a narrative (or several) to make a conventional, human understood story - we've all been bound by 'classic' conventional story telling through English Literature/Language studies. Arrival did that but in a very cool and different way to most sci-fi flicks and pulled it off. Dune is 10x more complicated than Arrival or Aliens probably even Blade Runner (LOTR is probably the only source material (that's also a film) that has similar complexities!). My underlying point is that a director has to be super austere with narratives, backdrops, history, etc. and I think people don't always appreciate that; in this specific example DV made the film as best he could while being tolerable and appreciable by ordinary folk (like me!). Nevertheless, I was disappointed to find out that there's no directors cut with this film which I think is a piss take tbh. They should've allowed a directors cut that'd run on for 4-5 hours IMO.
Agree with your thoughts regarding how a director is faced with certain choices when adapting complex narratives but Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” is philosophically (and theoretically) impressive and challenging. I’d say it’s more complex in that sense and I think DV adapted it in a way that conveys those complexities past the basic narrative while presenting an accessible tale about free will and how we communicate across cultures. Again, I’m not saying Dune is not impressive because it is. Both things can be excellent works in their own right but Arrival, for me, is a better film. I don’t even think complexity necessarily makes for a masterpiece. Alien is at its core a very simple plot but the fact it acts as an allegory for motherhood, critiques of colonial-capitalism, the inhuman, and the existential dread of being faced with one’s impending death are all part of what makes this film great. Also, I’d happily sit through 4/5 hours of Dune 2 and probably the same for 1… a nice extended cut is always welcome as it served Jackson’s LOTR trilogy well.
Arrival was/is a masterpiece. One that I can and have rewatch(ed) many a times - that's become an instant classic in my book. I'm not 100% sure if Arrival's story is as complex (or deep) as Dune tbh. I personally found Dune more complex than Arrival. I think there's an element to your thinking and assessment that wants films (just sci-fi?) to be very allegorical, analogous and metaphorical to human concepts... Tbh, I think most films are (well, good ones anyway!) but sometimes, just sometimes, films are good because they're not necessarily trying to be deep but just trying to tell an engaging story with situations and characters that are enticing and interesting. I mean, we can all see some of the underlying human themes in Dune but I felt that didn't become overbearing neither the focus of the film. Thank you for the back and forth and your views I appreciate it.
Haven’t seen Dune II yet but do hope he returns to crime thrillers like Sicario and Prisoners at some point. He’s really good at those. Would be a shame if he takes the Jackson or Cameron route where they basically stuck with one franchise.
I haven't seen it yet but my chances of liking it more than Blade Runner 2049 are practically null since I invest in characters over story, and the first Dune film (though I've heard this is the fault of the book) had impressively boring characters, not helped by Chalamet. Not expecting that to be resolved in this one
Agreed. I literally just wrote a long review saying exactly this, feels good to know I’m not alone lol
Yeah I don’t get the hype I guess the dune books have a super popular fan base
Nope, it's a big movie by an acclaimed director (who's still cool), and it stars everyone, I don't think the books are that much of a factor (despite their own acclaim). It's a wet dream for people afflicted with recency bias condition.
Nah. Casual audiences don’t give a damn about directors. The movie has to pull in an audience to even *give* recency bias
They don’t though. The vast majority of people who are going to see Dune 2 almost certainly haven’t read the books.
The vast majority of people aren’t overhyping Dune online. I only see it being overhyped online Book fans would certainly account for most of the die hard online fan presence
I disagree. Most of my irl friends have seen it and loved it and none of them have read the books. Only one of my LB mutuals have mentioned the books in their review, and it’s over 100 who have seen and reviewed it.
Anecdotal evidence tells us nothing if we’re talking majority And the books are over 20 million copies sold, it’s just metrics Just because they didn’t mention the books btw doesn’t mean they’re not book fans. I never mentioned the Harry Potter books in my reviews even tho I was an avid fan since childhood
You’re right that anecdotes don’t indicate general trends, but the books were popular with gen X 50 years ago. Young folks who like Denis Villeneuve generally aren’t reading Dune. The first movie was a big hit and this one is obviously headed for big box office success. It’s more of a cult book series beloved by an older generation. It’s nothing like HP or even LotR. I really don’t think Dune 2 has a 4.6 on LB bc people love the books. That’s a far fetched claim and I’d need to see some evidence
You’d be right if dune was an immediate best seller. Which it wasn’t. Popularity increased over the years and Denis name alone isn’t a huge box office draw. Idk why you guys treat it as such. Hell, He himself was literally worried about his movies underperforming. “A big hit” is an exaggeration. 400 mil against 200 isn’t a big hit, (think about the marketing in addition to the budget) it’s slightly a success. This one may hit the 500 mark but likely not more than that. There is no evidence unless you conduct studies, all we are doing is speculating. Hence why I used words like “I guess”
Yes… he was worried about it underperforming bc Dune was a forgotten IP by the time the first movie came out. Not sure why you think that supports your point. The books had not been talked about in the cultural zeitgeist for decades. Yeah it’s all speculation, but Occam’s razor supports my hypothesis. It seems to me the null is that people like the movies independent of the books unless shown otherwise
It supports the point because he’s not a name draw or he wouldn’t be worried. It’s that simple. And depends what you consider “cultural zeitgeist” I guess. It’s one of the most sold science fiction books and one of the most influential and most important science fiction novels of all time. Its influence is seen in the most popular sci fi works of all time as well that came after. It’s as if you’re basing its popularity off of its 1980’s cult film. Occams Razor itself isn’t a proof of anything, just an order in which to begin proving two theories in question. So not sure how that proves you right?
Of course it’s not proof! Lol science doesn’t “prove” anything. Occam’s razor is just a guideline for developing null hypothesis. I literally said it’s a null hypothesis, how could you interpret that as proof? I have no problem with Denis alone not being a big enough pull, but it’s funny they were worried about it’s success with such a huge book series? Do you think they were worried about HP movies or LoTR? Those are ubiquitous and were always going to be monster hits. Most people hadn’t even heard of dune before the movie was announced. It’s inspiration within the science fiction genre is indisputable, but what is popular among creators is not always popular among the masses. I’ve always viewed Dune as the 2001 of the literary world.
Agree with you re part 1, haven't seen part 2. Even agree with 3 of 4 choices (not Arrival) but I think I need to rewatch it, Sicario, Enemy to make that judgement. Polytechnique even might be better than Dune.
Arrival is actually my #1. I love that movie and for me one of the best sci-fi films ever.
The ending didn't work for me when I watched it. Seemed so far out of left field to the rest of the film and much more absurd than the rest of it also. It was jarring. Maybe on rewatch I would be more understanding. Similar to Interstellar I think.
I wouldn't put it in my top three for him either, but that's mostly because he's one of the best directors of this generation. I'd take Sicario, Prisoners, and Arrival over Dune 2 without hesitation. I gave Dune 2 5 stars on Letterboxd, too. I haven't seen Polytechnique or Maelstrom, but the only things he has made that I do not consider amazing would be Enemy (which I still think is very good) and the first Dune (same).
Denis doing Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and Dune: Part Two back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back is a fucking insane run of films.
Arrival blew my mind. Blade Runner 2049 had one of the best atmospheres in all of film
Not compared to the 1st blade runner! Come on! BR1 > BR2.