It's been some time since I've read the Frank Herbert novel, and I had already forgotten much of the story. However it wasn't a problem picking things up as characters and situations presented themselves in this film, so I'd have to say that was a plus for this viewer. The scope of this picture is quite outstanding, spanning as it does a complex and fragmented universe of worlds and kingdoms. Central to the story is the valued importance placed on a spice that's a preferred hallucinogenic for some, and for the elite, an important component required for interstellar travel. In the novel I believe it was something as common as cinnamon, but on the planet Arrakis, required an intensive mining operation to reclaim it from the barren desert soil in which it's found.

The entire story is veiled with a mystical sort of ambiance in which the protagonist, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet),learns of his destiny while obliquely being referred to as 'The One' of legend, a person who will come into great power. Quite honestly, the setting, costuming, characterizations and palace intrigue is all quite reminiscent of 'Star Wars', even if the original novel was written over a decade before George Lucas arrived on the scene. Even the hostile environment of Arrakis has the feel of Tatooine, with the appearance of the Shai-Hulud recalling the Sarlacc, one of Jabba the Hutt's favorite pets.

What surprised me with this first installment of the Dune saga was how well director Denis Villeneuve managed to condense the epic scope of a massive novel onto film, even if half of the story is yet to be told. The movie incorporates the most critical elements of the novel into a narrative that works really well. Even though I actually did enjoy the 1984 version directed by David Lynch, this one proves to be more inclusive of events in the novel, and I look forward to a successful conclusion to the saga in due time.

There is probably no point in warning about spoilers for this film. You've probably read the book or seen either the 1984 Dino DeLaurentis version or the 2000 Sci-Fi mini-series.... If you've seen either one of those, you've seen this movie. This movie only covers half the story, the sequel we'll probably never get to see will cover the other half.

So how does it stack up? Not well, in my opinion. It's a loud, dull action movie, with an ear-splitting soundtrack. It has all the scenes you might have seen if you watched either of those two versions, but didn't do them nearly as well.

At two and a half hours, it drags on. The Lynch version of the film was 137 minutes, and got the whole story in. This film leaves key aspects out, and only tells half the story, and it just goes on and on and on.

To start, let's talk about characters. DeLaurentis got a cast of largely unknowns back then, many of whom went on to distinguish themselves. Kyle MacLachlin, Patrick Stewart, Dean Stockwell, Sean Young. Heck, even the little girl actress, Alicia Witt, went on to have a career as an adult. This movie uses a cast of people you've heard of, and their screen time is often based on "I know who that is." Other characters, more critical ones, were kind of shuffled to the side.

I'll give two examples. A key point in the book is that the betrayal by Dr. Yeuh, (played here with no charisma by Cheng Chen) because as a Suk Physician, taking a human life is against his conditioning. No build up, no nothing, he just does it.

On the other hand, because Duncan Idaho is played by Jason Momoa, he gets a lot more screen time than his presence in the book. (Duncan's clones become a much more important part of later books, but that's neither here nor there.) His final fight scene goes on interminably here, while they were quickly brushed over in the previous versions.

Similarly, while Peter DeVries is a key player in the book, here they don't even mention him by name, and he's just "Henchman who gets poisoned". Other characters are omitted altogether, including Emperor Shaddam, Princess Irulan and Feyd Ruatha. Concepts such as the Mentats, Guild, Bene Geserit, are kind of glossed over to get to those sweet, sweet action sequences.

The movie rises and falls on the actor who plays Paul Atreides... and again, he's actually closer to the age that the character is supposed to be at the beginning of the book, but he comes off as a little Emo.

Again, trippy as it was, the 1984 version did this better. The Sci-Fi Channel did it better... Now, this film really LOOKS good. The visuals are immersive. But without strong characters and story to back them up, what's the point? It's almost like watching a Transformers movie. The thing is, they HAD strong characters and a story... they just didn't use them.

Denis Villeneuve has accomplished what was considered impossible for decades, to write and direct a faithful adaptation to the fantastic 1965 sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert. And I'm here to tell you, he has done it, he has actually done it.

I was introduced to the world of dune in 1992 by playing the video game DUNE released that year. The story completely captivated me, so i decided to read the book. And to this day, it's one of the best stories I've ever read. A tale absolutely grand in scale, and filled with details, making it really hard to adapt for the big screen, even today with all the technology we have at our disposal.

I saw the film made by David Lynch, a few years after i read the book, and about 10 years after it was released, and i didn't enjoy it much. The 1984 film completely fails at capturing the very essence of the novel, and feels shallow and unfocused.

One of the main differences with this movie and the 1984 movie, is that Villeneuve has only centered on the first half of the first novel. And with over two and a half hours runtime, he is able to concentrate more on the small details, than Lynch ever could. But on the flip side, this also means that this movie has no conclusion.

From reading the book, i know what comes next, i know how this story ends. But a lot of people watching this movie, especially those who haven't read the book, can obviously feel like they were watching a prologue to something great, that never happens. This is a very risky move by both Villeneuve and the production companies, because this can only work if part 2 is released to conclude the story. It's kind of how they did it with "the lord of the rings" trilogy.

But, still, without a conclusion, what a massive blast of a movie this is. I've seen it in IMAX twice already, and the grand scale of everything, the sandworms, the space ships, the ornithopters, the buildings, the sound effects, the soundtrack, the locations. It's epic in every meaning of the word. And all of this without losing track of the deep relationships between the characters. This is a movie that manages to perfectly blend massive awesomeness with true heartfelt emotions.

The actors are near perfectly cast, all carrying their roles really well, although i felt some of them didn't get enough screen time.

This movie does follow the book quite closely, but some things has been changed and/or left out to fit in a movie format, i must admit that during my second IMAX viewing, i felt that Villeneuve maybe should have adapted this as a mini series instead. But that would have dramatically changed the grand scale of everything, but on the other hand, he could've dived deeper into the lore. Two and a half hours to adapt half of the first novel, is cutting it real tight. And with all the stuff you are constantly being fed throughout this movie, it can become somewhat difficult to follow and understand it all.

But that being said, I had really high hopes for this film, i was one of those people hyped beyond belief. I've been waiting for this movie for about 30 years. And still, most of this movie is either as i imagined it myself, or better.

What Denis Villeneuve has accomplished here, is actually quite astonishing, he has actually made DUNE. It's finally here, it's gigantic, and close to everything i asked for.

The only big drawback, is as i mentioned, that this movie has no conclusion, it's two and a half hours of build-up to something great, that never happens, but it's still a huge epic packed with an awesome soundtrack, solid acting, fantastic CGI and sound effects and jaw dropping locations captured with brilliant cinematography. It's most definitively made for the big screen, absolutely no doubt about that.

Denis Villeneuve has once again shown us he's a force to be reckoned with, a brilliant filmmaker, and one of the best of his generation, even one of the best of all time.

I give this movie a 9 out of 10. We need part 2, we need it badly. This story deserves to be concluded. But if it never comes, i will just imagine the last half of the first novel with this movie as the template.