Dune (12A)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
 

NOTHING can prepare you for the extraordinary scale and breathtaking visuals of this stunning film adaptation — which must be experienced on the largest possible screen — of Frank Herbert’s renowned 1965 sci-fi novel.

Where the great David Lynch failed in his 1984 feature version, co-writer-director Denis Villeneuve has succeeded: making a comprehensible and accessible remake whose themes — politics, imperialism, religion and class oppression — resonate strongly today.

Set in the year 10190, it follows the coming-of-age tale of 15-year-old Paul Atreides (an outstanding Timothee Chalamet), the son of a noble family, all of whom are sent to the inhospitable planet of Arrakis to harvest and protect the most valuable and coveted asset in the galaxy; spice melange, known as “the spice,” upon which space travel, knowledge, commerce and human existence all rely.

Their banishment is a political move by the jealous emperor to get rid of the much beloved and popular Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Paul’s father. Meanwhile, his mother Lady Jessica (a phenomenal Rebecca Ferguson) is determined to protect her son and see him fulfil his destiny as the one who will save his people from genocide.

It is a film about political machinations, about how the Bene Gesserit, an elite religious order of women, controls and manipulates world affairs from the shadows, and about the rise of a messiah; about how a young boy has a great power thrust upon him as he finds himself; and the persecution of the indigenous “Fremen,” the real caretakers of Dune, who have acclimatised to its arid terrain and predators, the gigantic worms.

With the arrival of Paul and his mother, they see the prophecy of their saviour becoming a reality.

Shot on location in Hungary, Jordan, Abu Dhabi and Norway, Greig Fraser’s cinematography is mesmerising and humbling and the film is a faithful rendition of Herbert’s work, brought to life by powerhouse performances from its A-list cast, which also includes Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgard and Charlotte Rampling.

The only problem: this is just part one of the story and, at the time of writing, it still isn’t known if and when there will be a part 2, so many avid fans may feel rightly cheated.

Maria Duarte
In cinemas