Dune (2021)

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Having seen reviews of the movie, I was going into the film expecting a rather slow-paced and okay adaptation that would be carried along by the cinematography and certain actors. I was wrong. I was completely blown away by it. Every aspect, every tiny part of the film was epic and compelling on a level I don't think I've seen since Lord of the Rings. I cannot even begin to describe my feelings regarding this movie, but here's an attempt. I'll go through a few points. Major spoilers for the whole movie and the book.

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Adaptation - I can see why some people were not pleased with the dinner scene and some of the subtle foreshadowing and undertones being cut. After watching it, I can see it was absolutely necessary. Dune as a story is already fairly complicated, and to add something like the double-double-triple cross that was the plot to make Leto think Rebecca was betraying him would have convoluted things too much and lost the general audience. As to the dinner scene, it would have taken place too early within the movie with almost no character development or background knowledge by then. Again, people would have been completely lost. As to some of the other changes, I think Kynes being gender swapped was actually pretty great and Sharon Duncan-Brewster did a great job. The death change was actually something I think needed to be done. There was a poetic quality about Kynes' death in the book, but it would have been too hard to transfer that to the screen. Pacing and Ending - It was actually not slow whatsoever. It started off fairly interesting, built up to the action in a way I thought was done as well as possible, and then the payoff was absolutely amazing. The action sequences were perfect, literally zero complaints there. I was totally enthralled. I think the worldbuilding is more than enough to keep the less action packed moments interesting as well. As for the ending, a lot of people complained about where it ended, but unless Denis were to adapt Books 1 and 2 of Dune into one movie, there's no smooth ending until that two year gap. The movie was already super action packed, I don't think it was possible to make it any longer without making some serious cuts.

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Score and Cinematography - The score and cinematography will be impossible to top for me. It was literally absolutely perfect. Everything leaned into the aesthetic of the film to the point where I felt like I was walking on Arrakis with them. Hans Zimmer and Greg Fraser are two absolute masters at their craft. I'll echo what other people have said in that, if you possibly can safely, you need to see this film on the biggest screen possible.

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Acting - I'm ordering these in rank of what I can heap the most praise on, and I think acting has to come in at the absolute top. Rebecca Ferguson completely stole the show with her performance as Lady Jessica, and she will always be the character in my mind. I cannot emphasize enough that every single actor was absolutely perfect for their role. I initially had doubts about Brolin as Gurney, but those doubts resolved about 10 minutes into the film. Momoa was perfect too, and that final sequence of him fighting to his death was incredible. Such honor and duty was portrayed in such an amazing way. Oscar Isaac radiated Duke Leto's commanding presence, and I literally could not have asked for a better Paul than Timothee Chalamet. I literally have zero complaints about this. My final thoughts: Denis Villeneuve is a freaking genius!