As we are approaching the last part of the Dune trilogy with “Dune: Part Three” releasing at the end of this year, I decided to revisit and refresh my memory of the whole story by watching the 2 previous installments, which is Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two. But in this review, we will focus on Part One first. And unsurprisingly, the film didn’t disappoint. This is truly one of the most visually striking films of our time. The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by himself, Jon Spaihts, and Eric Roth.
Based on the novel of the same name, written by Frank Herbert, the main arc for this film is about the big shift in House Atreides as Paul, the son of Duke Leto, is set to lead his people and his family to Arrakis, and faces all obstacles, betrayals, and political conflicts once he gets there. This first installment of the trilogy shows the beginning of it all, from Paul’s reluctance to take over and just create his own destiny, to finally embracing fate and slowly taking on the role as the leader of House Atreides.
Timothee Chalamet really devoured his role as the young Duke in this film. He managed to convey all kinds of emotions, his doubts, his confusion, and his struggle to accept his fate as the future of Atreides. Meanwhile, Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson, who played his parents in this film, were equally as brilliant bringing these characters to life, with such grace, compassion, and elegance. Isaac, who had a slightly shorter role in this than both Ferguson and Chalamet, still held his presence in such a high level and intensity. The supporting cast, such as Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgaard, Josh Brolin, and many more, brought their A+ games as well. Incredible ensemble.
Besides its visual brilliance, the scoring is another magical thing that perfected this film. Hans Zimmer delivered such a breathtaking soundtrack for this film, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 2022. He practically implemented all kinds of methods in order to create these stunning soundtracks, like custom-invented instruments, digital synthesizers, and haunting vocal chants. He has stated that this was his dream project to make, as he turned down working on Tenet with Christopher Nolan to do this film.
This was such a great experience revisiting the beginning of what would be one of the biggest trilogies in Hollywood. Villeneuve was in his element creating this film. All the cast embraced their roles so beautifully, and Zimmer gave us his sorcery to hypnotize us with his unbelievable soundtracks.
