Why are Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies loved by audience and critics? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 8 months ago by wolf@lemmy.zip to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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When watching movies, I always try to differentiate between my personal enjoyment and the inherent merits of the movies. There are a lot of bad movies, which I totally and thoroughly enjoy watching, and some really great movies, which I don't enjoy that much, but still can respect/appreciate.

With this prelude, I totally do not get the positive reactions to Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies. At the time I am writing this question, part two has 94% critique and 95% audience score at Rotten Tomatoes, 9.0 at IMDB.

In my opinion, Dune 1 and Dune 2 have obviously high production values and good special effects. What I do not like is the acting, the pacing, the total flat/simple characters and the whole narration, which is for me a trivial love story between Chani and Paul, plus becoming a leader and get some revenge. I could simply replace the 'Dune' theme with a standard war theme and a few tribes, and I would have exactly the same movie. Also the battle scenes at the end of part 2, they are for me totally cookie cutter war movie/battle aesthetics. (Total waste: There are big Sandworms after all, and combat with personal shields etc.).

My question is, especially if you very much enjoyed watching the Dune movies:

Why did you personally enjoy the movie?
Do you think this movies have some inherent merits?
How do you like the acting/plot/pacing?

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[-] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 92 points 8 months ago

The "cookie cutter" parts of dune are only that because everyone has copied dune since the books came out.

That's like saying Houdinis' tricks were cookie cutter traps.

[-] SkyNTP@lemmy.ml 64 points 8 months ago

Lord of the rings comes out

"Oh look, another movie about elves and dwarves."

[-] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 17 points 8 months ago

Lol exactly

[-] topherclay@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

"I don't know what the big deal with Hamlet is. It's just one famous saying after another, strung together by a moldy old plot."

[-] Kbin_space_program@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

You say that, but I had a friend dislike the first movie "because you can't end a movie like that, it didn't solve anything".

She was then politely informed it was a very famous trilogy of books and that there are two other movies.

[-] wolf@lemmy.zip 6 points 8 months ago

I fear the Greeks around two thousands years back already had the cookies which inspired Frank Herbert. ;-)

[-] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 28 points 8 months ago

Ha, true true. Like music, how you put the notes together is what matters. Dune put them together in an inspiring way.

[-] wolf@lemmy.zip 2 points 8 months ago

Just for clarification, so you enjoy Villeneuve's Dune movies?

[-] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 13 points 8 months ago

I do. I haven't seen the second yet though. But I imagine I'll enjoy it more than the first just because I remember that section of the story less. Part One is tough since it's the part that everyone knows more and has been repeated more often in culture. Also, it just kinda... ends.

this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024

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