Opened: October 21, 2021

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Babs Olusanmokun, Benjamin Clementine, Golda Rosheuvel & Roger Yuan

With a stellar cast and beautiful cinematography, Dune has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, viewers that don’t know the storyline will quickly find themselves lost almost immediately after the film begins.

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) has visions of a woman (Zendaya) just as his father Leo, Duke of House Atreides (Oscar Isaac), is given supervision of the wasteland planet Arrakis. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) plans a coup against Leo but is instructed to spare Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).

On the pro side, many of the scenes – and every Chalamet shot – look like they could be hung in a museum.

However, the plot is confusing and may alienate audiences. Character names and locations are hard to follow and aren’t established as well as in other sci-fi films.

Final say: Almost three hours of confusion. ★★★☆☆