stuck in fucking chickentown.

2024
as anarchistic, ecologically conscious, eccentric, colorful, or philosophically in-depth as herbert's novel? no. one could argue he even loses herbert’s deep commentary on power, reducing it to a mere white savior narrative to feel more contemporary.
in place of that, however, villeneuve cultivates a dynamic, pulsating, blood-pumping, unforgettable spectacle. pure experience. spectacle as an art form. it puts dune up there with the likes of the matriX and star wars, using the most cutting-edge modern filmmaking technology, just as both of those masterpieces did.
the trade-off of herbert’s intellectual depth for villeneuve’s masterful spectacle, in the end, feels more like a deliberate recalibration—not a failure.