Cumbersome and tedious are the words that come to mind after having suffered through watching "Dune: Part Two" (streaming, not at the movie theatre, thankfully sparing the unnecessary cost). An experience that felt like a chore, even more so than when seeing the first installment of "Dune" (also streaming).
Not only was it a slow, painful slog to get through this movie, I would also most definitely add boring to it. Substantially more so than the first part.
In this review I am not referring to Frank Herbert's books or even any of their literary sequels. I did not read them, was never interested in, or could get into. Still, I am familiar with the architecture of this universe and some of the main details and as a fan of fantasy and sci-fi, I can at least appreciate the contribution of the "Dune" novels to the genre and to literature in general.
The problem with the would-be "Dune" franchise is that it is soo desperately trying to dress itself in an epic garb that it doesn't deserve. It works overtime to award itself a place in the pantheon of large-scale movie franchises which have had an impact on culture and entertainment as well as the zeitgeist. "Dune" sees itself on the same level as "Star Wars" (pre-Disney), "The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy" or the "Harry Potter" movies (and a few others). Yet does so without merit or cause.
"Dune" is at best a fast-food quality cinematic undertaking, drowning under it's own self-importance. It drips with the desperation of lathered relevance and the stink of falsely imbued importance. It fervently seeks legitimacy and relevance...where there's none to be found or earned.
With "Dune" Denis Villeneuve has created and exercise in cinematic futility. He hasn't directed a quality movie since 2016's "Arrival" and has been striking out with cinematic abominations like "Blade Runner 2049" and dry, arid efforts like "Dune".
The direction, cast, acting, score, special effects and production values, are by-the-numbers, oftentimes quite sub-par, stilted, lifeless and painfully forgettable. While neither Part One Or Part Two can be seen as outright failures, the "Dune" movies haven't' exactly set the box office on fire either, which is quite fitting.
Any critical accolades or awards the "Dune" films won are at this stage, given how much said awards have been compromised and watered down, irrelevant. Which is reflective of the current state of modern entertainment and the free falling , downwards, death spiral it finds itself in. That includes movies.
I will forgo other details and problems plaguing "Dune: Part Two", but I will zeroe in on two of its biggest. The two leads. Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya. There is zero chemistry between them. They lack charisma, on-screen presence, talent, abilities or anything else that would make them engaging, watchable or memorable. They are the result you would get if you entered the word "actor" in the Google search bar. An artificially built result, courtesy of an algorithm. Which is a quite fitting description for this movie as well.
Not only was it a slow, painful slog to get through this movie, I would also most definitely add boring to it. Substantially more so than the first part.
In this review I am not referring to Frank Herbert's books or even any of their literary sequels. I did not read them, was never interested in, or could get into. Still, I am familiar with the architecture of this universe and some of the main details and as a fan of fantasy and sci-fi, I can at least appreciate the contribution of the "Dune" novels to the genre and to literature in general.
The problem with the would-be "Dune" franchise is that it is soo desperately trying to dress itself in an epic garb that it doesn't deserve. It works overtime to award itself a place in the pantheon of large-scale movie franchises which have had an impact on culture and entertainment as well as the zeitgeist. "Dune" sees itself on the same level as "Star Wars" (pre-Disney), "The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy" or the "Harry Potter" movies (and a few others). Yet does so without merit or cause.
"Dune" is at best a fast-food quality cinematic undertaking, drowning under it's own self-importance. It drips with the desperation of lathered relevance and the stink of falsely imbued importance. It fervently seeks legitimacy and relevance...where there's none to be found or earned.
With "Dune" Denis Villeneuve has created and exercise in cinematic futility. He hasn't directed a quality movie since 2016's "Arrival" and has been striking out with cinematic abominations like "Blade Runner 2049" and dry, arid efforts like "Dune".
The direction, cast, acting, score, special effects and production values, are by-the-numbers, oftentimes quite sub-par, stilted, lifeless and painfully forgettable. While neither Part One Or Part Two can be seen as outright failures, the "Dune" movies haven't' exactly set the box office on fire either, which is quite fitting.
Any critical accolades or awards the "Dune" films won are at this stage, given how much said awards have been compromised and watered down, irrelevant. Which is reflective of the current state of modern entertainment and the free falling , downwards, death spiral it finds itself in. That includes movies.
I will forgo other details and problems plaguing "Dune: Part Two", but I will zeroe in on two of its biggest. The two leads. Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya. There is zero chemistry between them. They lack charisma, on-screen presence, talent, abilities or anything else that would make them engaging, watchable or memorable. They are the result you would get if you entered the word "actor" in the Google search bar. An artificially built result, courtesy of an algorithm. Which is a quite fitting description for this movie as well.
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