By Ben Miller
One of the most anticipated films of the year is Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic science fiction saga Dune. We already had a Pink Floyd-scored teaser, a series of poster releases and a Venice Film Festival premeire date, but now we have a full trailer. There is a lot to this trailer, so let’s play our Yes, No, Maybe So™ game ...
YES
- It’s a Villeneuve film, so it’s going to be a visual delight. The opening shots feature striking visuals of sand dunes, spaceships emerging from the darkness and large-scale battles
- I’m all for the Timothee Chalamet/Jason Momoa interplay. By the way, Momoa’s character is named Duncan Idaho. DUNCAN IDAHO!
- Every actor is top-notch and looks to have a chance to shine. Hopefully the smaller players like TFE favourites Stephen McKinley Henderson, Chang Chen and David Dastmalchian get their own opportunities as well
- The cast is a vast cadre of ethnicities, which we are all for
- VISUALS, VISUALS, VISUALS!
- The look of the sandworms
- Seriously – LOOK AT THAT CAST!
NO
- Parts of the visuals do look very dark while many of the lines are spoken barely above a whisper. How hard will it be to see or hear on HBOMax screens?
- There is a gigantic spoiler in the trailer which I won’t discuss. That being said, where is the freaking mystery these days?
- The final battle is giving me Wonder Woman 1984 vibes, which isn’t the best of signs
MAYBE SO
- Momoa hasn’t had any non-Aquaman success and this looks like a flashy role for a change
- How much lightness will be interspersed? Will it be super-serious or have those occasional bits of humor?
- This is such a huge world, will Villeneuve be able to make it palatable for commercial success?
- If there are people who can make the silly sci-fi lingo sound authentic, it’s Chalamet and Oscar Isaac
- How much of this is action and how much of it is meditative or political maneuvering? Villeneuve has balanced it well in the past with Blade Runner 2049
Come on, you know it's going to be a YES here at TFE. This will be a visual feast to take in on the big screen with supplemental viewings on HBOMax. We can all find out together if it lives up to its promise on October 22nd.