Dune has become a notoriously tricky property to get right; before Denis Villeneuve's films in the 2020s, this miniseries was as close to a faithful take as you could possibly get on-screen. Besides fan edits of David Lynch's Dune making rounds online, that film was material proof of the novel being nigh unfilmable for many creatives in Hollywood.
The miniseries is like a multimillion dollar community stage play committed to film and trying to evoke science fiction otherworldliness in the most conventional ways possible. The set designs just don't feel alien enough here, and the lighting screams typical television production conformity instead of being daring in trying to give Dune its much needed high-concept feeling.
Is this faithful? Yes. Does it work all that well in light of the iffy production choices? Not particularly, but it's not unwatchable. Does the acting do the source material justice? I'd say yes and no at the same time. The performances range from Leonard-Nimoy-like stoicism to Adam-West/William-Shatner-esque camp and makes the whole thing feel like a dedicated mixed bag of effort.
Dune is sci-fi's equivalent to The Lord of the Rings in terms of scope AND trickiness in getting it right outside the source novels both properties originated from. And filmmakers many generations from now will keep making their own jabs at their own versions of these iconic stories. Blessing or curse? Hard to tell sometimes. Here I'd say it's a charming curse. It does just enough right to try and outdo the wrong stuff, but just barely pulls it off.
Dune gets 3/5 stars. An atypical television production of the 2000s taking on a book that was far too demanding for basic cable television to take on alone.
The miniseries is like a multimillion dollar community stage play committed to film and trying to evoke science fiction otherworldliness in the most conventional ways possible. The set designs just don't feel alien enough here, and the lighting screams typical television production conformity instead of being daring in trying to give Dune its much needed high-concept feeling.
Is this faithful? Yes. Does it work all that well in light of the iffy production choices? Not particularly, but it's not unwatchable. Does the acting do the source material justice? I'd say yes and no at the same time. The performances range from Leonard-Nimoy-like stoicism to Adam-West/William-Shatner-esque camp and makes the whole thing feel like a dedicated mixed bag of effort.
Dune is sci-fi's equivalent to The Lord of the Rings in terms of scope AND trickiness in getting it right outside the source novels both properties originated from. And filmmakers many generations from now will keep making their own jabs at their own versions of these iconic stories. Blessing or curse? Hard to tell sometimes. Here I'd say it's a charming curse. It does just enough right to try and outdo the wrong stuff, but just barely pulls it off.
Dune gets 3/5 stars. An atypical television production of the 2000s taking on a book that was far too demanding for basic cable television to take on alone.