I just finished part 1 and, well, I’m kinda disappointed. It’s not bad, I think it’s actually pretty solid, but compared to the book it’s much worse in terms of story progression and characters. Some parts felt really rushed. I didn’t expect it to be better than the book, but I still expected better adaptation considering that (at least as far as I know) it was well received and I knew that it didn’t adapt whole book so I expected it to don’t skip too much. Is part 2 any better?
I’m a bit surprised at a lot of the criticisms for the movies here, and I say this as a huge fan of the Dune novels too.
Villeneuve has a particular film style like blade runner 2049, and Arrival.
If you don’t like his style you won’t like the 2nd movie.
But on the other hand part 1 sets the stage for everything that happens in part 2, and overall I think it is an excellent adaption. Dune is not an easy book to adapt to film, and some changes had to be made, but they’re aren’t any glaring changes that make me go “why the hell did you change it that way?”
It’s extremely faithful to the book, and in cases where it’s not, I can see the reasoning for the change.
Honestly Chani is so much better in the movies. Her character makes zero sense in the first book. She’s a strong capable warrior but just follows Paul around like a puppy and accepts his every decision as if she has no choice or will of her own.
Honestly given how Frank Herbert wrote other female characters in the books, I interpreted chani as a satirization of settler/colonizer wife.
It’s rather subtle, and would not likely come across well with a movie audience.