The Spice Must Flow
I admit I’ve read DUNE twice, and I didn’t really 100% get it either time. I mean, it’s obvious an influential book – you can see the influence in a lot of the science fiction that’s come since. That said, it’s very high concept, with some ideas you really have to work to get your mind around.
I’m still going to see the movie tomorrow, mostly because I’m extremely curious how they managed to turn this very weird book into a big-budget movie.
But! One advantage of having read the book first. I can read all the reviews I want without worrying about spoilers. 🙂 Of course, DUNE is a hard book to spoil, because any spoiler would inevitably turn into a 15,000 word long essay about genetic engineering, Space Nuns, telepathy-inducing drugs, giant worms, interstellar commerce, a detailed flowchart of noble house politics, personal force fields, and full-body water recycling.
-JM
Overall I liked it. Every film version of Dune has done some aspects well, and others not so much. The visuals were very good, as you would expect. A few edits were so choppy it was difficult to follow.
I liked the character building better, but the explanations to advance the plot were worse. It could have been much better with a few sentences by the Duke speculating about the Emperor’s agenda, a thirty second shot of the interstellar ships jumping, and an expression of self doubt by Paul were needed. Particularly Paul, since building tension requires the main character be in danger of failing.
Enjoy!