@@manoz6194 That's exactly Herbert's point, power does not corrupt all that have it (such as those good kings), but it does attract the corruptible. Most kings inherited power, they did not seek it out; powerful figures that did (Lenin, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Qin Shu Huang, Mao) were almost always tyrants.
Favorite scene: the Fremen attack the imperial "tent" that has landed on Arrakis and blow open the door. The Sardukaur take formation and walk into the dust to fight, and a few silent seconds later the Fremen appear. You don't see or hear the Sardukaur die... they're just gone. So cool
@@sillylittlesheepjax6009 I think it was intentional. It was intended to show how a once proud and powerful army, had become degenerate and corrupted. This has happened many times in history.
It was a dumb move. Why would they do that? It’s the equivalent of the busty, blonde coed walking into the creepy cellar to investigate the squeaky floorboard.
Paul crying after killing a challenger in the book humanised him whilst showing the cultural values of the fremen it is also a pivot point for his personality. In the movie this is given to a supporting character completely changing its meaning.
We don’t need more humanization, we got plenty in part 1. We needed to get to the tyrant leader and emperor. A distinctly inhuman character. He’s above humans. I think we get enough humanizing scenes in part 1 and the first half of part 2. It would be redundant.
I do not agree with Mr. Despot here, and I agree with you. As someone who has read the book many times, I could not make it through the first 15 minutes of the first NEW Dune movie. So much that is in the book is changed in the movie. No mention of the WHOLE REASON things are as they are, the rise of AI, not surprised Hollywood would leave that out, as we are entering into AI right now. But this movie makes Chauni Paul's focus, which is pretty typical these days, instead of his father, and getting revenge for his murder.
This is the best critique I’ve seen of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune on UA-cam. Whether or not you’ve read the books will ultimately influence the level of enjoyment/frustration with this adaptation.
I can understand why Villeneuve didn't include Alia in this movie. The concept of pre-born child is quite common in the Dune series, it happens several times. For Dune fans it is OK, but for general audience it might be weird if a 2 year old child speaks and acts like an adult. I agree there are missing important scenes and plot lines, but if Villenuve wanted to include all of them, it would be a 3 movie series, not 2.
I tried my best to get the AI to produce something coherent but it's like trying to get a toddler to draw a human face, in the end I gave up and went with the body horror nightmare fuel.
@@DespotofAntrimAnd now we have quite nice mockery of AI graphic. That was very 'Duneish' and very, very 'Butlerian' 😉. Nice. Jehanne Butler is proud of you.
@@DespotofAntrim Thing is since Stable Diffusion is Open Source the Community has been adding more ways to have more control over Outputs. Given how all this only came out in 2022 and its only been two years. We have only been using the Beta Version. Honestly Scary how Far it has Improved. Heck Sora was shown to the World.
Power doesn't change people, it just shows their true colors, either be the ruthless CEO of a multinational or your local drunkard bum, give them money and they'd act the same.
@@SpicyTexan64 money is a huge form of power among human societies. At a glance. It would be hard to tell which human is above another. So we use wealth to dress up in fancy clothes to distinguish the rich from the poor.
I don't know anything about Dune books or 1984 movie, and love this critique. It educated me and helped me understand the flaws, merits, and reasons of the current versions. Also, as a Filipino, thanks for the shout out for Kali; always love acknowledging the martial art so widely used in some of the best cinematic fights
This amazing breakdown has reminded me that I need to reread this phenomenal book- and this time with more of an eye towards seeing it as the tragedy it is.
It constantly gets overlooked that yes paul's story was tragic, but much like dr. strange and his "1 in 14 million" or so iterations where they win. paul's vision and jihad was necessary for humanity's ultimate survival. He was a hero because he was willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Epic and sad. Just like this adaptation. Epic and sad for how it failed.
Ye, that part could be clearer in the movie. IiRC correctly according to his vision of holy war or the harkonnens be coming emperors and ruling. A choice of two evils. Not just Paul wanting or being power hungry
Hail Despot. I was re listening to your Rings of Power review yesterday and wondering when we'd receive your next communique or proclamation - and here it is. Thanks for all the thought and effort - really enjoyed your analysis, a lot more thought than I put into my reactions to the film. It will almost certainly be the best film of 2024, although I feel it falls short of true greatness, but can't put my finger on precisely why. I had a somewhat different take on Chani's role, although I totally agree with you that Zendaya's performance was good ( for a change). My take was that Villeneuve repurposed her as the audience POV character for Paul's journey and transformation from decent, youthful nobleman to decent, but committed Fremen freedom fighter to messianic warlord who embraces power irrespective of the terrible cost. Her affection and then revulsion, both for Paul and Jessica ( great sinister performance by Rebecca Ferguson) is intended to drive home Herbert's point about charismatic religious leaders for the normies in the audience ( those familiar with Dune don't need to be told this). I think Villeneuve and Zendaya do it admirably. It's not jealousy that makes her angry at Paul's betrothal to Irulan it's that he has transformed into a different man than the one she grew to love, a monster who will inspire monstrous behavior from his crazed worshippers ( that Javier Bardem shot is indeed terrifying). Her purpose is to convey all this, and I was impressed how effectively she did. I respectfully disagree with you about the score was powerful but bordered on overblown ( although not as OTT as Dark Knight Rises) and the pacing was still a problem, especially the rushed final battle. But even Despots must tolerate such a minor form of dissent....although not sure if Emperor Paul MuadDib Atreides would. Cheers.
Thanks for the tip! The final battle is almost exactly as described in the book (minus Aliya). The battle doesn't last long because of the massive, sudden, shock nature of the attack.
More thought was put into the Ornithopters than most Marvel films post Endgame. As soon as I saw the ornithopters in Part 1, I knew Dennis had nailed the visual language of Arrakis.
I think a lot of reviewers are giving Villeneuve a pass when it comes to his portrayal of Chani. The Chani of the book was a priestess in training, administered the Water of Life to Jessica, and was next in line to become the Fremen's Reverend Mother if Jessica didn't survive her spice agony. She was also Paul's wife and mother of his first born, and fulfilled other more "traditional roles" associated with females in a desert culture (like managing the sietch and taking care of the children). Fremen women were good fighters, but they didn't charge into battle alongside Fremen men, and they also didn't summon worms. Zendaya's Chani was not just a member of the Fedaykin (i.e. Muad Dib's Death Commandos); she was a leader of Fedaykin at the ripe age of 17 (cuz if she's older she's a Pedo since Paul would have been 15 or 16). She is also shown summoning and riding worms, and she cuts a bloody path across the battlefield of Arakeen, along with firing a rocket launcher in a raid on a Harkonnen Spice Harvester (with Paul doing the reloading). She's also stripped of her faith and family. She is basically the equivalent of a male character in this movie who also happens to have sex with Paul while also making herself the center of attention (despite limited screentime) and Paul's most vocal opposition. She's basically Korba with a pussy. Denis Villanueve claims this was done to help convey to the audience Paul's arc. It must be a coincidence that it fits in perfectly with the DEI standards the Oscars put out for movies to qualify for a Best Picture nomination: www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards I don't mind giving her doubts, but claiming the changes to her character are not for purposes of satisfying DEI standards are just off the mark. Claiming this movie is faithful to the source material is ludicrous. It's a faithful adaptation the same way Starship Troopers is a faithful adaptation to Heinlein's book. Similar things happen in the movie and book, but the circumstances around them are different.
Agree. Pretending that Chani isn’t just another pitiful girl boss, is, in itself, pitiful. Zendaya is also a poor actress. I gritted my teeth every time she appeared on screen, which was far too often. She comes across as a silly, sulky little girl.
Chani was 100% behind Paul in the books and didn’t mind one bit he married Irulan. She also killed any that challenged Paul. Chani had no heartbreak over a political marriage. Chani was the one pushing for it and Paul was unsure. Chani has less agency in the movie, not more. Claiming she has more agency because she isn’t in full lockstep with her man is some modern feminist thinking. Don’t know why you keep saying the movie isn’t diverging from the book when it does constantly. She is a weak loser in the movies, having her personality switched 180 degrees. No woman would get mad that their man made a political marriage. In fact, the vast majority of women in real life would actually prefer to be in a relationship with a total Chad emperor leader with other women. They wouldn’t care one bit. Powerful men have always had multiple wives, and not a single wife cared or didn’t like this. Anyway, Chani in the movies is not feminine. Zendaya is masculine as hell.
Exactly. This is what I hate. Chani was a LITERAL RIDE OR DIE for this man. She was also not a skeptic of religion. She backed him 100% and knew why he needed to marry Irulan and Paul upfront told Irulan the deal with him and Chani and that she better deal with it. Villeneuve is an idiot and he completely ruined this series. Jessica herself told Leto not to marry her because she wanted him to be open for a political marriage if he needed one. In the prequel series he actually had a wife before he got with Jessica who got killed in some accident or something, and a son with that wife, but I don't think that's considered canon since his son wrote the prequel books.
Honestly my biggest complaint was the switch from the Water of Death to “just nuke the spice fields.” The point was that it was impossible to kill all the worms before Paul’s prescience, so his ability to do so was unique and allowed him to rise to power. All the royal families have nukes, so what’s to stop the Harkonens from threatening the same for more power.
I think it's because the Harkonnens need it to stay as a house. Paul has nothing to lose by bargaining the planet while the other established houses have everything to lose if he blows the planet up. It's like a Hail Mary.
My favorite part of D1984 was the rebellion buildup... but it was rushed over 10 mins-with 5 mins of that being a montage. Dune pt.2 really fleshed it out. Loved it! Agree..this was a damn good adaptation (irregardless of Chani's eyeroll ending). Great review as always!
I'm a huge fan of the first book. I was disappointed by a lot of the cool things that the movie left out. But I can appreciate that it made so many people happy and the world needs that.
I like the first 4 books to varying degrees. If you're going to read past the first book, I honestly think you need to read up to the fourth book to fully understand what "The Golden Path" is and how it motivated Paul/Leto II to do what they did.
I loved the book and the attempt by Lynch, the actors in the 1984 version are fantastic. I could not make it 15 minutes into this Dune, they made Paul into a whiny little bitch and totally left out the whole AI aspect of the Dune universe.
@MrDjBigZ DV’s Dune has very little worldbuilding. It is made very basic and pedestrian, and therefore not weird or even unusual seeming in a lot of ways, in in other ways it just simply misses the point of the books. DV is so proud of taking Herbert’s Messiah perspective into account in these first two movies, but it completely cuts the content off at the knees imo. Messiah belongs in Messiah, not Dune. Period.
Dear Despot, as someone struggling with extreme anxiety, your videos do more to alleviate my symptoms than any therapy. Thank you, sir, for doing this. Much love!
Thank you for your fair take on zendaya, too many consumers of “anti-woke” media seem bent on acting like she ruined the movie. She’s fine in Dune, good even, and her character changes are critical in communicating the central theme of the story in this truncated form
Fremen scratch out a living in the desert and don’t cry when they die. It’s a tough life and it takes awhile to break down that toughness. Zendaya portrayed that realistically.
@@ShifuCareaga She lives on Arrakis. It makes people hard and bitter to live there. That isn't "girl boss" it's the day the flesh makes and the flesh the day makes - to pick Leto's description. It's a universe with very hard women, content to end dynasties - if anything, Gaius Mohaim and Jessica are truly blood thirsty while Chani is just a fighter fighting. She's beautiful, which is important. The actors have chemistry, which is important. The changes to her character are necessary. Chani is a clear weakness in the book. She shows up, she is literal dream girl, she worships him as a messiah. A woman without discernment isn't a good match for Paul, nor is that actually love. A lover loves you despise seeing through you and she sees right through him.
I saw it on Saturday, and I didn't like it, because, as you said in the first minutes of the video, is a bad adaptation. Chani ends being irritating in the movie, the Mentats, Guild and CHOAM disappear, and I didn't like a lot of small details and character depictions. And remember, David Lynch managed to tell the story in a movie shorter than the first part of Villeneuve's adaptation. So, no, this is not a triumph, for me. It's a long and bloated lesser adaptation than the 1984 movie. Oh, and, on the point of "Is Paul really the Kwisatz Haderach?", the book says clearly (via Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam) that Jessica giving Duke Leto a son instead of a daughter could mean that yes, Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach, but one that arrives one generation too soon, and so, imperfect, not what the Bene Gesserit has been designing for centuries.
It's pretty good, I was disappointed with the way they handled Chani and the ending though, I just wrote this after starting the video and it's one of the first things you'll say you'll address so I'll be eagerly awaiting that. I feel like it was done for modern reasons though, that Chani is a strong girlboss so she couldn't be second fiddle even though that's not the point in the books, in fact it's explicitly the opposite.
The 80s Dune movie gets hammered by UA-cam critics, but it gets so much of the book into its truncated runtime, and portraits it much more engagingly. Dune 2 is a cracking sci-fi movie though.
There will be no official extended version. The best we can hope for is that deleted and alternate scenes are made available and some internet person puts together a decent fan edit.
Despot is totally wrong about this version of Chani because she had already fallen out of love with Paul before he made the arrangements with Irulan. This was clearly being depicted in the film when she released he was using her people for the holy war. The respect was lost for Paul in the scenes she refused to kneel and stand with the Fremen. The last scene is anger at Paul , not heartbreak. So she pulled an angry face and stormed out. This shortsightedness and temper tantrum makes her look dumb and is not behaviour that is faithful to book Chani. Zendaya was also massively miscast. She had one angry facial expression for the films entirety.
As a fan of books I totaly agree with You. Chani was massacred by Zendaya and the writing. She was annoying in every scene she was in. It feels like the writer wants to make her an opposing force(like a leader of a rebelion against Paul).
@@Ashtarize you can listen to Dennis talk about it. It’s literally exactly like Arwen from LotR. The adaptations made these female characters more prominent and they both are direct author mouth pieces.
45:50 small correction: it wasn't just simply monochrome photography. They went out of their way to use infrared cameras to film the Giedi Prime scenes. That also gives certain surfaces their distinct, otherworldly look, since infrared light is reflected and absorbed differently to visible light
The idea that you lost me THAT early in your video...that's not something you should feel proud of or try & use as an argument. You LED with it...I took a lot of Journalism classes while in school for Mass Communication & your Opening Statement (or Headline), should encapsulate the entire point you're making within it. In other words..."Think before you speak". How & where you place your words tells more than you think about you, your true intentions & your level of knowledge and wisdom.
That's just called not being an idiot. Don't you know that your religion is also a bunch of stories designed to control you? Now you do. Yeah religion has always been incompetent. Yet morons still believe God couldn't save us from sin without killing himself. God is as incompetent as his priests are.
Not necessarily. I know that the movie ommits the fact Chani is Kynes' child, but also doesn't say this relationship doesn't exist. And the book implies that Keynes and his father were aware of the religious programming of the Firemen being high ranking officials of the emperor. They even hijacked it for their own purposes, in order to use the Fremen as a work force needed for the ecological transformation of the planet. So yeah, with some headcanon wiggling you can explain Chani knowing more than the ordinary Fremen should. And besides, Bene Gesserit being incompetent is actually a point in the original book. There's one appendix at the end of "Dune", that's a BG report of the Arrakis affair, written some years after the events of the book, meant only for their internal use. And it boils down to "it's hard to believe how much we screwed up in every possible aspect, what were we even thinking". So yeah, BG being much less competent than they think they are is canon
They bit off more than they could chew. They’ve schemed for so long, they have a ridiculous ego at this point. Also the guy above me is right. Chani could easily know more than an average fremen being the child of an imperial agent.
@@SuperStella1111 Of course, but this is just silly. Imagine an absolute dixie town, you know the type, and one day then jesus fucking returns in this dixie town, and this one fuckin girl starts talking about how Jesus is a federal agent or a witch or a Jewish plot to take over the world (and by extension Christianity itself.) She'd be fuckin roped. Yeah you have atheists and doubters in all societies, but the more fundamentalist the society (and the Fremen is are getting rapidly more so) the more these people are forced into hiding.
Also a Positive Despot Review, damn never imagined I'd see it. Perhaps this will push you over 100K my friend. Let the Subscribers flow and LONG LIVE THE DESPOT!
@@DespotofAntrimit’s a great video and I completely agree. I think lots of people have become extremely jaded by Hollywood. So they see a woman like Chani or Jessica and the woke alarm starts blaring. It’s hard for them to understand this is a story from 1965.
@@DespotofAntrim You're probably one of the best review essayists I've seen on YT and I've been around for a while. Your scripts are a fantastic mix of incisive commentary and oftentimes wit mixed with annoyed frustration (well understood). I'm just a lowly dirty peasant colonist over in 'Murrica but I'd buy you a beer if I could. Keep up the good work.
It saddens me to say, but the more I think of Dune Pt.2, the less I like it. Mainly because of the portrayal of Chani. Her actress does not help matters, she makes Brie Larsson look charming by comparison. I guess I am just surprised how the movie made me realize just how deeply I seem to care about the book.
What's wrong with Chani? She was clearly made a counterweight in order to show the audience a different position towards the Messiah. Her change does not affect the plot in this film, but it reveals more about the situation with the fanatics. the changes with both Alia and Chani are, to me, a smart move on Villeneuve's part to help the viewer trust in the believability of the world without piling on the exposition
@detective2221 I understand, but you need to be able to distinguish between a person and a character. I consider her a weak actress, but in this case I liked her performance
@@beden653 If you want to see Chani done right, watch the SciFi miniseries that came out around the early 2000s. This Chani isn't Chani, it's Zendaya being aloof and emotionless 24/7. On a personal note, Chani is supposed to be a strong, firm woman who can also be seductive, and she's sharp. Zendaya is none of these, she's a plank of wood, and is a 6/10 on a good day. IMO at least half the characters were quite poorly miscast, including the first movie, but Zendaya is probably the most egregious. Second to Paul, who is not supposed to appear as a feminine twink.
I am, as most, disappointed with what they did to Chani. But I'm similarly disappointed that Hans Zimmer went for super-ethnic drumming and chanting thus failing to provide any memorable theme in the entire OST. The 1984's version had much better music, particularly Prophecy Theme, used at around 3:00 in this video, which is truly exceptional.
I really enjoyed the soundtrack in Dune Part 1, but when I listened to the soundtrack for Part 2, and it sounded like the same damned thing, I just went “nah”.
While it is possible that the movie is good and people who don’t know the source material might like it, I cannot overcome the bitter taste it left in my mouth. There are absolutely Modern Audience tropes baked into the movie: the character assassination of Stilgar, all the men being dumb religious fanatics while the girls of the tribe tell them off, and an isolated desert tribe being racially diverse being the ones that spring immediately to mind. Paul admits that everything he and his mother do are smoke and mirrors while Jessica pushes him to go along with it, whereas in the book Paul is swept along by the need to survive, and his mother becomes afraid of what he turns into but she can’t do anything about it. The Harkonnens are dehumanized by their appearance and actions which reduces them from being intelligent, depraved, and formidable enemies to being effectively aliens. The ecology and religion of Dune are not explored at all outside of Stilgar shouting “Lisan Al-Gaib” every now and then, despite the face of the planet and the philosophy of its people being the main driving factors behind the Fremen and their jihad. Water as an omnipresent concern for all the people of Arrakis seems to be effectively ignored in part 2 with the Fremen water discipline being ignored and their quanats being open to the air. I could go on, but to summarize: the majority of this movie screams disrespect for the source material and absolutely caters to modern audiences. It has cool action scenes, looks pretty, and has meme potential, which I warrant is why it is so widely praised. A cursory glance at the source material reveals how hopelessly shallow the Dune movies actually are.
I was a kid when i saw Dune 1984 and didn't know anything about the story. The movie made no sense to me and while I understand David Lynch's POV on not having enough control of it, I don't think he was the right man for the job. I don't think he was a fan of the book even in a remote sense and tried to turn it into an arthouse film. Casting Sting to play Feyd and having Toto play the score were just some of the poor decisions in this film. After reading the book and watching the miniseries years later, i rewatched the film and although it made more sense, it still seemed to lack substance in my opinion. Denis Villeneuve has done a brilliant job in bringing Frank Herbert's masterpiece back to life, although I wish we got to see a Guild Navigator. Hopefully there will be a third film and well get to see Edric in that.
I've always hade the upmost respect for people that critique their favorite films. Dune Pt.2 was incredible, a masterpiece, I watched it twice in cinemas and want to go again. But it is certainly flawed. The whole time-leap being one of biggest for me, however I can somewhat forgive it, or at least understand the reasoning. No normie will go and watch a 4 or even 3.5 hour film, it's bad business and a hard sell. So a compromise had to be made. We salute the effort Denis and look forward to Pt.3 as well as the Sisterhood spinoff.
The Chani relationship is kind of off for me, like she is always stand offish and kind of not trusting in Paul and no woman would be hanging out with you in this relationship, let alone sleep with you
She’s a lot more realistic as a woman in the movies than in the book. Frank wasn’t exactly great at writing an average female human lol She would be stand offish, her being salty about him marrying another, is on brand for a woman.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 Chani isn't an "average female human", ie a modern woman. She's heavily shaped by her ultra-traditional, austere, Fremen culture. The book explicitely goes in to how she understands the necessity of Paul's choice (it's not like Chani was Paul's only wife; he inherited the wife of the guy he killed in the Fremen duel), which makes perfect sense both from her Fremen perspective and as the wife of a living God and now Emperor of Space. It's important to recognize that *no one* in Dune is average; they're all either ultra-elite space aristocrats, cultists, slaves, or Fremen. No one follows our current day mores.
@@jamesgollinger208 I think the chani change was a good idea to really drive home to message of Frank Herbert. I get not liking zendayas acting. I don’t like it either, but making her more skeptical and verbalizing the message of the books. Is a good idea. Dennis talked about why he did it. He brought up how when the book came out people didn’t quite get the message. That Paul was to be feared and questioned, not worshipped on faith. It’s much harder to come to that conclusion in the new adaptation. Which was the goal, and the reason for chanis change.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 No, he just needed a reason to have Zendaya in the movie. He gave her lines that Chani never had and a character arc that she never experiences in the entire series.
Zendaya was the worst part of the movie. The girl just can't act. Not to mention how she's being pushed like a modern day Eartha Kitt, only with the charm, talent and the looks. Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard ofc...
She's the worst part of anything she's in automatically. And she knows it and enjoys it because she gets off on shitting up characters that aren't supposed to be black.
Power corrupts, abd abdolute power corrupts absolutely is quite accurate. However, Herbert's observation about power attracting the corruptible is also accurate. More so perhaps, or probably more common.
"Book" Chani was a Sayadina of the Fremen, next in line for Reverend Mother if Jessica didn't survive. Also she was Paul's wife, mother of his first born, his advisor and teacher of Fremen ways, and she also negotiated the marriage of Irulan to Paul with Jessica, because "no one bargains better than a Fremen". She had more traditionally feminine roles within the Fremen culture while also being a capable fighter. In the movie she's a Fedaykin (one of Paul's death commandos), a sand rider, and a front-line soldier. They strip her character of everything feminine, along with her religion and devotion to the group (she claims to be loyal to her people but she abandons the men who are supposed to be under her when she stays on Arrakis) along with making her Paul's most vocal opposition. They gave her the full DEI 2024 treatment and gave her character all the attributes of a Fremen male.
@@loki8284 Finally someone knowledgeable on the matter. “Book Chani has no character” is one of the worst takes I keep seeing on this matter. She is what grounds Paul to reality and their unwavering love for each other perfectly mirrors that of Leto and Jessica. Their romance is full of passion, struggle and sacrifice. She is one of the strongest, most complex and ultimately tragic characters in the whole saga. Watering her down to “strong independent female warrior princess” is an incredible disservice to her character.
When Paul killed Jamis. His wife and children became Paul's responsibility. He couldn't mistreat her but he could have her as his wife if he wanted. This is to say Fremen women aren't Warriors. Defending their home. Sure, they know how to fight. However, out in the field... Their society is a survival of the fittest. Men are stronger than women. Chani is the daughter of Liet so she was already special. She also got additional training from Paul. Everybody complains about Chani, but I hate what they did to Fremen society. They changed them for a modern audience. The problem is, of course later on when they changed you to Paul's influence, it's not going to be as apparent. They're already a bunch of whiny complainers.
I just know our favorite despot has the “American society of magical negros” in his crosshairs next. I’m glad you were able to enjoy the high of Dune 2 before getting back down in the sewers again for us.
I was so pleased with this when I left the theater! I remarked to my friend that I thought it was almost perfect. I only regret not seeing part one in theaters.
@theincrediblefella7984 I paid £5 (about 6.37 USD)so it's not a ridiculous amount, and I'd pay it again. Since it does only take 30 minutes of work to cover the ticket 😊
This movie is very good, but it is not epic at scale of LOTR. I recommend everyone to watch Dune part one so you could understand, that this movie didn't delivered what was promised. Most annoying part of Dune II: this movie is essentially about Paul and Chani, while book is completely not like it. Still very good movie, but for me max. 8.5/10
Idk fam I read the whole series. I own all the dune books. I’ve watched both parts multiple times. I’ve watched Lynch and the mini series. I felt incredibly satisfied with this adaptation. Delivered everything I wanted.
Also lord of the rings is an epic over 3 novels. This was 1 book about Paul becoming emperor and leading a jihad. All the war and conquest happens off screen. The next book picks up after Paul conquers the galaxy. The whole jihad is not depicted lol. Sorry, Dune is more about internal monologues, not about large scale battles.
Agreed that these are not epic movies. Not like other classic epics. These Dune movies are also shot in a small way, like a TV show (aside from the occasionally grand establishing shot). I can’t believe how swayed people are by this kind of very kind of boring, small-minded, normie filmmaking. It’s a total bore and it completely gutted the book.
Brilliant review of a brilliant film. Now I’m afraid I need you to review Damsel. I desperately need the despot’s take on that film’s despicable morality.
Give Chapterhouse another go. It's an important part of the lore. The real long game of no-ships and wild Atreides no-genes finally pays off. Teg is fun and the twist in the Sisterhood's conclusion of the war with the Honored Matres is shocking.
Despot!! So happy for a new video! Sorry to say, bro but im saving this viewing for when i get home! Im so happy to have found your channel and your going to be a big one if you keep the momentum! Good luck and good riddance!
Good movie! Epic and sweeping! Only downside was Chani was unbelievable whenever she tried to act tough but was fine when she showed other emotions like concern, affection, uncertainty or determination in battle like with the “bazooka” thing. Edit: 4:08 I prefer her as an actress too.
Agree on all points except Chani. Her position felt out of place in the story and too much like it hits you over the head, and also radically changes what the next film will be from the book. Instead of rewriting her, why not include Jamis's wife that Paul is forced to marry after he kills him as we see in the book? You can then rewrite her to be more skeptical of Paul and the other Fremen wrote her off for being bitter about the death of her husband and that Paul essentially doesnt care for her. The audience is left to decide which is correct, and to add all the context clues as the movie goes along that yeah she was right to see though him. Chani may be somewhat skeptical as well, but that should only come in part 3 not now. Based on what we have seen, they are gearing Chani up to be the leader of the plot to assassinate Paul from Dune Messiah, we already saw a vision of it in Part 1. Mark my words. Also, Zendaya and Chalamet have no on screen chemistry at all, I definitely dont buy their romance for a second.
Read the book and loved it,i remember i was like 16, sitting in my room on the third floor, it was summer, and i still had some beer left from the night before, so i started drinking at like 9AM. It was drizzly and warm outside, the beer was only cool because it was in my closet in a cooler. I sat there and got a buzz on and read the book (i spent a lot of time getting drunk and reading, never met anyone else that enjoys that for some reason). It was a great day for some reason, one that i never forgot, probably mostly because the book. Fantastic book. I was so excited for the rest of the series,i think i had to get them though inter-library loan or something, so i had to wait, which was something we used to have to do. Then i got the following books and was like "WTF is this?". I expected the story to pick up where it left of, but no. The first book was worth reading, after that it just progressively gets weirder and weirder.
Personally I hate that they’re making a prequel for the bene gesserit because I’m more than sure that they’re gonna use that for cringe messaging just wait
This is an unepected but much appreciate birhday present for this culchie is the west. Best channel on UA-cam, thanks Despot. Also, the original Dune prophecy theme is seriously underrated!
This video is to other youtube reviews or deepdives of Villeneuve's Dune what Dune is to current cinema. Absolutely exceptional comparison of the book to the movies and your depiction of what the problem is with "girl bosses" (or even just your succinct and accurate description of the term) is one standout in particular. Among many others i wont go into lol - Great work on the video, breakdown and overal thematic description of the source material!
From what I gather (and seen from part one), the movie doesn't really respect the source material and adds a lot of offensive leftardation, plus Zendaya is ugly (and is DEI btw). And the movie in general looks ugly tbh. Will pass. It seems that a lot of people are so starved for a semi-decent movie that they will excuse the intolerable. Sad state of affair.
Thanks for your comment. I am like you and refuse to swallow this complete shit any more. I turned off Dune 2 after the great Sandworm scene because they shoved some Zendaya romance on us after this and I began skipping her scenes and then lost all interest shortly after. I don't see myself caring to go back and finish it, I just thank fuck I didn't pay a cent to watch it..... never again will hollywood woke trash get a red cent from myself.
I recently reread Dune, and was rather startled to realize that I could not find a single case where Paul's alleged prescience was actually useful. I got a bit tired of Paul thinking about how his vision was obscured, or that he had never had a vision of a situation he was in. Even the visions he actually had, like those of Chani before he met her, didn't seem to include any hints about what decisions would lead to that future. Of course, this is probably Herbert's way of showing us that Paul is stuck on a predetermined path, and that he can't actually make choices. In his position, prescience is a very cruel curse.
Dear Despot. I’m surprised that someone who just ranted not so long ago about believability, importance of characters who are more than two dimensional and avoiding pointless girl bosses is so forgiving about the movie that spits at all of that
I hated the movie. The deviations from the book are not irrelevant, but informative. They leave out the whole reason from the current Dune universe: AI. You can't have Dune without the basis of Dune, "Thou shall not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind". People, seem to forget the world we actually live in and think these movies are just made without agendas and manipulation. Frank Herbert knew all too well about where we were/are heading. this Dune is candy for the braindead, not thoughtful incites that the author was all about. It is like ignoring the whole basis of 1984, and focusing just on the acting, just silly. Dune had a message, yet that is not important in 2024, just bread and circus. Not a fan
@@tomt4822 Lack of the entire background why spice is so important was also an insult to the movie. All that is missing could be easily included in the movie and enrich the plot if they got rid of the following (unnecessary) scenes: Fight with the Harkonnen soldiers at the beginning of the movie Entire Margot plot (what is the point highlighting her pregnancy if that is not relevant for the rest of the story?) Scenes between Irulan and Moiham (served only to show off Bene Gesserit) Alia could easily be included in the movie and the timeline could stay the same as in the book - Jessica takes the water of life, she is told that her daughter will be an abomination and needs to die. Fast forward Jessica has conversations with various Fremen reverend mothers (or just their voices) about Paul, showing as if she is conversing with her predecessors through the link that was formed between them. Then the last scene where an adult voice asks Jessica what is happening and then changes to a voice of a child and showing Alia who is alive and with whom Jessica had conversations all along, but they both have connection to the past reverend mothers’ memories, hence Jessica could converse with them through Alia. That would also be a foreshadowing of how Alia will become an abomination and be possessed by the spirit of her grandfather later on. Problem solved.
@@Justanidea5976 Chani. She is portrayed as the single “voice of a reason”, objecting to Paul’s ascension to a messiah, screaming at everyone that the prophecy is fake and they are morons to listen to it. If she had a group of followers that would be more believable, but making her the only one who objects to the prophecy is simply dumb and trying to portray her as some kind of a heroine fighting against the dark forces of religious fanaticism. Her relationship with Paul instead of being deep and lined up with understanding of the limitations due to Paul’s position, is reduced to a shallow teenage romance. If Paul didn’t share with her his plans, he either didn’t trust her or she was too ignorant to understand the meaning of them. If he did, the scene where she is leaving like an offended prom queen, because Paul has to make a political match, shows how superficial their relationship was if she is not ready to stand by Paul when he clearly needs to make sacrifices of his own and by then he knows where his fate will lead him and that it won’t be a happy ending. They diluted one of the most beautiful relationships in the book for the sake of appealing to the modern audience and completely ignored the theme of sacrifice that women in Dune make for the sake of the people they love
@@gruszkos Ok, so you're already wrong. Chani isn't the "only voice of reason", there's a whole faction of Fremen that don't believe in the prophecy. Some of the main ones on her side switch over after they see it being fulfilled, but others stay back with Chani at the end of the movie. Her relationship with Paul is deep. Both care heavily for each other but they're both on opposing sides at the end. Chani fell in love with Paul because he was different than most outsiders, he wants to actually learn more about the Fremen and become one of them. Most others would want to use them for their resources. Paul falls in love with Chani because she's one of the few women in his life that want and see his human side and want him to stay human. If you think that's highschool romance, you've misinterpreted the movie. Since he did tell her, he trusts her. She doesn't leave like a "offended prom queen." Since the first movie, it's shown that she mainly cares for her people first. She told him in this movie that she likes him because he isn't power hungry and actively tries to go against the prophecy. But, when, Paul takes the Water of Life, he changes into someone else, he's still Paul but now he wants power, the main thing Chani said the opposite of. Along with that, Paul asks for the Emperor's daughter's hand in marriage. The same Emperor that pushed her people out of their home, Paul is now taking his spot and fulfilling the prophecy, of course at first, she's not going to be with that. Paul says she'll come around later so we'll have to wait and see. So, boy likes girl, girl likes boy, boy makes decision that goes against what girl liked about him and has to marry another girl, and it doesn't make sense why she'd leave for a bit? If this was made for a modern audience, like you claim, Chani would've killed Freyd, killed the emperor and took the Emperor's hand in marriage while all Paul gets to do is be sidelined. Paul is making that sacrifice.
I love your work, but your defence of movie Chani is stretched beyond all limit "in the Fremen men and women are equal"..."We're from the North, we believe in Fremen".... give me a break.
Most accurate review of this version of Dune so far. This would have been better as a more faithful trilogy, or a Game of Thrones production-level series.
I Agree with all of your points, except about Zendaya, and her role in the film. As you said I agree she didn't give us a one note performance this time(for a change). But at the same time part of the role DV gave her in the films seems to be the role Zendaya is given every single time she is in a "serious role" which basically means she is an insufferable resting b*tch-face that explodes and breaks scenes that didn't needed that kind of emotion at the time. It looks childish from her, and it breaks inmersion in the film. Unfortunate, because outside of those scenes she would have been a really great character in this film. But in my opinion this is the fault of either DV or one of the other writers and not Zendayas's fault in this case.
Its cool to see someone discuss some actual flaws and wins of the movie. As much as i liked the movies, and dont know anything about the books you can tell some of the movies elements are not quite developed as much as they should be and there are other details that are so brilliant
I think you’re wrong, or at least incomplete, on the analysis of chani. I had not heard many people talking about her being a “girl boss”. My impression was that she was just a confused character. She goes from being a freedom fighter to Paul’s wench, but her desire to see her planet freed just completely disappears because she’s worried about losing Paul. When Paul is on his deathbed from drinking the elixir, Chani refuses to save him after being told that it’s within her power. After he Comes back to life she’s slaps him. Chani comes off as a bitch the second half of the movie more than a girl boss. I don’t have a problem with her being upset at the end of the movie. I have a problem with her wants changing from the freedom of her world to just Paul without much on screen dialogue.
Shes aware that the bene gesserit prophecy is just propaganda. Paul promised her he would not become their leader and follow the bene gesserits plan. Although he doesnt completely follow the bene gesserits plan he fulfills the propechy which chani did not want him to follow. Her character is 100% believable.
Her desire to see her planet freed do not disappears, Chani simply understands that following a false messiah will never lead the Fremen to freedom, on the contrary. She understands that far from leading them to paradise, Paul is dragging them into the hell of a Holy War. And she is well placed to understand this, having been his intimate and confidante, she knows where his visions are leading her people.
@@xxh311catsxx5 I actually disagree. I think Chani is too aware of the propaganda where she doesn’t have any place to be. Regardless of it being propaganda or not Paul is basically performing miracles, (coming back to life and literally seeing the future). To any normal person (as Chani is in the beginning of the film) these things would be miraculous, but Chani becomes a prick to Paul even though he’s literally saving her people from oppression.
Yes, he’s supposed to be the new tyrant when all is said and done. The only reason we know this is because the movie TELLS us that over and over. You can’t get to that conclusion based off of Paul’s actions in the movie. It stands to reason that Paul will be a great leader (as he is in the movie) and good ruler, like his father Leto, based off the events of the movie.
@@rhizvo108 But Chani knows that Paul is leading the Fremen to horror. She knows this because, unlike all the other Fremen, he confided his visions to her, he told her his dreams and explained to her what he saw in this future. She saw his anguish at the horror of the coming Holy War. This is why it makes total sense that she is the last non-believer of the Fremen: she is the only one who knows what Paul saw and where he is really leading the Fremen.
"Heretics of Dune," and "Charterhouse: Dune," are amazing. Militant off shoots of the Bene Gessirt, and that final chapter is also very moving and was meta decades before meta was cool. I actually like Heretics the most. 😁
The 2 Dune movies we got in recent years have been the only 2 movies i have been looking forward to in a long time. I absolutely hate modern movies and Hollywood, but i loved these 2 movies, and i hope Dune 3 is even better.
hopefully there'll be a directors cut released. I also liked the way the Sardaukar were portrayed in that you could see their expressions when going up against the Atriedes guards etc and that their helmets weren't like storm troopers.
Paul’s journey is 100% a hero’s journey. He fits the bill of a Greek Hero 100%. Also, Frank did a piss poor job of claiming charismatic rulers are bad; Paul literally makes the best choices possible given the situation. His main failing is leaving his son to walk the Golden Path.
I feel the same. Giving the "charismatic leader" the power of foresight was a huge mistake by FH imho. It completely weakens the point he was trying to make.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116the alternative is humanity going extinct, or so we we are told Those billions of deaths are relative few when you consider the human population is in the trillions
In answer to your question just before 10:00, the way in which Paul’s presence helped turn the tide wasn’t the arrival of he, one man- but rather that he was able to rally the enormous war council from the ‘uninhabitable’ global south. Without him, they would have remained fragmented war bands without any collective power. Maybe I’m coping but I think that was clear enough to say that it’s not a stretch.
I still like the 1984 extended version better. The actors were top. The music was great. The best thing, are the small hints a things. Alia, and she has red hair. Kaleff and Orlop. The best thing is that Lynch hate it, instead of showing of how he is the best, and how everybody is not book accurate. Than cutting of Alia.
At 1:02:33, no, this film was not made for adults. Star Wars was for children (as Lucas admitted), this is just for teens and geeks. Dune (the book) is so much richer than the film in its philosophy, ecology, metaphysics, ethology. Villeneuve dropped most of that - what made the book so original and great - just for the landscape, visuals, and the battles. That's what teens and Generation Braindead want to see and that's how he pitched the abomination of the screenplay, to make money from that demographic (and at which he's apparently been successful). Perhaps things would've been different if the clowns at Warner Bros. had granted him three films (like New Line gave Jackson with The Lord of the Rings). I agree with you that I would've liked to have seen it done as an extended telly series, which was as true to the book as Herbert wrote it, not how Villeneuve and Spaihts corrupted it. But alas, that would not make as much money (if any at all) so I fear it will never now be done.
A positive Despot review is more rare than a new good movie.
@detective2221Bad movie because DV deleted the book ending.
Just the comment: " The movies biggest problem is that it's needs to be longer." Speaks volumes.
Aleph and Tav pfp?
"If the Despot's review is positive, it means that it is not illegal"
-President Nixon, probably.
@@marbellaotaiza801 Horrible, vicious crime
To put it in my mothers words "That's the longest pregnancy I've ever seen"
A friend I saw it with said the same thing lol
LOL! Yeah.
Queen Mary I was pregnant for almost a year
I thought this too when watching the movie. I just thought that it was a side effect of the Water of Life that the pregnancy got altered.
Yup
"Power attracts the corruptible." Yes it does.
Not really,, plenty of incorruptible kings and leaders in history
@@manoz6194To seek power for the sake of it is evil and corruptible, but using power for moral responsibility is a good thing.
Power is like a drug. It can be used as medicine to treat problems or it can become an addiction.
There is nothing weaker than the human mind when confronted with money.
@@manoz6194 That's exactly Herbert's point, power does not corrupt all that have it (such as those good kings), but it does attract the corruptible. Most kings inherited power, they did not seek it out; powerful figures that did (Lenin, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Qin Shu Huang, Mao) were almost always tyrants.
Favorite scene: the Fremen attack the imperial "tent" that has landed on Arrakis and blow open the door. The Sardukaur take formation and walk into the dust to fight, and a few silent seconds later the Fremen appear. You don't see or hear the Sardukaur die... they're just gone. So cool
i didnt like how weak they made sardukaur though, they look like stormtroopers just meat shield not elite empire guards
@@sillylittlesheepjax6009 fair point
@@sillylittlesheepjax6009 I think it was intentional. It was intended to show how a once proud and powerful army, had become degenerate and corrupted. This has happened many times in history.
The sardaukar had their time to shine in the first movie. However even then they still were no match for the fremen
It was a dumb move. Why would they do that? It’s the equivalent of the busty, blonde coed walking into the creepy cellar to investigate the squeaky floorboard.
Paul crying after killing a challenger in the book humanised him whilst showing the cultural values of the fremen it is also a pivot point for his personality. In the movie this is given to a supporting character completely changing its meaning.
We don’t need more humanization, we got plenty in part 1. We needed to get to the tyrant leader and emperor. A distinctly inhuman character. He’s above humans. I think we get enough humanizing scenes in part 1 and the first half of part 2. It would be redundant.
I do wish they'd included that scene.
Not a fan of dune, but man did it pissed me off each time Peter Jackson did that shit in LOTR...
I do not agree with Mr. Despot here, and I agree with you. As someone who has read the book many times, I could not make it through the first 15 minutes of the first NEW Dune movie. So much that is in the book is changed in the movie. No mention of the WHOLE REASON things are as they are, the rise of AI, not surprised Hollywood would leave that out, as we are entering into AI right now. But this movie makes Chauni Paul's focus, which is pretty typical these days, instead of his father, and getting revenge for his murder.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 No. Youre skipping ahead. We dont even get there in book 1. Thats all about what Messiah is about.
This is the best critique I’ve seen of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune on UA-cam. Whether or not you’ve read the books will ultimately influence the level of enjoyment/frustration with this adaptation.
I can understand why Villeneuve didn't include Alia in this movie. The concept of pre-born child is quite common in the Dune series, it happens several times. For Dune fans it is OK, but for general audience it might be weird if a 2 year old child speaks and acts like an adult.
I agree there are missing important scenes and plot lines, but if Villenuve wanted to include all of them, it would be a 3 movie series, not 2.
Then he could've aged her up. That is not hard and all the people defending this idiotic narrative choice is smoking crack.
even for those who read the books, it just is a regarded concept...
The AI shots are freaking AMAZING. I kept rewinding to see the extra arms, feet, and the conjoined twin of Baron Harkonnen.
I tried my best to get the AI to produce something coherent but it's like trying to get a toddler to draw a human face, in the end I gave up and went with the body horror nightmare fuel.
@@DespotofAntrimAnd now we have quite nice mockery of AI graphic. That was very 'Duneish' and very, very 'Butlerian' 😉. Nice. Jehanne Butler is proud of you.
@@DespotofAntrim Thing is since Stable Diffusion is Open Source the Community has been adding more ways to have more control over Outputs.
Given how all this only came out in 2022 and its only been two years. We have only been using the Beta Version. Honestly Scary how Far it has Improved. Heck Sora was shown to the World.
I crack up every time you go "Am I right, boys?!?"🤣🤣🤣
I'm going to subvert that joke near the end of my next video.
2:20 "Power attracts the corruptible."
Wow. I've been saying this for years. Never knew it was attributable to one of my favorite authors.
Power doesn't change people, it just shows their true colors, either be the ruthless CEO of a multinational or your local drunkard bum, give them money and they'd act the same.
If you think there's such a thing as an incorruptible person, you have much to learn.
@@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon So you start with saying power and wind up saying money. Not necessarily the same at all.
@@SpicyTexan64 Well, I mean, money is modern power.
@@SpicyTexan64 money is a huge form of power among human societies. At a glance. It would be hard to tell which human is above another. So we use wealth to dress up in fancy clothes to distinguish the rich from the poor.
I don't know anything about Dune books or 1984 movie, and love this critique. It educated me and helped me understand the flaws, merits, and reasons of the current versions. Also, as a Filipino, thanks for the shout out for Kali; always love acknowledging the martial art so widely used in some of the best cinematic fights
It’s a good day when the Despot uploads!!! Thank you for all the wonderful work, you are one of my inspirations 💕
This amazing breakdown has reminded me that I need to reread this phenomenal book- and this time with more of an eye towards seeing it as the tragedy it is.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the tip!
It is my honor to support your work, Despot. To paraphrase Stan Lee: You keep making them, I’ll keep watching them!
Briliant as always Despot! Your analysis is excellent, and it helps me frame my second viewing of the film tomorrow. Right on Mate!
It constantly gets overlooked that yes paul's story was tragic, but much like dr. strange and his "1 in 14 million" or so iterations where they win. paul's vision and jihad was necessary for humanity's ultimate survival. He was a hero because he was willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Epic and sad. Just like this adaptation. Epic and sad for how it failed.
Ye, that part could be clearer in the movie. IiRC correctly according to his vision of holy war or the harkonnens be coming emperors and ruling. A choice of two evils. Not just Paul wanting or being power hungry
@@jonasribeiro2001 paul never wanted power. when he took the water of life and had his complete vision, he saw what had to be done, and did it
@@jonasribeiro2001there’s literally a scene of Paul sitting on the steps explaining it. People just don’t pay attention I guess
Hail Despot. I was re listening to your Rings of Power review yesterday and wondering when we'd receive your next communique or proclamation - and here it is. Thanks for all the thought and effort - really enjoyed your analysis, a lot more thought than I put into my reactions to the film. It will almost certainly be the best film of 2024, although I feel it falls short of true greatness, but can't put my finger on precisely why.
I had a somewhat different take on Chani's role, although I totally agree with you that Zendaya's performance was good ( for a change). My take was that Villeneuve repurposed her as the audience POV character for Paul's journey and transformation from decent, youthful nobleman to decent, but committed Fremen freedom fighter to messianic warlord who embraces power irrespective of the terrible cost. Her affection and then revulsion, both for Paul and Jessica ( great sinister performance by Rebecca Ferguson) is intended to drive home Herbert's point about charismatic religious leaders for the normies in the audience ( those familiar with Dune don't need to be told this). I think Villeneuve and Zendaya do it admirably. It's not jealousy that makes her angry at Paul's betrothal to Irulan it's that he has transformed into a different man than the one she grew to love, a monster who will inspire monstrous behavior from his crazed worshippers ( that Javier Bardem shot is indeed terrifying). Her purpose is to convey all this, and I was impressed how effectively she did.
I respectfully disagree with you about the score was powerful but bordered on overblown ( although not as OTT as Dark Knight Rises) and the pacing was still a problem, especially the rushed final battle.
But even Despots must tolerate such a minor form of dissent....although not sure if Emperor Paul MuadDib Atreides would.
Cheers.
Thanks for the tip! The final battle is almost exactly as described in the book (minus Aliya). The battle doesn't last long because of the massive, sudden, shock nature of the attack.
More thought was put into the Ornithopters than most Marvel films post Endgame.
As soon as I saw the ornithopters in Part 1, I knew Dennis had nailed the visual language of Arrakis.
Same. Was sold the moment saw them
Fantastic and perfectly humourous. Brilliant work, Despot.
I think a lot of reviewers are giving Villeneuve a pass when it comes to his portrayal of Chani.
The Chani of the book was a priestess in training, administered the Water of Life to Jessica, and was next in line to become the Fremen's Reverend Mother if Jessica didn't survive her spice agony. She was also Paul's wife and mother of his first born, and fulfilled other more "traditional roles" associated with females in a desert culture (like managing the sietch and taking care of the children). Fremen women were good fighters, but they didn't charge into battle alongside Fremen men, and they also didn't summon worms.
Zendaya's Chani was not just a member of the Fedaykin (i.e. Muad Dib's Death Commandos); she was a leader of Fedaykin at the ripe age of 17 (cuz if she's older she's a Pedo since Paul would have been 15 or 16). She is also shown summoning and riding worms, and she cuts a bloody path across the battlefield of Arakeen, along with firing a rocket launcher in a raid on a Harkonnen Spice Harvester (with Paul doing the reloading). She's also stripped of her faith and family.
She is basically the equivalent of a male character in this movie who also happens to have sex with Paul while also making herself the center of attention (despite limited screentime) and Paul's most vocal opposition.
She's basically Korba with a pussy.
Denis Villanueve claims this was done to help convey to the audience Paul's arc. It must be a coincidence that it fits in perfectly with the DEI standards the Oscars put out for movies to qualify for a Best Picture nomination:
www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards
I don't mind giving her doubts, but claiming the changes to her character are not for purposes of satisfying DEI standards are just off the mark. Claiming this movie is faithful to the source material is ludicrous.
It's a faithful adaptation the same way Starship Troopers is a faithful adaptation to Heinlein's book. Similar things happen in the movie and book, but the circumstances around them are different.
Agree. Pretending that Chani isn’t just another pitiful girl boss, is, in itself, pitiful. Zendaya is also a poor actress. I gritted my teeth every time she appeared on screen, which was far too often. She comes across as a silly, sulky little girl.
I am so glad I discovered your channel and you release THIS in the same week. Keep it up
😁 dude, this video was amazingly good! and fair to all points of view regarding the books and movies! you deserve a lot more attention.
Chani was 100% behind Paul in the books and didn’t mind one bit he married Irulan. She also killed any that challenged Paul. Chani had no heartbreak over a political marriage. Chani was the one pushing for it and Paul was unsure. Chani has less agency in the movie, not more. Claiming she has more agency because she isn’t in full lockstep with her man is some modern feminist thinking.
Don’t know why you keep saying the movie isn’t diverging from the book when it does constantly.
She is a weak loser in the movies, having her personality switched 180 degrees. No woman would get mad that their man made a political marriage. In fact, the vast majority of women in real life would actually prefer to be in a relationship with a total Chad emperor leader with other women. They wouldn’t care one bit. Powerful men have always had multiple wives, and not a single wife cared or didn’t like this.
Anyway, Chani in the movies is not feminine. Zendaya is masculine as hell.
Exactly. This is what I hate. Chani was a LITERAL RIDE OR DIE for this man. She was also not a skeptic of religion. She backed him 100% and knew why he needed to marry Irulan and Paul upfront told Irulan the deal with him and Chani and that she better deal with it. Villeneuve is an idiot and he completely ruined this series. Jessica herself told Leto not to marry her because she wanted him to be open for a political marriage if he needed one. In the prequel series he actually had a wife before he got with Jessica who got killed in some accident or something, and a son with that wife, but I don't think that's considered canon since his son wrote the prequel books.
Honestly my biggest complaint was the switch from the Water of Death to “just nuke the spice fields.” The point was that it was impossible to kill all the worms before Paul’s prescience, so his ability to do so was unique and allowed him to rise to power. All the royal families have nukes, so what’s to stop the Harkonens from threatening the same for more power.
I think it's because the Harkonnens need it to stay as a house. Paul has nothing to lose by bargaining the planet while the other established houses have everything to lose if he blows the planet up. It's like a Hail Mary.
@@Justanidea5976 that’s a good point.
That's why the jihad has 61 billion dead, ultimately
@@Justanidea5976yep, pointing a gun to the head of the entire galaxy and daring everyone to make him pull the trigger.
Paul neutralized them before giving them the idea! ;)
My favorite part of D1984 was the rebellion buildup... but it was rushed over 10 mins-with 5 mins of that being a montage.
Dune pt.2 really fleshed it out. Loved it! Agree..this was a damn good adaptation (irregardless of Chani's eyeroll ending). Great review as always!
To each his own, from a purely superficial perspective.
I need more “right, boys? 😂😂😂” jokes from the despot
I really liked the music.
I'm a huge fan of the first book. I was disappointed by a lot of the cool things that the movie left out. But I can appreciate that it made so many people happy and the world needs that.
I notice you say "the first book". I agree. I was very disappointed by the rest.
@@justforever96 you are not alone, friend!
I like the first 4 books to varying degrees. If you're going to read past the first book, I honestly think you need to read up to the fourth book to fully understand what "The Golden Path" is and how it motivated Paul/Leto II to do what they did.
Certainly avoid anything frank didn't write.
@@Joe-Przybranowski I've heard 😬
Still really appreciate Dune 1984. That main soundtrack theme is a goddamned banger.
Do you mean "Prophecy" by Brian Eno? Because yes, that is a banger.
Dune 1984 is so flawed…but it has it where it counts in a lot of ways…in all the ways that DV’s Dune doesn’t.
Agreed. Toto rocked the soundtrack.
I loved the book and the attempt by Lynch, the actors in the 1984 version are fantastic. I could not make it 15 minutes into this Dune, they made Paul into a whiny little bitch and totally left out the whole AI aspect of the Dune universe.
@MrDjBigZ DV’s Dune has very little worldbuilding. It is made very basic and pedestrian, and therefore not weird or even unusual seeming in a lot of ways, in in other ways it just simply misses the point of the books. DV is so proud of taking Herbert’s Messiah perspective into account in these first two movies, but it completely cuts the content off at the knees imo. Messiah belongs in Messiah, not Dune. Period.
4:08 the beginning of Despot, losing his composure.😄🤣
If I saw an attractive woman doing splits like that and the Dune theme started playing, I'd be losing my composure, too.
Why is there a comma in your statement?
Oh, it gets better as his prescience shows him horrific futures that have come to pass. I guess the Antrimian Jihad is upon us.
Dear Despot, as someone struggling with extreme anxiety, your videos do more to alleviate my symptoms than any therapy. Thank you, sir, for doing this. Much love!
Thank you for your fair take on zendaya, too many consumers of “anti-woke” media seem bent on acting like she ruined the movie. She’s fine in Dune, good even, and her character changes are critical in communicating the central theme of the story in this truncated form
Sourpuss girl boss. Nah.
She's not great, she's mediocre like in everything else.
Fremen scratch out a living in the desert and don’t cry when they die. It’s a tough life and it takes awhile to break down that toughness. Zendaya portrayed that realistically.
@@gottesurteil3201she’s usually terrible in everything else, serviceable here. Point is they could have cast a better actress.
@@ShifuCareaga She lives on Arrakis. It makes people hard and bitter to live there. That isn't "girl boss" it's the day the flesh makes and the flesh the day makes - to pick Leto's description. It's a universe with very hard women, content to end dynasties - if anything, Gaius Mohaim and Jessica are truly blood thirsty while Chani is just a fighter fighting. She's beautiful, which is important. The actors have chemistry, which is important. The changes to her character are necessary. Chani is a clear weakness in the book. She shows up, she is literal dream girl, she worships him as a messiah. A woman without discernment isn't a good match for Paul, nor is that actually love. A lover loves you despise seeing through you and she sees right through him.
I saw it on Saturday, and I didn't like it, because, as you said in the first minutes of the video, is a bad adaptation. Chani ends being irritating in the movie, the Mentats, Guild and CHOAM disappear, and I didn't like a lot of small details and character depictions. And remember, David Lynch managed to tell the story in a movie shorter than the first part of Villeneuve's adaptation. So, no, this is not a triumph, for me. It's a long and bloated lesser adaptation than the 1984 movie.
Oh, and, on the point of "Is Paul really the Kwisatz Haderach?", the book says clearly (via Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam) that Jessica giving Duke Leto a son instead of a daughter could mean that yes, Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach, but one that arrives one generation too soon, and so, imperfect, not what the Bene Gesserit has been designing for centuries.
And Paul himself was trained by Thufir as a Mentat but we dont see this either
hearing you talk about a film positively. is a really fun change of pace.
It's pretty good, I was disappointed with the way they handled Chani and the ending though, I just wrote this after starting the video and it's one of the first things you'll say you'll address so I'll be eagerly awaiting that. I feel like it was done for modern reasons though, that Chani is a strong girlboss so she couldn't be second fiddle even though that's not the point in the books, in fact it's explicitly the opposite.
The 80s Dune movie gets hammered by UA-cam critics, but it gets so much of the book into its truncated runtime, and portraits it much more engagingly. Dune 2 is a cracking sci-fi movie though.
"...Florence Pugh is gear. Paul may be able to become emperor of the galaxy through sheer force of will, but a man's willpower has limits." 😂
5:55 Alia is played by Alicia Witt. She's amazing ten years later in the episode "Blackout" from the David Lynch pilot "Hotel Room".
By that time, the Huff had replaced the Studebaker, wherefore Chani took offward in a Huff.
Finally the despot has posted a video after a loong period. And as i anticipated was an absolute banger
I can’t wait for the extended edition of these. Like the LOTR trilogy, the extended edition is the only thing that matters.
There won’t be because Dennis doesn’t believe in extended cuts.
@@sullivandmitry1416Which is a shame because i feel these films would improve immensely with a DC
There will be no official extended version. The best we can hope for is that deleted and alternate scenes are made available and some internet person puts together a decent fan edit.
Movies don't need DLC content to be good. Don't go full snyder on this shit
@@motor4X4kombat it’s not DLC. It’s literally cut content not additional content. You legit watch the theatre cut of LOTR? Are you evil?
Despot is totally wrong about this version of Chani because she had already fallen out of love with Paul before he made the arrangements with Irulan. This was clearly being depicted in the film when she released he was using her people for the holy war. The respect was lost for Paul in the scenes she refused to kneel and stand with the Fremen. The last scene is anger at Paul , not heartbreak. So she pulled an angry face and stormed out. This shortsightedness and temper tantrum makes her look dumb and is not behaviour that is faithful to book Chani. Zendaya was also massively miscast. She had one angry facial expression for the films entirety.
She still loves him tf? She didn’t fall out of love. She got scared and jealous. She has the same belief as Frank Herbert in these adaptations.
As a fan of books I totaly agree with You. Chani was massacred by Zendaya and the writing. She was annoying in every scene she was in. It feels like the writer wants to make her an opposing force(like a leader of a rebelion against Paul).
"For the cause, comrades" - that's how feminism talks 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆
@@Ashtarize no, they wanted to make her skeptical of a charismatic ruler. The exact message of the book.
@@Ashtarize you can listen to Dennis talk about it. It’s literally exactly like Arwen from LotR. The adaptations made these female characters more prominent and they both are direct author mouth pieces.
45:50 small correction: it wasn't just simply monochrome photography. They went out of their way to use infrared cameras to film the Giedi Prime scenes. That also gives certain surfaces their distinct, otherworldly look, since infrared light is reflected and absorbed differently to visible light
How dare Denis Villanueve not include those 37 other subplots in his 2 hour, 45 minute movie??!! (LOL) (smh)
Apparently you didn’t watch more than 10 mins of the review?!?! (LOL) (smh)
The idea that you lost me THAT early in your video...that's not something you should feel proud of or try & use as an argument. You LED with it...I took a lot of Journalism classes while in school for Mass Communication & your Opening Statement (or Headline), should encapsulate the entire point you're making within it. In other words..."Think before you speak". How & where you place your words tells more than you think about you, your true intentions & your level of knowledge and wisdom.
The fact that Chani immediately figured out the missionaria protectiva would mean that the Bene gesserit are completely incompetent😢
That's just called not being an idiot.
Don't you know that your religion is also a bunch of stories designed to control you? Now you do.
Yeah religion has always been incompetent. Yet morons still believe God couldn't save us from sin without killing himself. God is as incompetent as his priests are.
Not necessarily. I know that the movie ommits the fact Chani is Kynes' child, but also doesn't say this relationship doesn't exist.
And the book implies that Keynes and his father were aware of the religious programming of the Firemen being high ranking officials of the emperor. They even hijacked it for their own purposes, in order to use the Fremen as a work force needed for the ecological transformation of the planet.
So yeah, with some headcanon wiggling you can explain Chani knowing more than the ordinary Fremen should.
And besides, Bene Gesserit being incompetent is actually a point in the original book. There's one appendix at the end of "Dune", that's a BG report of the Arrakis affair, written some years after the events of the book, meant only for their internal use. And it boils down to "it's hard to believe how much we screwed up in every possible aspect, what were we even thinking". So yeah, BG being much less competent than they think they are is canon
They bit off more than they could chew. They’ve schemed for so long, they have a ridiculous ego at this point.
Also the guy above me is right. Chani could easily know more than an average fremen being the child of an imperial agent.
Every religion has its doubters. All societies have atheists.
@@SuperStella1111 Of course, but this is just silly. Imagine an absolute dixie town, you know the type, and one day then jesus fucking returns in this dixie town, and this one fuckin girl starts talking about how Jesus is a federal agent or a witch or a Jewish plot to take over the world (and by extension Christianity itself.) She'd be fuckin roped.
Yeah you have atheists and doubters in all societies, but the more fundamentalist the society (and the Fremen is are getting rapidly more so) the more these people are forced into hiding.
Also a Positive Despot Review, damn never imagined I'd see it. Perhaps this will push you over 100K my friend. Let the Subscribers flow and LONG LIVE THE DESPOT!
This video is a guaranteed bomb, I won't get to 100K for a while yet. Hail fanwithoutaface.
@@DespotofAntrimthere you go then
@@DespotofAntrimDon't sell yourself short my friend I'm pretty confident you will rise to the challenge.
You are The Despot
@@DespotofAntrimit’s a great video and I completely agree. I think lots of people have become extremely jaded by Hollywood. So they see a woman like Chani or Jessica and the woke alarm starts blaring. It’s hard for them to understand this is a story from 1965.
@@DespotofAntrim You're probably one of the best review essayists I've seen on YT and I've been around for a while. Your scripts are a fantastic mix of incisive commentary and oftentimes wit mixed with annoyed frustration (well understood). I'm just a lowly dirty peasant colonist over in 'Murrica but I'd buy you a beer if I could. Keep up the good work.
It saddens me to say, but the more I think of Dune Pt.2, the less I like it. Mainly because of the portrayal of Chani. Her actress does not help matters, she makes Brie Larsson look charming by comparison.
I guess I am just surprised how the movie made me realize just how deeply I seem to care about the book.
Zendaya is the problem of the movie but overall it is a masterpiece. I just don’t get why Zendaya does Chani this way…
What's wrong with Chani? She was clearly made a counterweight in order to show the audience a different position towards the Messiah. Her change does not affect the plot in this film, but it reveals more about the situation with the fanatics. the changes with both Alia and Chani are, to me, a smart move on Villeneuve's part to help the viewer trust in the believability of the world without piling on the exposition
@detective2221 I understand, but you need to be able to distinguish between a person and a character. I consider her a weak actress, but in this case I liked her performance
@detective2221Who cares?
@@beden653 If you want to see Chani done right, watch the SciFi miniseries that came out around the early 2000s. This Chani isn't Chani, it's Zendaya being aloof and emotionless 24/7. On a personal note, Chani is supposed to be a strong, firm woman who can also be seductive, and she's sharp. Zendaya is none of these, she's a plank of wood, and is a 6/10 on a good day.
IMO at least half the characters were quite poorly miscast, including the first movie, but Zendaya is probably the most egregious. Second to Paul, who is not supposed to appear as a feminine twink.
I am, as most, disappointed with what they did to Chani. But I'm similarly disappointed that Hans Zimmer went for super-ethnic drumming and chanting thus failing to provide any memorable theme in the entire OST. The 1984's version had much better music, particularly Prophecy Theme, used at around 3:00 in this video, which is truly exceptional.
Finally someone intelligent enough to see these things, and be honest about it.
I really enjoyed the soundtrack in Dune Part 1, but when I listened to the soundtrack for Part 2, and it sounded like the same damned thing, I just went “nah”.
Balam Industries sponsored field trip.
@@jeremytitus9519 I think of the film as one 5.5 hour event. So the music at least makes sense that way.
Your videos are so good that i am putting both movies on the list of movies i want to watch just so i can come back here eventually
28:00 Despot’s impression of Zendaya’s flat line readings is spot-on.
While it is possible that the movie is good and people who don’t know the source material might like it, I cannot overcome the bitter taste it left in my mouth. There are absolutely Modern Audience tropes baked into the movie: the character assassination of Stilgar, all the men being dumb religious fanatics while the girls of the tribe tell them off, and an isolated desert tribe being racially diverse being the ones that spring immediately to mind. Paul admits that everything he and his mother do are smoke and mirrors while Jessica pushes him to go along with it, whereas in the book Paul is swept along by the need to survive, and his mother becomes afraid of what he turns into but she can’t do anything about it. The Harkonnens are dehumanized by their appearance and actions which reduces them from being intelligent, depraved, and formidable enemies to being effectively aliens. The ecology and religion of Dune are not explored at all outside of Stilgar shouting “Lisan Al-Gaib” every now and then, despite the face of the planet and the philosophy of its people being the main driving factors behind the Fremen and their jihad. Water as an omnipresent concern for all the people of Arrakis seems to be effectively ignored in part 2 with the Fremen water discipline being ignored and their quanats being open to the air. I could go on, but to summarize: the majority of this movie screams disrespect for the source material and absolutely caters to modern audiences. It has cool action scenes, looks pretty, and has meme potential, which I warrant is why it is so widely praised. A cursory glance at the source material reveals how hopelessly shallow the Dune movies actually are.
Well said.
The movie made the fremen into egalitarian feminists meanwhile in the book Paul wins ownership of some guy's wife in a duel after killing him.
I was a kid when i saw Dune 1984 and didn't know anything about the story. The movie made no sense to me and while I understand David Lynch's POV on not having enough control of it, I don't think he was the right man for the job. I don't think he was a fan of the book even in a remote sense and tried to turn it into an arthouse film. Casting Sting to play Feyd and having Toto play the score were just some of the poor decisions in this film.
After reading the book and watching the miniseries years later, i rewatched the film and although it made more sense, it still seemed to lack substance in my opinion.
Denis Villeneuve has done a brilliant job in bringing Frank Herbert's masterpiece back to life, although I wish we got to see a Guild Navigator. Hopefully there will be a third film and well get to see Edric in that.
Denis Villeneuve is the greatest director working today. All of his movies that I saw, which is every English language movie that he did, are great.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes, finally! Another Despot review! I’ve been stuck rewatching your previous reviews, my favorite being your Napoleon review!
One of the most fair reviews I think exist. Subbed
I've always hade the upmost respect for people that critique their favorite films. Dune Pt.2 was incredible, a masterpiece, I watched it twice in cinemas and want to go again. But it is certainly flawed. The whole time-leap being one of biggest for me, however I can somewhat forgive it, or at least understand the reasoning. No normie will go and watch a 4 or even 3.5 hour film, it's bad business and a hard sell. So a compromise had to be made. We salute the effort Denis and look forward to Pt.3 as well as the Sisterhood spinoff.
Absolutely fantastic review. Bravo!!
The Chani relationship is kind of off for me, like she is always stand offish and kind of not trusting in Paul and no woman would be hanging out with you in this relationship, let alone sleep with you
She’s a lot more realistic as a woman in the movies than in the book. Frank wasn’t exactly great at writing an average female human lol
She would be stand offish, her being salty about him marrying another, is on brand for a woman.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 Chani isn't an "average female human", ie a modern woman. She's heavily shaped by her ultra-traditional, austere, Fremen culture.
The book explicitely goes in to how she understands the necessity of Paul's choice (it's not like Chani was Paul's only wife; he inherited the wife of the guy he killed in the Fremen duel), which makes perfect sense both from her Fremen perspective and as the wife of a living God and now Emperor of Space.
It's important to recognize that *no one* in Dune is average; they're all either ultra-elite space aristocrats, cultists, slaves, or Fremen. No one follows our current day mores.
@@jamesgollinger208 I think the chani change was a good idea to really drive home to message of Frank Herbert. I get not liking zendayas acting. I don’t like it either, but making her more skeptical and verbalizing the message of the books. Is a good idea. Dennis talked about why he did it. He brought up how when the book came out people didn’t quite get the message. That Paul was to be feared and questioned, not worshipped on faith. It’s much harder to come to that conclusion in the new adaptation. Which was the goal, and the reason for chanis change.
Every woman I know is with the guy she’s determined to persuade of something. 😂
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 No, he just needed a reason to have Zendaya in the movie. He gave her lines that Chani never had and a character arc that she never experiences in the entire series.
I enjoyed this review more than either of the adaptations.
Zendaya was the worst part of the movie. The girl just can't act. Not to mention how she's being pushed like a modern day Eartha Kitt, only with the charm, talent and the looks.
Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard ofc...
She's the worst part of anything she's in automatically. And she knows it and enjoys it because she gets off on shitting up characters that aren't supposed to be black.
I know right. Why on earth is Hollywood so determined to make this lady a big star? She doesn’t have the talent for it.
I think you meant 'without.'
She's hot, so is like a Megan Fox type of deal, is just funny how they push her a new talent for obvious reasons.
@@illseeyaonthedarksideofthemoon honestly shes not really hot imo, looks too much like a child.
Power corrupts, abd abdolute power corrupts absolutely is quite accurate. However, Herbert's observation about power attracting the corruptible is also accurate. More so perhaps, or probably more common.
I didn't think Chani was a girl boss. I just found her very very annoying.
Same.
that is because you have been desensitized. Chani is elevated to the center of Paul's motivation, total BS.
"Book" Chani was a Sayadina of the Fremen, next in line for Reverend Mother if Jessica didn't survive. Also she was Paul's wife, mother of his first born, his advisor and teacher of Fremen ways, and she also negotiated the marriage of Irulan to Paul with Jessica, because "no one bargains better than a Fremen". She had more traditionally feminine roles within the Fremen culture while also being a capable fighter.
In the movie she's a Fedaykin (one of Paul's death commandos), a sand rider, and a front-line soldier. They strip her character of everything feminine, along with her religion and devotion to the group (she claims to be loyal to her people but she abandons the men who are supposed to be under her when she stays on Arrakis) along with making her Paul's most vocal opposition.
They gave her the full DEI 2024 treatment and gave her character all the attributes of a Fremen male.
Me too. She didn't work 4 me at all!!
@@loki8284 Finally someone knowledgeable on the matter. “Book Chani has no character” is one of the worst takes I keep seeing on this matter. She is what grounds Paul to reality and their unwavering love for each other perfectly mirrors that of Leto and Jessica. Their romance is full of passion, struggle and sacrifice. She is one of the strongest, most complex and ultimately tragic characters in the whole saga. Watering her down to “strong independent female warrior princess” is an incredible disservice to her character.
When Paul killed Jamis. His wife and children became Paul's responsibility. He couldn't mistreat her but he could have her as his wife if he wanted. This is to say Fremen women aren't Warriors. Defending their home. Sure, they know how to fight. However, out in the field... Their society is a survival of the fittest. Men are stronger than women. Chani is the daughter of Liet so she was already special. She also got additional training from Paul. Everybody complains about Chani, but I hate what they did to Fremen society. They changed them for a modern audience. The problem is, of course later on when they changed you to Paul's influence, it's not going to be as apparent. They're already a bunch of whiny complainers.
Villeneuve is the best science fiction director alive and **cough** I got used to Chalamet as Paul but **double cough** Blandaya was a big blunder.
blandaya lmao
Dont like both, still loved the movie.
I don't see Chalamet as a leading man personally. He's just a theatre kid "hearthrob" that has zero screen presence.
@@andy2172 In the first movie Chalamet profited immensely from standing close to Isaac's majestic beard.
@@kpsk8031 It was a wonderful thing to behold 😂
I just know our favorite despot has the “American society of magical negros” in his crosshairs next. I’m glad you were able to enjoy the high of Dune 2 before getting back down in the sewers again for us.
Damsel up next, should be good fun.
I like voxis productions review of the 1st part of dune, I can't wait for his of part two. He hated the dune part one.
Where are the clips of the glowing blue eye Paul and Chani taken from? The 2000something miniseries?
Yes.
I was so pleased with this when I left the theater! I remarked to my friend that I thought it was almost perfect. I only regret not seeing part one in theaters.
I can't help but show off. I saw the first movie in cinema when it came out 🫡
@@OroHoneyLemonyes because showing off is seeing a movie in the theaters while paying a ridiculous amount of money for tickets lol
@theincrediblefella7984 I paid £5 (about 6.37 USD)so it's not a ridiculous amount, and I'd pay it again. Since it does only take 30 minutes of work to cover the ticket 😊
@@OroHoneyLemon I saw both twice, but only part 2 in 4dx
@@LuisSierra42 Very nice
This has made me want to watch the original film more than the new ones
This movie is very good, but it is not epic at scale of LOTR. I recommend everyone to watch Dune part one so you could understand, that this movie didn't delivered what was promised. Most annoying part of Dune II: this movie is essentially about Paul and Chani, while book is completely not like it. Still very good movie, but for me max. 8.5/10
I mean, why would you see the second part without the first one?
“This movie is essentially about Paul and chani, while the book is completely not like it”.
😂you uhhhhh, you sure about that?
Idk fam I read the whole series. I own all the dune books. I’ve watched both parts multiple times. I’ve watched Lynch and the mini series. I felt incredibly satisfied with this adaptation. Delivered everything I wanted.
Also lord of the rings is an epic over 3 novels. This was 1 book about Paul becoming emperor and leading a jihad. All the war and conquest happens off screen. The next book picks up after Paul conquers the galaxy. The whole jihad is not depicted lol.
Sorry, Dune is more about internal monologues, not about large scale battles.
Agreed that these are not epic movies. Not like other classic epics.
These Dune movies are also shot in a small way, like a TV show (aside from the occasionally grand establishing shot).
I can’t believe how swayed people are by this kind of very kind of boring, small-minded, normie filmmaking. It’s a total bore and it completely gutted the book.
Brilliant review of a brilliant film. Now I’m afraid I need you to review Damsel. I desperately need the despot’s take on that film’s despicable morality.
Give Chapterhouse another go. It's an important part of the lore. The real long game of no-ships and wild Atreides no-genes finally pays off. Teg is fun and the twist in the Sisterhood's conclusion of the war with the Honored Matres is shocking.
Despot!! So happy for a new video! Sorry to say, bro but im saving this viewing for when i get home! Im so happy to have found your channel and your going to be a big one if you keep the momentum! Good luck and good riddance!
Good movie! Epic and sweeping! Only downside was Chani was unbelievable whenever she tried to act tough but was fine when she showed other emotions like concern, affection, uncertainty or determination in battle like with the “bazooka” thing.
Edit: 4:08 I prefer her as an actress too.
Why does dune 1 start with the statement that the harvesters land at nightfall ?
Agree on all points except Chani. Her position felt out of place in the story and too much like it hits you over the head, and also radically changes what the next film will be from the book.
Instead of rewriting her, why not include Jamis's wife that Paul is forced to marry after he kills him as we see in the book? You can then rewrite her to be more skeptical of Paul and the other Fremen wrote her off for being bitter about the death of her husband and that Paul essentially doesnt care for her. The audience is left to decide which is correct, and to add all the context clues as the movie goes along that yeah she was right to see though him. Chani may be somewhat skeptical as well, but that should only come in part 3 not now.
Based on what we have seen, they are gearing Chani up to be the leader of the plot to assassinate Paul from Dune Messiah, we already saw a vision of it in Part 1. Mark my words.
Also, Zendaya and Chalamet have no on screen chemistry at all, I definitely dont buy their romance for a second.
Bingo.
Read the book and loved it,i remember i was like 16, sitting in my room on the third floor, it was summer, and i still had some beer left from the night before, so i started drinking at like 9AM. It was drizzly and warm outside, the beer was only cool because it was in my closet in a cooler. I sat there and got a buzz on and read the book (i spent a lot of time getting drunk and reading, never met anyone else that enjoys that for some reason). It was a great day for some reason, one that i never forgot, probably mostly because the book. Fantastic book. I was so excited for the rest of the series,i think i had to get them though inter-library loan or something, so i had to wait, which was something we used to have to do. Then i got the following books and was like "WTF is this?". I expected the story to pick up where it left of, but no.
The first book was worth reading, after that it just progressively gets weirder and weirder.
my story with Dune is similar, but you haven't said anything about the movie(s).
Personally I hate that they’re making a prequel for the bene gesserit because I’m more than sure that they’re gonna use that for cringe messaging just wait
This is an unepected but much appreciate birhday present for this culchie is the west. Best channel on UA-cam, thanks Despot. Also, the original Dune prophecy theme is seriously underrated!
This video is to other youtube reviews or deepdives of Villeneuve's Dune what Dune is to current cinema. Absolutely exceptional comparison of the book to the movies and your depiction of what the problem is with "girl bosses" (or even just your succinct and accurate description of the term) is one standout in particular. Among many others i wont go into lol - Great work on the video, breakdown and overal thematic description of the source material!
From what I gather (and seen from part one), the movie doesn't really respect the source material and adds a lot of offensive leftardation, plus Zendaya is ugly (and is DEI btw). And the movie in general looks ugly tbh. Will pass.
It seems that a lot of people are so starved for a semi-decent movie that they will excuse the intolerable. Sad state of affair.
Thanks for your comment. I am like you and refuse to swallow this complete shit any more. I turned off Dune 2 after the great Sandworm scene because they shoved some Zendaya romance on us after this and I began skipping her scenes and then lost all interest shortly after. I don't see myself caring to go back and finish it, I just thank fuck I didn't pay a cent to watch it..... never again will hollywood woke trash get a red cent from myself.
I recently reread Dune, and was rather startled to realize that I could not find a single case where Paul's alleged prescience was actually useful. I got a bit tired of Paul thinking about how his vision was obscured, or that he had never had a vision of a situation he was in. Even the visions he actually had, like those of Chani before he met her, didn't seem to include any hints about what decisions would lead to that future.
Of course, this is probably Herbert's way of showing us that Paul is stuck on a predetermined path, and that he can't actually make choices. In his position, prescience is a very cruel curse.
Dear Despot. I’m surprised that someone who just ranted not so long ago about believability, importance of characters who are more than two dimensional and avoiding pointless girl bosses is so forgiving about the movie that spits at all of that
I hated the movie. The deviations from the book are not irrelevant, but informative. They leave out the whole reason from the current Dune universe: AI. You can't have Dune without the basis of Dune, "Thou shall not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind". People, seem to forget the world we actually live in and think these movies are just made without agendas and manipulation. Frank Herbert knew all too well about where we were/are heading. this Dune is candy for the braindead, not thoughtful incites that the author was all about. It is like ignoring the whole basis of 1984, and focusing just on the acting, just silly. Dune had a message, yet that is not important in 2024, just bread and circus. Not a fan
Which character are you talking about?
@@tomt4822 Lack of the entire background why spice is so important was also an insult to the movie. All that is missing could be easily included in the movie and enrich the plot if they got rid of the following (unnecessary) scenes:
Fight with the Harkonnen soldiers at the beginning of the movie
Entire Margot plot (what is the point highlighting her pregnancy if that is not relevant for the rest of the story?)
Scenes between Irulan and Moiham (served only to show off Bene Gesserit)
Alia could easily be included in the movie and the timeline could stay the same as in the book - Jessica takes the water of life, she is told that her daughter will be an abomination and needs to die. Fast forward Jessica has conversations with various Fremen reverend mothers (or just their voices) about Paul, showing as if she is conversing with her predecessors through the link that was formed between them. Then the last scene where an adult voice asks Jessica what is happening and then changes to a voice of a child and showing Alia who is alive and with whom Jessica had conversations all along, but they both have connection to the past reverend mothers’ memories, hence Jessica could converse with them through Alia. That would also be a foreshadowing of how Alia will become an abomination and be possessed by the spirit of her grandfather later on. Problem solved.
@@Justanidea5976 Chani. She is portrayed as the single “voice of a reason”, objecting to Paul’s ascension to a messiah, screaming at everyone that the prophecy is fake and they are morons to listen to it. If she had a group of followers that would be more believable, but making her the only one who objects to the prophecy is simply dumb and trying to portray her as some kind of a heroine fighting against the dark forces of religious fanaticism. Her relationship with Paul instead of being deep and lined up with understanding of the limitations due to Paul’s position, is reduced to a shallow teenage romance. If Paul didn’t share with her his plans, he either didn’t trust her or she was too ignorant to understand the meaning of them. If he did, the scene where she is leaving like an offended prom queen, because Paul has to make a political match, shows how superficial their relationship was if she is not ready to stand by Paul when he clearly needs to make sacrifices of his own and by then he knows where his fate will lead him and that it won’t be a happy ending. They diluted one of the most beautiful relationships in the book for the sake of appealing to the modern audience and completely ignored the theme of sacrifice that women in Dune make for the sake of the people they love
@@gruszkos Ok, so you're already wrong. Chani isn't the "only voice of reason", there's a whole faction of Fremen that don't believe in the prophecy. Some of the main ones on her side switch over after they see it being fulfilled, but others stay back with Chani at the end of the movie.
Her relationship with Paul is deep. Both care heavily for each other but they're both on opposing sides at the end. Chani fell in love with Paul because he was different than most outsiders, he wants to actually learn more about the Fremen and become one of them. Most others would want to use them for their resources. Paul falls in love with Chani because she's one of the few women in his life that want and see his human side and want him to stay human. If you think that's highschool romance, you've misinterpreted the movie.
Since he did tell her, he trusts her. She doesn't leave like a "offended prom queen." Since the first movie, it's shown that she mainly cares for her people first. She told him in this movie that she likes him because he isn't power hungry and actively tries to go against the prophecy. But, when, Paul takes the Water of Life, he changes into someone else, he's still Paul but now he wants power, the main thing Chani said the opposite of. Along with that, Paul asks for the Emperor's daughter's hand in marriage. The same Emperor that pushed her people out of their home, Paul is now taking his spot and fulfilling the prophecy, of course at first, she's not going to be with that. Paul says she'll come around later so we'll have to wait and see.
So, boy likes girl, girl likes boy, boy makes decision that goes against what girl liked about him and has to marry another girl, and it doesn't make sense why she'd leave for a bit?
If this was made for a modern audience, like you claim, Chani would've killed Freyd, killed the emperor and took the Emperor's hand in marriage while all Paul gets to do is be sidelined.
Paul is making that sacrifice.
Since Paul is a Harkonnen, his rulin is Harkonnen rulin.
I love your work, but your defence of movie Chani is stretched beyond all limit "in the Fremen men and women are equal"..."We're from the North, we believe in Fremen".... give me a break.
Most accurate review of this version of Dune so far. This would have been better as a more faithful trilogy, or a Game of Thrones production-level series.
Why Alia called Baron Vladimir Harkonnen "Grandfather"?
I Agree with all of your points, except about Zendaya, and her role in the film. As you said I agree she didn't give us a one note performance this time(for a change). But at the same time part of the role DV gave her in the films seems to be the role Zendaya is given every single time she is in a "serious role" which basically means she is an insufferable resting b*tch-face that explodes and breaks scenes that didn't needed that kind of emotion at the time. It looks childish from her, and it breaks inmersion in the film. Unfortunate, because outside of those scenes she would have been a really great character in this film. But in my opinion this is the fault of either DV or one of the other writers and not Zendayas's fault in this case.
Its cool to see someone discuss some actual flaws and wins of the movie. As much as i liked the movies, and dont know anything about the books you can tell some of the movies elements are not quite developed as much as they should be and there are other details that are so brilliant
I think you’re wrong, or at least incomplete, on the analysis of chani. I had not heard many people talking about her being a “girl boss”. My impression was that she was just a confused character. She goes from being a freedom fighter to Paul’s wench, but her desire to see her planet freed just completely disappears because she’s worried about losing Paul. When Paul is on his deathbed from drinking the elixir, Chani refuses to save him after being told that it’s within her power. After he Comes back to life she’s slaps him. Chani comes off as a bitch the second half of the movie more than a girl boss. I don’t have a problem with her being upset at the end of the movie. I have a problem with her wants changing from the freedom of her world to just Paul without much on screen dialogue.
Shes aware that the bene gesserit prophecy is just propaganda. Paul promised her he would not become their leader and follow the bene gesserits plan. Although he doesnt completely follow the bene gesserits plan he fulfills the propechy which chani did not want him to follow. Her character is 100% believable.
Her desire to see her planet freed do not disappears, Chani simply understands that following a false messiah will never lead the Fremen to freedom, on the contrary. She understands that far from leading them to paradise, Paul is dragging them into the hell of a Holy War. And she is well placed to understand this, having been his intimate and confidante, she knows where his visions are leading her people.
@@xxh311catsxx5 I actually disagree. I think Chani is too aware of the propaganda where she doesn’t have any place to be. Regardless of it being propaganda or not Paul is basically performing miracles, (coming back to life and literally seeing the future). To any normal person (as Chani is in the beginning of the film) these things would be miraculous, but Chani becomes a prick to Paul even though he’s literally saving her people from oppression.
Yes, he’s supposed to be the new tyrant when all is said and done. The only reason we know this is because the movie TELLS us that over and over. You can’t get to that conclusion based off of Paul’s actions in the movie. It stands to reason that Paul will be a great leader (as he is in the movie) and good ruler, like his father Leto, based off the events of the movie.
@@rhizvo108 But Chani knows that Paul is leading the Fremen to horror. She knows this because, unlike all the other Fremen, he confided his visions to her, he told her his dreams and explained to her what he saw in this future. She saw his anguish at the horror of the coming Holy War. This is why it makes total sense that she is the last non-believer of the Fremen: she is the only one who knows what Paul saw and where he is really leading the Fremen.
"Heretics of Dune," and "Charterhouse: Dune," are amazing. Militant off shoots of the Bene Gessirt, and that final chapter is also very moving and was meta decades before meta was cool.
I actually like Heretics the most. 😁
Chapterhouse, not Charterhouse.
The 2 Dune movies we got in recent years have been the only 2 movies i have been looking forward to in a long time.
I absolutely hate modern movies and Hollywood, but i loved these 2 movies, and i hope Dune 3 is even better.
Why, Dune is as woke as most if you compare it to the book. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was good, btw
@tomt4822 ok?... I don't know where you're getting at
Im actually reading the book after watching the first 2 movies, and so far, it's very accurate
hopefully there'll be a directors cut released. I also liked the way the Sardaukar were portrayed in that you could see their expressions when going up against the Atriedes guards etc and that their helmets weren't like storm troopers.
Paul’s journey is 100% a hero’s journey. He fits the bill of a Greek Hero 100%.
Also, Frank did a piss poor job of claiming charismatic rulers are bad; Paul literally makes the best choices possible given the situation. His main failing is leaving his son to walk the Golden Path.
That’s the point, you can make good choices that still end in billions dying. How right is it, if it requires untold quantities of human suffering?
I feel the same. Giving the "charismatic leader" the power of foresight was a huge mistake by FH imho. It completely weakens the point he was trying to make.
Even if in Dune Messiah he’s responsible for the death of billions? He’s basically a genocidal warlord in the books.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116the alternative is humanity going extinct, or so we we are told
Those billions of deaths are relative few when you consider the human population is in the trillions
In answer to your question just before 10:00, the way in which Paul’s presence helped turn the tide wasn’t the arrival of he, one man- but rather that he was able to rally the enormous war council from the ‘uninhabitable’ global south. Without him, they would have remained fragmented war bands without any collective power.
Maybe I’m coping but I think that was clear enough to say that it’s not a stretch.
I still like the 1984 extended version better. The actors were top. The music was great. The best thing, are the small hints a things. Alia, and she has red hair. Kaleff and Orlop. The best thing is that Lynch hate it, instead of showing of how he is the best, and how everybody is not book accurate. Than cutting of Alia.
Great cast. Fantastic music. And I loved some of the innovations, like the weirding weapons.
Only just came across Despot of Antrim and I'm greatly enjoying his content. It's nice to have a reflection of my thoughts on screen.
Despot doesn't put out as many videos as the other greats on UA-cam but they're always well worth the wait.
Heard Dune Two won’t get nominated for music cause they had songs from the first film hope that ain’t true…
At 1:02:33, no, this film was not made for adults. Star Wars was for children (as Lucas admitted), this is just for teens and geeks. Dune (the book) is so much richer than the film in its philosophy, ecology, metaphysics, ethology. Villeneuve dropped most of that - what made the book so original and great - just for the landscape, visuals, and the battles. That's what teens and Generation Braindead want to see and that's how he pitched the abomination of the screenplay, to make money from that demographic (and at which he's apparently been successful). Perhaps things would've been different if the clowns at Warner Bros. had granted him three films (like New Line gave Jackson with The Lord of the Rings).
I agree with you that I would've liked to have seen it done as an extended telly series, which was as true to the book as Herbert wrote it, not how Villeneuve and Spaihts corrupted it. But alas, that would not make as much money (if any at all) so I fear it will never now be done.
God bless you and your work sir Despot 😎😎😎 respect from Croatia 😇😇😇