Dune Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

1. It's Blatantly Half A Story (Which Might Never Get Finished)

Anyone familiar with Herbert's story will probably struggle to find a better place for Part One of the story to end, but when the film abruptly cuts to black, audiences may be left wondering whether Part Two will even happen, which is a tad deflating.

After all, more casual-minded viewers may not even know that this is just half a story going in, given that the marketing hasn't indicated as such and the Part One sub-title only appears in the film's opening sequence itself.

While splitting books in two for the big screen is nothing new, the vast majority of movies to do it have already firmly committed to shooting the second part, or most commonly, actually filmed both halves back-to-back.

In Dune's case, Part Two will only get made if Part One is a commercial success, and even outside of the pandemic its tricky subject matter and more sedate style don't make it the easiest sell to general audiences.

Then we must also consider how Warner Bros. will account for its day-and-date streaming release on HBO Max.

While you might say that none of this should inherently be held against the film itself, it's important to note that Dune does very much feel like half a movie, focused on setting up this world and presenting the audience with extensive hints at the events of Part Two.

So many visions of the future do we see that this footage almost feels like an outright trailer for Dune: Part Two, which while an appealing prospect, hardly seems set in stone. Fingers are most certainly crossed that it gets made.

But these issues aside, here's what Villeneuve and company got right...