Stars 7 out of 10. Woke nonsense: None

I liked both movies. Lets get that out of the way. Go see them. Dune 1 you can likely see free with ads at this point. I did, and not too many ads at that. Note both movies are over 2 hours long, so be ready to commit the time necessary.

The movies, based on the cultish 60’s era sci fi novel by Frank Herbert, takes the story and stretches it out over (I guess) 3 movies. One of which is coming out maybe in 2027.

The movies star Timothy Chalamet (todays new IT guy) as Paul Aristedes, , swedish dish Rebecca Ferguson as his duplicitous mother, Josh Brolin (great performance here), and Zendaya in an underwhelming frowny faced performance. And incongruously, Javier Bardem as the only resident on the planet Arrakis with a spanish accent. But he did excellent work. Chalamet and Ferguson did workman like acting jobs.

The movie is set in the year 10,800 or so, on the desert planet Arrakis, which is the source of a mystical substance vital to space travel called spice. (OK, not a new plot but it probably was back in 1965, so we can’t fault Herbert there. Berylium sphere, anyone?).

The universe is run by monarchical type “families” (none named Soprano) who lord it over the rest of populations. The family heads report to an elected Emperor. The bad guys here are the Harkonnens.

As in a Game of Thrones or Shogun plot line, there is something rotten in the Empire. I won’t ruin any story lines, although this is basically a revenge story overlaid with mysticism, backstabbing, heavy christian themes (including a nasty Pope like woman up to no good), with some Arab and American Indian magical undertones thrown in.

Arrakis is populated by a human race called Fremen (ironical, yes?) who are subjugated by the evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard in gloop suit) whose royal family plunders the spice at great profit.

Much of the story and action will seem familiar from Star Wars, including the Jaba the Hutt type Baron/Skaarsard guy who offs most the Aristedes’ whole family in Part 1. There are laser fights among space ships and helicopter gun ships. Curiously, with all the interstellar travel and laser weapons, the main battles take place among foot soldiers with swords. Don’t question, just enjoy the swashbuckling fight action scenes.

Also populating the planet Arrakis are giant sand worms, who sometimes ruin mining equipment and seem really scary. Then you can ride on one to prove your merit to your fellow Fremen, ride them to the south side of the equator like a big cruise ship, or spur them to attack Harkonnens. How one communicates the need to attack enemies to giant invertebrates is never explained. Vulcan to worm mind meld?

Although I enjoyed the movies, and recommend them, the plot evolves in a somewhat choppy fashion. The transitions are not always smooth, There are times when I found myself checking my watch, meaning the action slows to a crawl as the underlying mystical/religious themes are fleshed out. Firmly held beliefs are abandoned suddenly without explanation. Minor criticisms but worthy of note.

To sum up here, this trilogy is for the dedicated sci fi fan who enjoys seeing how creative types envision future worlds will turn out, great action, well conceived plot turns and also epic battle scenes. Not really for fans of movies based on Jane Austen or Nicolas Sparks novels.

Movie Tip: If you enjoy high action sci fi, Star Wars movies are still the best of the best. The Star Trek series with Christopher Pine also great, as is the Alien series. The first 2 Terminator movies. If you have a hard time sleeping, check out 2001 A Space Odyssey. Nothing happens for hours, but the boredom is portrayed in space and other critics find it wonderful.