Sci-fi with more spice than a multi-pack of Nik Naks.

Spice up your life…

DIRECTOR Denis Villeneuve STARRING Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem

On 10 December, director Denis Villeneuve wrote a piece in trade bible Variety blasting the decision to make his sci-fi epic Dune available on streaming service HBO Max day-and-date with its theatrical release. But, silver linings and all that, this quote leapt out: “Dune is by far the best movie I’ve ever made.”

Whoa. This coming from the modest man behind sci-fi insta-classics Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. Featuring a spicy cast that includes Jason Momoa, John Brolin and Stellan Skarsgård on top of the stellar names listed above, Dune will tackle Frank Herbert’s dense 1965 tome by splitting it over two movies. Great idea – as David Lynch found out with his 1984 version, there’s just too much detail for one picture: think Game Of Thrones in space.

Stripped to its essence, Dune follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), scion of a noble family, as he’s gifted the sand planet Arrakis, aka Dune. Sounds like a bum deal, but Arrakis is rich in melange, a spice that lengthens lifespans, heightens awareness and is vital to space travel, enabling navigators to safely tackle warp space. Other leaders of rival families naturally want to control this spice – none more so than the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård under six hours’ makeup work). And if that’s not danger enough, Arrakis is also home to a more pressing peril – sandworms that grow up to 750 metres in length.

As you’d expect from Villeneuve, Dune will blend spectacle, characterisation and ideas with fierce intelligence. “You can see it… as a powerful, epic adventure story, but it has so many themes that make the book so rich,” he says. “We tried to keep the richness in the movie… [which] is kind of a call to action for us to change things, especially for the youth.”

ETA I 1 OCTOBER 2021