Dune

Honestly, I don’t remember when I saw this film for the first time. What I do remember is how I felt after re-watching it — what I imagine it felt like leaving A New Hope back in 1977. Here is how I realised Dune is one of the most important films of the ’20s.

The first time around

Watching this literary gem turned majestic space opera at age 19, three years after TikTok burned a new hole in our ozone layer, and only one measly little year after lockdown ended in Singapore (where I was living at the time), was, to put it bluntly, absolute torture. I couldn’t sit still, I couldn’t have cared less about the political landscape the film was so aptly building, and I kept wondering, “Why the hell isn’t Zendaya on the screen already?” I just wanted the lights to flash and the guns to go boom.

I could recognize that it was a sci-fi movie with a great cast, cool visuals, and a recognizable director. At the time this mattered very little to me. My problem was that… nothing was happening on screen. Sequence after sequence I watched and waited, and nothing! Back then, my puny frontal lobe could not accept a big-budget action-adventure sci-fi film without Avengers Man flying in and quipping every two seconds with explosions and Easter eggs in the background.

“This movie is too f***ing slow,” is a phrase I remember repeating multiple times throughout the 155-minute runtime, and after coming to such an astute and academic conclusion I most likely proceeded to nurture my brain with an equally protracted scroll on TikTok until my eyes physically gave out to sleep. What a time to be alive.

But it wasn’t all rotten tomatoes. I will say this: Kung Fu Panda made me a sucker for a Hans Zimmer score, and I remember thinking that this one absolutely rocked, like only his can.

That’s it. That would’ve been the entirety of my praise for Dune after the first watch. I just didn’t get it, or didn’t care enough to really sink my teeth into what made it so exceptional.

I ought to kick my own ass.

May 24th, 2026 AD

That’s the date of my most recent rewatch. I’m almost 24 now, around the same age Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya were when they filmed it. “I’ll never be that old,” I used to think.

I like to think of my film diary as separated by an epoch: there are the movies I saw before doing my film courses, and the ones after. I’m not religious, so I’ve repurposed BC and AD to “Before Cinephilia” and “At Denouement.” Sorry, God.

In the time since my first watch I’ve developed a deep appreciation and love for film art, and that might sound tacky or cliché, but in all honesty very few things make me feel so alive and connected to both history and modernity. In my last year of university I took Intro to Film (I know, whoop-de-doo), but in truth, it opened up Pandora’s box for me. I caught a glimpse behind the curtain, saw how the sausage was made, and found that it’s true what they say: once you know, you can’t go back. I learned about the major components that come together to make movie magic: lighting, cinematography, sound, editing, CGI, mise-en-scène, narrative form, performance, and what effect following or breaking each of their rules would have on an audience. I started watching differently; I wasn’t just walking through the art gallery glancing at the pretty pictures… I was studying the brushstrokes.

The rewatch

I was able to experience Dune (both Part One and Part Two, funnily enough) in BC and in AD.

I promised to tell you why I think this film is one of the most important of the ’20s, and I want to do so in a way that A) doesn’t spoil it (though, if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re probably not reading this), and B) doesn’t require a film degree to understand (or, in my case, two semesters of film study).

Here are some of the many reasons why Dune is so important:

Star power

Obviously.

Three-time Academy Award-nominated Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme, Call Me by Your Name) and Zendaya (Euphoria, Challengers) helm this vessel as it blasts its way through hyperspace. Don’t like them? This film is packed to the brim with incredible talent. You couldn’t throw a pebble on this set without hitting at least three extremely talented and well-respected A-list actors. You’ve got Academy Award winner Javier Bardem (F1) and his No Country for Old Men co-star Josh Brolin (Weapons), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Fallout), Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein), and the list goes on and on.

A sacred text

I hadn’t read Frank Herbert’s Dune when I originally watched this, but you better believe I took an express trip to the bookstore as soon as it clicked for me. If you’re more cultured than I am and have read the original text, what better way to celebrate it than by watching a genuinely jaw-dropping and visually stunning representation of it on the big screen? Naturally, the transition from novel to screenplay demands omitting certain elements, but director Denis Villeneuve has voiced his admiration for the source material, and it shows in the film.

The story itself, what Herbert created and Villeneuve distilled, is nothing short of spectacular. When you watch, I mean when you really sit there and engage with the story and start understanding the politics of this new and incredible world — that’s when it becomes amazing.

There is also a third film on the way based on Dune Messiah, Herbert’s second book in the series (Dune and Dune: Part Two are both based on the first Dune book). This franchise is the gift that keeps on giving, and unlike others, it just keeps getting better. There’s not a better time than now to get on board.

Lights, camera, action!

Without getting overly technical, I’ll just say that every choice made by all departments just works so excellently. Greig Fraser (cinematographer), Hans Zimmer (needs no introduction), and Joe Walker (editor) did their absolute best work. The trio received Oscars for their contributions. Notably, other departments (Production Design, Sound, VFX) also won Oscars. Academy Awards aren’t everything, but the winners are usually very deserving of their awards. This is no exception.

Basically…

Everything and everyone involved in the making of this film is firing on all cylinders. All systems go, and it comes together in a way that very few other modern sci-fi movies do.

Villeneuve is an excellent filmmaker, and his other work is equally transcendent. I’d recommend Arrival (2016) and Prisoners (2013).