Dune Part Two (October 20th, 2023)

Folie a Dune?!

Mr. Awesome said:

I think she's a fine actress. I didn't pick up on any messaging. But boy was I tired of seeing her resting b*tch face in nearly every scene she's in. She feels very one dimensional.

She's actually got a beautiful smile. Not that you'd ever know it from these films..

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Her character flip-flops too much; one minute she's loves him, then she hates him, etc. The (Chani) writing is a mess and completely inconsistent and added for no benefit. To my understanding (told from a friendd who loves the books because I haven't read them) her and Paul are on the same page, they know what must be done, etc.

Definitely not her fault as an actor - she was directed that way from a script written that way.

Rewatched Gladiator again last night for the first time in probably 20 years since the new one will be out soon. Wow, talk about a film that still holds up.

Why am I posting this in the Dune thread? Because it reminded me that much more how utterly lame Dune's bloodless combat is. This story absolutely deserved the Gladiator treatment. "Oooh the Harkonnen arena looks so cool in black in white." Yeah, and it's also G-rated so who cares. Hell AOTC was more brutal with Padme getting all those slices across her back, how stupid is that!

Padme landing on that rhino thing made me audibly groan in the the theater. I know it was some fx tomfoolery but she lands crotch first from a decent height snd nobody acknowledges it. Then again she also falls out of a speeding gunship and shakes it off like the T 1000.

Btw I love both Dune movies but I also enjoy the critiques.

YoNoSe said:

Padme landing on that rhino thing made me audibly groan in the the theater. I know it was some fx tomfoolery but she lands crotch first from a decent height snd nobody acknowledges it. Then again she also falls out of a speeding gunship and shakes it off like the T 1000.

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Star Wars has never really played by real world physics laws, so I don't think most people really care. It's sci-fantasy.

Oh.

Khev said:

Why am I posting this in the Dune thread? Because it reminded me that much more how utterly lame Dune's bloodless combat is.

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I agree. It lacked a visceral, brutal component. The large scale fight scenes left me especially cold and yeah, I get it -- elite of the elite bla bla bla but the way some of the main characters cut through enemies like they were video game NPCs took away the stakes.

I haven't seen Gladiator in years but still remember the immediacy and tension of Maximus getting unhorsed and fending off blows from the ground. And this was a main character at the beginning of his own film, I knew he wouldn't die and it was still intense. Never mind the battle raging around him.

I enjoyed the Dune films but there are several issues with them.

histrionics said:

If you really think Dune 2 was super-flawed and unfulfilling, maybe it's further and final proof that the Herbert books could never be made into films. That's what we were told for many decades and maybe it's true. They couldn't do it in 1984 and can't do it today (and don't forget the 2000 and 2003 mini-series'). I don't think that's the kind of defeatist discourse finale I want to live with and I won't be dismissive of the films.

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I probably said it not long ago in this thread, but I think ultimately the story would be better served by a high budget, HBO-style streaming series. With the kind of long-form storytelling out there now, you could do it justice.

You got your wish -- the Witches of Dune are coming for you.

Perhaps they need their own... "thread"?

Wor-Gar said:

You got your wish -- the Witches of Dune are coming for you.

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Being a fan of the Bene Gesserit I think the series has potential. It hinges on good writing of course, but I'm more than willing to give it a chance.

Khev said:

Rewatched Gladiator again last night for the first time in probably 20 years since the new one will be out soon. Wow, talk about a film that still holds up.

Why am I posting this in the Dune thread? Because it reminded me that much more how utterly lame Dune's bloodless combat is. This story absolutely deserved the Gladiator treatment. "Oooh the Harkonnen arena looks so cool in black in white." Yeah, and it's also G-rated so who cares. Hell AOTC was more brutal with Padme getting all those slices across her back, how stupid is that!

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Yeah, but you know one of the biggest problems with the industry now (and it's highly selective, because depending on who is involved some slip through the cracks), they won't make films that challenge the audiences anymore. There's nothing that makes you think or question you're own stance/beliefs/ideals/morals/understandings, etc, etc, etc.

Everything has to be sunshine and rainbows even when dealing with tough subject matters. I believe that's why Joker (1) was a success because it was a challenging film - and the human condition craves those sorts of stories; particularly where there is a character arc and/or dealing with a "controversial" subject matter.

This idiocy of everything being wonderful and great and everyone is perfect and can't learn from their mistakes or mentors is so wearing and delusional.

"We can't sell a big budget tentpole movie with blood and excessive violence" (Deadpool and Wolverine makes over a billion )

99% of execs are a bunch of reactive dumbasses.