Warning: Before reading, please note there will be some minor spoilers.

Rating: 4/5

Have you heard about that movie with the giant sandworm and spice, again as a precious commodity? Yes, the new and improved American science fiction film, Dune, starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.

Dune is set in the far future and is based on the 1965 novel Dune written by Frank Herbert. It is about the struggle between the great families that rule over the planets of the universe, particularly House Atreides and Harkonnen. The main character Paul (Timothée Chalamet), is the young heir of the House Atreides. His world is thrown into complete chaos when The emperor of the universe orders house Atreides to take over the planet Arrakis from House Harkonnen. Although Arrakis is an inhospitable desert, it is the only known planet containing spice, a commodity that makes space travel possible. On Arrakis, there is a group of indigenous people known as the Fremen. They have adapted to living in the dangerous and hostile environment in Arrakis. What makes Arrakis so dangerous is the giant sandworms that travel under the desert. They are attracted to rhythmic vibrations on the surface of the desert and will try to devour whatever is causing those vibrations; even the slight movement of walking on sand can trigger them. The only way to prevent any extra vibrations would be to move with the natural beat of the desert.

I walked into the movie theater without any expectations, but the movie did not fail to impress me. Firstly, every scene was so vivid and visually spectacular. Even though the majority of Dune was in the muted desert colors, the endless expanses of desert, the intricately sculpted structures are all so beautifully foreign. Dune is set in the future, but in a time where AI has been banned, so all of its architecture is quite elegantly simplistic and ancient. Its set design perfectly demonstrates this balance between the future, the past, and life on a distant planet. Secondly, the music composed by Hans Zimmer, one of my favorite composers, has a similar ancient feel to it. The soundtrack gives an extra dimension to the movie, further bringing the images to life.

Thirdly, the plot of Dune is very engaging. Even though it is only Dune part 1, so the majority of the movie is just exposition, I didn't find myself bored during any part of the movie because there were so many action-packed scenes and plot twists. In just one hour of the film, I watched the main character get betrayed by a very unlikely character, several fight scenes, assassination attempts, etc. Near the final 30 minutes of the movie, I remember looking at my watch and being shocked at how fast time had gone by. Dune was able to keep me engaged for two hours straight. If this is what it can accomplish with just the exposition, I can't wait to see what Dune part 2 will bring.

However, as with every good movie, there are always some bones to pick. Firstly, the world-building in Dune is notoriously complex: I spent most of the film being confused about the names of the different houses. Secondly, the dialogue in Dune was at times barely audible. There is an ever-present bass rumble in the background during the entirety of the movie, which I believe was added by the director to help the audience envision themselves in the desert. While I admire this attention to detail, I feel it detracted from my viewing experience. Lastly, even though Zendaya is meant to be the female lead, her total screentime, unfortunately, is less than 10 minutes. Thus, for those who want to watch Dune purely for seeing Zendaya, Dune may not be the movie for you. Overall, Dune was a fantastic movie that I loved because of how engaging and beautiful it was. It is not just your classic Sci-Fi movie, so I would recommend it to everyone, whether you enjoy science fiction or not. Even if you don't like science fiction, you may find yourself enjoying it a lot, just like I did. So, what are you waiting for? Go on out there and watch it! After you've done so, you can finally avoid the sandworms by walking out of the movie theater sliding from side to side.