Dune: What Fans Are Saying About Denis Villeneuve’s Latest Sci-Fi Movie

Finally, the spice is flowing. After a long-awaited anticipation for the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s movie is here, and it’s come in with sandworms a blazing. It’s often been said that Dune was an impossible world to bring to screen given all its details and ambition, but now that the movie has hit theaters and HBO Max, we finally have a consensus to whether the movie not only pleased fans of the book, but film fans who were delving into this mythology for the first time. 

So let’s see what the fans are saying about Dune! First off, the movie was deemed a critical darling last month when it premiered at Venice Film Festival to a reported eight-minute standing ovation from its audience. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg awarded the movie a near perfect 4.5 out of 5 in his Dune review. In terms of the audience opinions, this is a case of critics and moviegoers aligning, considering the movie received an A- on CinemaScore. With that in mind, let’s dive deeper in regards to what aspects of the movie fans went online to talk about. 

Dune Is Being Widely Called A ‘Masterpiece’ 

Dune has really been embraced by fans overall, especially considering the splash it made at the box office opening weekend. The movie exceeded expectations and has already gone on to make over $223 million worldwide in just a few days, all while also being available to stream on HBO Max. The big box office numbers led Warner Bros to greenlight a sequel, which is set to hit theaters in 2023. 

First off, Dune really blew people away with its impressive visuals, which illustrated distant worlds of the future. Many fans are in awe of the look of Dune, sharing screenshots of the beautifully-shot movie. 

The standout character in Dune differed from fan to fan, which we’ll get to a little later. But in terms of its hero, Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet, the way the actor was able to add to the imagery of the film, between his chiseled jaw and performance as the young protagonist, got fans talking as well: 

Dune particularly left fans of the book awestruck, as one called it a near “perfect” adaptation of the source material. In their words: 

The love for Dune has gone so far and wide that some fans even question why people could possibly hate or call the movie anything less, as shown with this reaction image of Timothée Chalamet: 

“Masterpiece” is not a word people throw around lightly, which goes to show Dune really impressed with Denis Villeneuve’s careful direction. It’s great to see a book adaptation in good hands! 

Fans Couldn’t Get Enough Of Oscar Isaac In Dune 

For all the eye candy in Dune, Oscar Isaac seems to have won the top prize considering all the people who were coming out of the movie talking about his role in the film. Isaac played Paul Atreides' father, Duke Leto of House Atreides. Throughout the film, the Duke is learning about the new land he has been given the keys to: Arrakis, a planet where a powerful narcotic called “spice” is harvested. Fans couldn’t stop looking at Oscar Isaac in that armor: 

Another point of conversation that overtook the often let’s say thirsty internet was the fact that Duke Leto is shown in his birthday suit in one significant scene (PG-13 though!) One fan shared a particularly funny story that came out of watching the scene amidst a large group of people. 

And then there’s the fact that Oscar Isaac kind of referenced his Star Wars role in the beginning of the film, bringing people back to his beloved character of Poe Dameron in the Sequel Trilogy. Take a look at this fun find: 

There’s a massive ensemble in Dune, but Oscar Isaac really stole the show. But that’s not to say there wasn’t enough love to go around for other elements of the film. 

There Were Just Too Many Other Dune Characters To Gush About 

What’s exciting about the Dune responses is there are a lot of aspects of the movie people are talking about instead of just one cast member or a single thing about the movie catching eyes. For one, people loved Zendaya’s Chani so much they were joking about wanting to take the fictional “spice” in order to see her in their dreams as well. You know, because Paul sees her a lot in his visions. 

There was also a lot of love going the way of Rebecca Ferguson, who plays Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica. She has a weighty role considering all that she is going through throughout the film despite not having a ton of lines to actually express the pain she’s dealing with. Fans took to Twitter to point out her great performance. 

Another element of Dune that got people talking was the film’s score, which was composed by Hans Zimmer. He has done a ton of iconic scores in the past, between Inception, The Dark Knight and Wonder Woman, and in this movie, Zimmer creates a really mind-blowing sound that is especially memorable and effective during its viewing. 

But then there’s an adorable desert mouse in the movie called a Muad'Dib, which also absolutely stole the show in his brief appearance in Dune. People are even gushing about him: 

For all the love Dune has been given, there is one wide talking point that isn’t particularly positive or negative. The movie is only half the book, therefore a lot of exposition to what we’ll be excited for in Dune Part 2. Thus inspiring this comment: 

Dune is definitely getting a second standing ovation as audiences check it out in its first week out in the world. Check out what we know about Dune Part 2 as we continue to enjoy one of the most widely praised movies of 2021.