N
Nightwolf
Lurker
Sci-fi fans, this is it. If you watch one movie this year, make it "Children of Dune".
Longer version:
I have been a fan of science fiction for a long time, and liked the old Star Wars movies a lot. (that's Episode 4-6 without the extra special effects, in case you wonder). I like Star Trek: Voyager as well, but nothing has ever come close to the wonders that is Frank Herbert's Dune. I'm not talking about that crap David Lynch movie, but the mini-series that clocks in at over 4 hours, and it's worth every second. (in fact it even skips ahead quite a bit from time to time, so it could easily have been even longer.)
Now, we finally have a sequel: Children of Dune. I'm not sure if this was a mini-series as well, but it is now released on DVD in three parts. But I realize I'm might be talking over your heads here, so let me first skip through the main plot in the first Dune:
It all comes down to the planet Arrakis aka Dune. This desert planet is inhabitated by giantic sandworms, and they again produce something called spice. This spice is very valuable, and only grows on Dune. Shortly to say, "He who controls Dune, controls the spice. He who controls the spice, controls the universe". It's not all that easy, mind. The current Emperor of Dune (from House Sardukar or something like that) struggles to keep the power. The evil House Harkonnen try to conquer Dune on their own, so here comes the good guys: House Atreides. They start fighting House Harkonnen and eventually wins. Obviously.
And then there was sequel time.
This time Paul Atreides (the hero from the first) rules Dune. Well, for a while at least. I'm not even going to start on his Fremen background, so let's just say the Fremen are native desert people related to Paul Atreides. As in all good movies, the bad guys plan a dirty little scheme to conquer Dune, so here we go again. Sardukar are long gone, Baron Harkonnen long dead, and new evil people show up. Before long Paul Atreides are killed (or...?), and his twin children who just happen to reach the age where they can take the throne and become the new Emperors of Dune. Time is running out for the bad people, so an evil scheme are set in action. Short to say Dune gets a new Emperor, the twins killed, evil lives on. Well, for a while. This is the cool part about Children of Dune. It gets a bit confusing, but that's the beauty. It all makes sense after a while, and you end up with a very, very good story that goes way beyond anything Star Wars ever did.
As the first one, this one clocks in at over 4 hours, so don't expect to understand everything at once. It takes a while to understand what is going on, but when you do you get sucked into a new world where you don't want to leave. Ever.
Another thing about this movie is that you'll be amazed on all the details. I mean with over 4 hours, you should think they would slack a bit on the details, right? But no. Let me take an example. After 3 hours, the evil emperor starts chasing after the twins. She is quite angry, and say she wants the children hunted down like desert tigers. After a little pause, she say she wants their skins when they are dead. It's quite dramatic in its own, but know what happens? A guy in the background talks quite low to himself, and comes up with "Yes, nice touch. Very creative." And he's in the background. I almost fell of the chair laughing. (you need to see it to understand how funny and unexpected it was.) The actual desert tigers show up at the end of part 2, and are surprisingly well made. They are all computer made, and looks very realistic.
Anyway, you just have to see this movie if you like science fiction. It's amazing. And yes, it's based on the book with the same name. Which again means there can be several sequels. ("God Emperor of Dune", "Harversters of Dune" etc). If these movies are ever released in the theatre, I can actually understand why people wait two
weeks in line. I love this movie.
Final score: 10/10. (8/10 if you haven't seen the first one, 6/10 if you don't know Dune).
Longer version:
I have been a fan of science fiction for a long time, and liked the old Star Wars movies a lot. (that's Episode 4-6 without the extra special effects, in case you wonder). I like Star Trek: Voyager as well, but nothing has ever come close to the wonders that is Frank Herbert's Dune. I'm not talking about that crap David Lynch movie, but the mini-series that clocks in at over 4 hours, and it's worth every second. (in fact it even skips ahead quite a bit from time to time, so it could easily have been even longer.)
Now, we finally have a sequel: Children of Dune. I'm not sure if this was a mini-series as well, but it is now released on DVD in three parts. But I realize I'm might be talking over your heads here, so let me first skip through the main plot in the first Dune:
It all comes down to the planet Arrakis aka Dune. This desert planet is inhabitated by giantic sandworms, and they again produce something called spice. This spice is very valuable, and only grows on Dune. Shortly to say, "He who controls Dune, controls the spice. He who controls the spice, controls the universe". It's not all that easy, mind. The current Emperor of Dune (from House Sardukar or something like that) struggles to keep the power. The evil House Harkonnen try to conquer Dune on their own, so here comes the good guys: House Atreides. They start fighting House Harkonnen and eventually wins. Obviously.
And then there was sequel time.
This time Paul Atreides (the hero from the first) rules Dune. Well, for a while at least. I'm not even going to start on his Fremen background, so let's just say the Fremen are native desert people related to Paul Atreides. As in all good movies, the bad guys plan a dirty little scheme to conquer Dune, so here we go again. Sardukar are long gone, Baron Harkonnen long dead, and new evil people show up. Before long Paul Atreides are killed (or...?), and his twin children who just happen to reach the age where they can take the throne and become the new Emperors of Dune. Time is running out for the bad people, so an evil scheme are set in action. Short to say Dune gets a new Emperor, the twins killed, evil lives on. Well, for a while. This is the cool part about Children of Dune. It gets a bit confusing, but that's the beauty. It all makes sense after a while, and you end up with a very, very good story that goes way beyond anything Star Wars ever did.
As the first one, this one clocks in at over 4 hours, so don't expect to understand everything at once. It takes a while to understand what is going on, but when you do you get sucked into a new world where you don't want to leave. Ever.
Another thing about this movie is that you'll be amazed on all the details. I mean with over 4 hours, you should think they would slack a bit on the details, right? But no. Let me take an example. After 3 hours, the evil emperor starts chasing after the twins. She is quite angry, and say she wants the children hunted down like desert tigers. After a little pause, she say she wants their skins when they are dead. It's quite dramatic in its own, but know what happens? A guy in the background talks quite low to himself, and comes up with "Yes, nice touch. Very creative." And he's in the background. I almost fell of the chair laughing. (you need to see it to understand how funny and unexpected it was.) The actual desert tigers show up at the end of part 2, and are surprisingly well made. They are all computer made, and looks very realistic.
Anyway, you just have to see this movie if you like science fiction. It's amazing. And yes, it's based on the book with the same name. Which again means there can be several sequels. ("God Emperor of Dune", "Harversters of Dune" etc). If these movies are ever released in the theatre, I can actually understand why people wait two
weeks in line. I love this movie.
Final score: 10/10. (8/10 if you haven't seen the first one, 6/10 if you don't know Dune).