Dune: Part 1 (Reissue) Review

Well, I said this review was coming in my last post and here it is. I remember seeing this movie for the first time in theaters. I saw it at the 34th Street AMC theater during a two-day trip to the city with Keegan. We went with a long-time family friend and sat in seats that we hadn't reserved so we could sit relatively together. We ended up having to move because the people who did reserve them finally showed up midway into the movie. I remember the movie being long and confusing but surprisingly enjoyable. Keegan had a migraine and the overly loud sound system in the IMAX theater was not helping his cause. This was October of 2021. Since that day, Keegan and I have talked about wanting to go back to that theater to watch whatever new movie came out. Now that I'm always in the city and have free time on my hands, I've been able to go whenever I want. As the rollout for Dune: Part 2 continues, the AMC theater is doing a reissue of Dune: Part 1. I thought it would only be right to go back to the very same theater I watched it at with Keegan, just over two years ago now. Saying that makes me feel like time flew, which I believe it did. Anyway, onto my review. I think this series should've been cut into three parts, if not more. It felt extremely long and there was too much information packed into nearly three hours of runtime. There were certainly dragging parts where I was fighting to stay awake. I see people online asking for a director's cut. Are you insane? You need more? Split the film in two and then release the director's cut. The sound technicians did a phenomenal job. I don't know what it is like to watch the movie outside of a theater, but if there was an explosion, it really felt like something blew up right behind you. I definitely jumped a few times in fear. The score was also really enjoyable. I wish I was able to sit and listen to Hans Zimmer's work on a playlist. I know I would get bored, but he does a great job. I think that's obvious, but sometimes you have to state it. He can really make a scene feel much more dramatic. It shows you how emotional music can make you. Sad, happy, or angry. Everything in between too. I'm not a great judge of good acting or bad acting, but I can definitely tell when an actor/actress impresses me. I don't think any of the performances in this movie were bad. I just don't think they were any standouts. I liked Rebecca Ferguson. I liked Oscar Issac. I liked Timothee Chalamet. I just didn't get "moved" by the acting. One of my classes, mentioned in my last post, made me open my eyes and pay more attention to the costume design. The costume designers for this movie were Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan. I was really impressed by their creativity. I don't know enough about costume design, but it was certainly impressive. I assume it couldn't have been too easy to make costumes for a made-up world like this one. I'm excited to see Dune: Part 2 in theaters. I hope it is just as creative and visually beautiful. I hope it is a little shorter and less confusing. I gave Dune: Part 1 a three-star review on my new Letterboxd account. I want to be a tough grader based on the fact that the scale is quite small. I'm not a big fan of a five-star grading system. I would definitely watch Dune: Part 1 again; I would just need a little bit of a breather beforehand. Happy Monday!