---
title: "Dune"
year: 2021
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/dune"
fi1m_id: "dune"
imdb_id: "tt1160419"
tmdb_id: 438631
wikidata_id: "Q60834962"
fi1m_score: 76
critics_score: 62
critics_reviews: 14
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:34.750132+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Dune (2021)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve · 2h 35m · MPA PG-13 · Science Fiction, Adventure

## Identity

Dune

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/dune
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** dune
- **IMDb ID:** tt1160419
- **TMDB ID:** 438631
- **Wikidata ID:** Q60834962
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/438631, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60834962

**Fi1m score: 76** · Critics 62 from 14 reviews

*In a sentence:* We came for the sandworms and stayed to look at the buildings

> Denis Villeneuve’s *Dune* is rewarding science fiction for the patient, with imposing spacecraft and a persuasive mother-son relationship. Its solemnity can become wearing, and the first-part structure leaves too much unresolved.

## Synopsis

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is a young man growing up among rival aristocratic powers, with his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), at the centre of his life. Their story unfolds amid struggles over rule, religion and the exploitation of an alien world. Oscar Isaac plays Duke Leto Atreides, Jason Momoa plays Duncan Idaho, and Stellan Skarsgård plays Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Across desert landscapes inhabited by sandworms and beneath spacecraft that dwarf the people below, Paul’s coming of age takes place within a struggle that reaches beyond his family.

## Review

Denis Villeneuve’s *Dune* takes its alien world seriously enough to risk making an evening there feel like work. We think the visit is worthwhile, provided science fiction is your thing and you can tolerate a story that is only partly told. Adapting Frank Herbert’s novel, Villeneuve gives the struggle between aristocratic powers room to unfold at a stately pace. He wants the place to feel enormous and unfamiliar, and he is in no hurry to move us through it.

Greig Fraser’s cinematography gives the landscapes and spacecraft enough room for their size to register without constant activity. The ships can hang almost motionless and still hold our attention, which is an achievement in a film with so much hardware to display. We felt properly awed by those still ships; their bulk made us conscious of how little a person would matter underneath one. Patrice Vermette’s production design supports that feeling with architecture that looks built to outlast whoever happens to occupy it.

Hans Zimmer supplies a booming score, and there are stretches when its weight is exactly what these vast images need. The music helps make the unfamiliar world feel physically oppressive, although its insistence can turn a quiet moment into another announcement of significance. Editor Joe Walker allows the spectacle to settle rather than hurrying past it, giving us time to take in the spaces. That patience is less helpful when the film is explaining its world, and the pace starts to feel dutiful.

Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides benefits from looking young enough to be troubled by all this responsibility. His reserve sometimes makes him difficult to know, but the coming-of-age story needs that uncertainty more than it needs an immediately commanding hero. Rebecca Ferguson, as his mother Lady Jessica, gives the film its most persuasive relationship. Her concern for Paul makes his youth matter, and their connection kept us interested when the surrounding explanations threatened to reduce him to another name to remember.

Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho provides a welcome, more direct kind of presence, while Stellan Skarsgård makes Baron Vladimir Harkonnen suitably menacing. The cast gives us reasons to keep watching, but the screenplay by Eric Roth, Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts does not always give those performers enough room. Too much attention goes on establishing the world before we have much reason to care about the people in it. The supporting characters are especially vulnerable to becoming another piece of information in a film already busy explaining itself.

As a science-fiction adventure, it is unusually willing to let wonder take time, and that is welcome. Its interest in colonialism and religion also gives the struggle for power more weight than a simple contest between noble families would have. Yet Villeneuve’s solemn approach can make everything seem equally important, so that the exposition receives nearly as much emphasis as the things we came to see. A little more variation in tone would help the politics as well as the pace.

The chief reservation is that this is only the first part of the story, and the film does not make that incompleteness feel satisfying. At 155 minutes, it has asked for enough of an evening to make the lack of resolution matter. There is still ample reason to see it in Fraser’s images, Vermette’s buildings and the uneasy closeness of Paul and Jessica. Put the phone away before starting; the unfamiliar names are quite enough to keep track of.

*Fi1m score 76, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean towards praise for Dune, chiefly for the scale and care of Villeneuve’s filmmaking. Critics repeatedly single out the production design, spacecraft and desert landscapes, with sound design and Hans Zimmer’s score helping make the setting feel unfamiliar and imposing. Several also welcome the attention to colonialism and religion. Performances receive praise, particularly from Radio Times, which finds Chalamet and Ferguson’s central relationship emotionally persuasive.

The sharpest division is over whether that spectacle sustains a satisfying drama, and the spread of opinion is wide. Even favourable reviews frequently find the Part One structure frustrating, with too much left unfinished. More doubtful critics describe laborious exposition, thin characterisation and a loss of momentum as the film progresses. The New Yorker goes further, rejecting the visual approach itself as rigid and finding that the cast has little dramatic depth to work with.

## Straight answers

**Is Dune worth watching?**

*Dune* is worth watching if science fiction is your thing and you can tolerate a story that is only partly told; we scored it 76. Greig Fraser's images of vast, near-motionless spacecraft and the uneasy closeness of Paul and his mother reward the patient. Its solemnity wears over 155 minutes, and the first-part structure leaves too much unresolved.

**How long is Dune, and what is it rated?**

*Dune* runs 2h 35m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a science fiction and adventure film.

**Where can I watch Dune in the US?**

*Dune* is streaming on HBO Max, The Roku Channel, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Dune, and is it suitable for children?**

*Dune* carries a UK 12A certificate, so it is a film for older children and teenagers rather than the very young. Its unsettling qualities come less from gore than from scale and menace: Hans Zimmer's booming score makes the world feel physically oppressive, and Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Harkonnen is suitably menacing. Younger children are likelier to be bored by the exposition than frightened by it.

**How does Dune compare to Lawrence of Arabia?**

*Dune* and [*Lawrence of Arabia*](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia) share desert scale, imperial politics and a young man's dangerous sense of purpose, but David Lean's film is the more complete and the better of the two. Both explain too much in places; Lean earns his length with Peter O'Toole's unsettling performance, while Villeneuve leaves his story half-told. Choose *Dune* for spacecraft and sandworms, Lean for nerve.

**Is Dune based on a true story or a book?**

*Dune* is based on Frank Herbert's novel, not on a true story, though its interest in colonialism and religion gives the struggle for power real weight. Villeneuve adapts only the first part of the book, which is why the film ends without resolution. Knowing the novel is not required, but the unfamiliar names take some keeping track of.

**What should I watch after Dune?**

After *Dune*, try [*Lawrence of Arabia*](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia) (1962, Fi1m 90): Desert scale, imperial politics and a young man’s dangerous sense of purpose. Then [*Solaris*](https://film.one/film/solaris-1972) (1972, Fi1m 87): For patient science fiction that gives private grief room to become frightening; and [*Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*](https://film.one/film/warriors-of-the-wind) (1984, Fi1m 85): An animated struggle over ecology and power, with more warmth among the creatures.

### Reviews we read (23)

- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): Villeneuve’s adaptation of the sci-fi classic is a colossal spectacle and a moment of triumph for the director, superior to David Lynch’s 1984 version because it allows the story room to breathe. The critic singles out the film’s astonishing visual sensibility, compelling sound design and score that together create an immersive experience of an alien universe. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/20/dune-review-denis-villeneuves-awe-inspiring-epic-is-a-moment-of-triumph)
- **Radio Times**, Josh Winning (4/5): Villeneuve pulls off a muscular coming-of-age tale on an epic scale, fusing spectacle with intricate plotting and emotion while eradicating memories of the 1984 version. Chalamet and Ferguson shine in the central relationship, backed by a booming score and searing visuals, though the film feels incomplete as only the first part. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-rd97dg/dune-part-one/)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): Villeneuve has delivered the adaptation Frank Herbert’s book deserves: sprawling, spectacular and politically resonant in its critique of colonialism, with precise storytelling, visual fireworks and god-level world-building. The sandworms and supporting cast (especially Stellan Skarsgård) stand out, though it lacks an ending as Part One. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dune-2021)
- **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): Villeneuve’s gloriously unfriendly take renders the rival aristocrats and space witches on an awe-inspiring, alien scale, preferring immersion in a richly rendered universe over familiar swashbuckling adventure. It is carried far on spectacle alone, including impossibly still spaceships, the Hans Zimmer score, and the menacing Baron Harkonnen. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/dune-movie-review-denis-villeneuves-turn.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (70/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a magisterially brooding and transporting vision with masterful craft and spectacle that brings the novel's world vividly to life. He singles out the seat-rattling action sequences and philosophical undertones but notes it could benefit from more imaginative excess or madness. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-09-03/dune-review-denis-villeneuve-frank-herbert)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (60/100, inferred): The critic calls the adaptation spectacular in its world-building and often engrossing but ultimately runs out of storytelling steam, feeling like a franchise setup that loses emotional investment. He singles out the majestic vastness and visual motifs while faulting the shift to a woozy, amorphous second half. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/dune-review-spectacular-and-engrossing-until-it-isnt-1235051928/)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (C-): This is a lifeless spice opera told on a comically massive scale that ultimately feels small, with a screenplay that mines little substance from Herbert’s novel despite its thunderous approach. The result is uniquely dispiriting given Villeneuve’s prior affinity for stories about transcending cyclical violence. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/2021/09/dune-review-denis-villeneuve-1234660459/)
- **Film Comment**, Michael Sragow (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film numbing and overly focused on elaborate world-building at the expense of character and intrigue, resulting in a literalist and disappointing compression of the source novel. Some technical achievements in visuals and sound are noted, along with one lyrical moment with a desert mouse. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/just-deserts-dune-review-denis-villeneuve/)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (30/100, inferred): The critic finds Villeneuve's adaptation disappointingly dull and unimaginative compared to Lynch's visceral 1984 version, prioritizing plot clarity over visual or emotional richness. He singles out the rigid, hermetic images and the way the film reduces its strong cast, including Timothée Chalamet, to ciphers without dramatic depth. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/review-a-dune-sanded-to-dullness)
- **Empire**, Ben Travis: The critic hails Villeneuve’s film as the adaptation science-fiction devotees always dreamed of, an absorbing and awe-inspiringly huge spectacle that establishes its world with precision. They single out the astonishing production design, scale and jaw-on-the-floor awe for praise, while noting the Part One structure leaves the story half-finished. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dune-2021/)
- **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins: Villeneuve has crafted a stirring adaptation that does justice to the source while maintaining a slick pop-movie form, with breathtaking visuals and a focus on the mother-son relationship between Paul and Jessica. It is a stately, exacting film more in the tradition of David Lean than modern blockbusters, though it is only Part One. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/dune-venice-film-festival-review)
- **Screen Daily**: Villeneuve delivers an impressive space opera on a massive scale with stunning visuals and epic grandeur that dwarfs most contemporary sci-fi. It is brainy and brooding rather than crowd-pleasing, with strong performances across the cast, though it represents a commercial risk as the first of two instalments. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dune-venice-review/5162818.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Philip Kemp: The critic praises Villeneuve for avoiding the pitfalls of the 1984 Lynch adaptation by steering clear of excessive fidelity and voiceovers, delivering a visually striking and well-cast film with state-of-the-art effects and a brooding score. It succeeds as far as it goes but is only Part One, leaving the story incomplete without a guaranteed sequel. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dune-succeeds-avoiding-excessive-fidelity-original-novel)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The film offers cinematic spectacle in its landscapes, architecture, hardware and spacecraft, along with a strong ensemble led by Timothée Chalamet, but it struggles with dense world-building and arcane details that risk alienating viewers. Storytelling lacks clean, propulsive lines, leaving much of the narrative feeling like laborious setup for a sequel. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/timothee-chalamet-in-denis-villeneuves-dune-film-review-venice-2021-1235005184/)
- **The Independent**, Clarisse Loughrey: The critic calls Villeneuve’s adaptation spectacular and of such literal and emotional largeness that it overwhelms the senses, positioning it as this generation’s Lord of the Rings. They single out the film’s grounded approach to the source material and its handling of colonialism and religion for praise, while noting a casting issue with the Fremen. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dune-movie-review-zendaya-timothee-chalamet-b1941796.html)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland: The critic finds the film huge, gripping and gorgeous with strong visual dynamism, production design and a strong cast, calling it an engrossing epic. They single out the lame, half-hearted ending that exists only to set up a sequel as the main complaint. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/dune-review-timothee-chalamet-uk-release-date-cinemas-sequel-film-movie-1257620)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4.5/5): The critic calls the film an astonishing, immersive spectacle and visual feast that successfully captures a weird and thoughtful epic on a grand scale. Strong world-building, tactile production design, and committed performances, especially from Chalamet and Momoa, are highlighted as making it a transportive experience. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dune-review-sci-fi-legend/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (75/100, inferred): The adaptation is ambitious and jaw-dropping in its spectacle and craftsmanship, particularly in scale and action sequences, but feels incomplete as it ends abruptly and leaves narrative threads dangling. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2021/09/14/movies/dune-review-denis-villeneuve-timothee-chalamet-sequel)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (C): The critic finds the film visually impressive and well-crafted in world-building but emotionally hollow and distant, lacking investment in characters despite strong performances and production values. [Read](https://collider.com/dune-review-timothee-chalamet-zendaya/)
- **Polygon**, Roxana Hadadi (40/100, inferred): The film is visually stunning with impressive production design and action sequences but suffers from emotional emptiness, rushed character development, and flat world-building that fails to connect elements cohesively. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22733349/dune-review-denis-villeneuve-timothee-chalamet/)
- **/Film**, Jeremy Mathai (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the adaptation overly literal and rushed despite its fidelity to the novel, resulting in a weightless film that misses the book's philosophical and political depth. They single out the effective early invented scenes on Caladan but criticize the handling of major plot points and supporting characters for feeling inconsequential. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/643530/dune-proves-that-a-faithful-adaptation-doesnt-always-make-a-great-movie/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond: The critic praises Villeneuve’s faithful adaptation of the novel as a spectacular and defining version, highlighting the focus on human elements, impressive visuals, score, and strong cast performances, especially Chalamet as Paul. [Read](https://deadline.com/video/dune-movie-review-timothee-chalamet-denis-villeneuve/)
- **The Wrap**, Steve Pond: The review finds the film dazzling yet frustrating, spectacular but often slow and humorless, praising its technical achievements, scale, and dark beauty while noting the heavy exposition and bleak tone. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/dune-film-review-timothee-chalamet/)

## Details

- **Director:** Denis Villeneuve
- **Director:** Denis Villeneuve
- **Screenplay:** Eric Roth, Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts
- **Novel:** Frank Herbert
- **Cinematography:** Greig Fraser
- **Editor:** Joe Walker
- **Music:** Hans Zimmer
- **Production design:** Patrice Vermette
- **Costume design:** Bob Morgan, Jacqueline West
- **Producer:** Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve
- **Cast:** Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides; Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides; Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides; Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho; Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat; Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck; Javier Bardem as Stilgar
- **Runtime:** 2h 35m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 22 October 2021
- **Genres:** Science Fiction, Adventure
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2021); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2021); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 2021)
- **Budget:** $165 million
- **Box office:** $411 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0HgHet0sxg

## Where to watch in the US

- HBO Max: streaming, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Hulu: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Apple TV: rent $5.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2022: Best Picture (nominated)
- Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Film 2021: Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Film (won)
- Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Art Direction 2021: Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Art Direction (won)
- Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Score 2021: Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Score (won)

## If you liked this

- *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962), Fi1m 90: Desert scale, imperial politics and a young man’s dangerous sense of purpose. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/lawrence-of-arabia.md)
- *Solaris* (1972), Fi1m 87: For patient science fiction that gives private grief room to become frightening. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/solaris-1972.md)
- *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind* (1984), Fi1m 85: An animated struggle over ecology and power, with more warmth among the creatures. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/warriors-of-the-wind.md)
- *Arrival* (2016), Fi1m 86: Villeneuve keeps the alien scale but brings the human grief closer. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/arrival.md)
- *Embrace of the Serpent* (2015), Fi1m 82: Colonial exploitation seen from the river, with little comfort for visiting outsiders. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/embrace-of-the-serpent.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/dune