hopkinsamye

My husband dragged me to this movie, and I did not expect to enjoy it all. I expected anotherboring remake. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it.

The movie really didn't have any lulls. It was fast paced and fun.

There were a lot of little things to notice in the background. I would totally watch it again.

Dune Part 2 is an epic movie; slickly made, and visually stunning.

But I had to explain quite a bit to the friends around me who had not read the book, especially the water of life scene and the final battle.

The movie had almost a 3 hour run time, but it felt overlong because Villenue focuses too much on spectacle on very little on substance.

It is a beautiful movie, but it feels like it has no soul. The emotional connection between Paul and Chani, so vital to the story, is completely lacking and unbelievable. The two main characters are good looking enough but has absolutely zero chemistry on screen.

I am certain Zendaya is a fine actress in some things, but she has basically 2 facial expressions here, and the one she uses the most is a scowl directed at Paul. I found her to be the worst part of this movie.

The final fight scene is short, choppy, and a mess. It felt anticlimactic and unfulfilling The Harkonens are basically reduced to bumbling villainy almost cartoonish. The ending was super abrupt, and was so different from the book that it left me wondering what the filmmakers would do if they want to do a sequel.

I want to reiterate that this isn't a bad movie. Villenue is great at creating a world that looks living and breathing, but he can't give life to individual characters.

It is like he can't see the trees for the forest.

Ridley Scott accomplished making one of the most interesting figures in history seem idiotic and boring.

I won't even go into the inaccurate history he portrays on film, because even if this movie was based on a fictional character, it would have been terrible.

Gladiator bent historical reality to tell a great story. I loved Gladiator, but there was no story in Napoleon...nothing really happened. It might as well have been a music video from the 80s.

Scratch that, I have seen music videos that made more sense than this movie.

The passage of years came across like Game of Thrones Season 8. I, and the group I went to see the movie with, couldn't keep up with the passage of time throughout the movie. It was only a familiarity with the names of the battles that kept me even remotely on track.

The musical cues were terrible. I had a difficult time hearing the characters over some of the blaring music chosen for certain scenes.

The battle scenes for the most part were repetitive, and less than epic.

The choice of the sound director to focus on Napoleon's breathing in the first battle scene was weird and took me right out of the action.

I think Ridley Scott either doesn't give a crap anymore, or maybe he is in early stages of alzheimer's disease.

Whatever is going on, he isn't the director he used to be.