I've started re-reading the novel. I've read it cover-to-cover just once before, and that was AFTER seeing the Lynch film. I've seen the Lynch film several times but have never re-read Dune, nor any of its sequels, nor have I seen any other Dune films or shows. I shared that so you'll know my context going forward on this comment.

There's already been some discussion on comment threads earlier so some of this might be rehash, but I'll say it again... Dune is one hell of a brick of a complex novel. And ALL the complexity is essentially taking place in the thoughts of the characters in it. The book doesn't really have much action in it, it's more about people's singular decisions, and how those decisions affect everything that comes after and have momentous consequences, sometimes consequences that effect the entire galaxy. That's hard to put on film.

The plot of Dune is of childlike simplicity and it's nothing original: Family is betrayed and exiled by enemies but learns to fight back with the aid of oppressed indigenous population. Nothing new there. So the plot's not why people love Dune.

The spice is essentially a MacGuffin. It's only there to keep the story and plot and characters moving and is irrelevant in and of itself. Indeed, if I remember correctly BEGIN SPOILER at the end of the novel, spice is truly irrelevant because Paul can fold space without it END SPOILER

I don't even think the interesting thing about Dune is character development, because not many people change much over the course of the story. I mean, yes, Paul obviously changes dramatically mentally and physiologically, but his personality and goals don't really waver. No, I think the interest is in how everything is a sort of strange shifting chessboard, and changing the position of a single piece can alter the game entirely. It's exciting to see the effects and reactions of people's major decisions. That was my take at least. If I'm even remembering the novel correctly at all.

So I'm looking forward to seeing this new film adaptation of Dune, though I'm going to go into it with low expectations. If it's entertaining, great, I'll bin it with Lynch's Dune, which is also entertaining even though it's got plenty of odd strays from the novel (weirding modules?). If it, somehow, manages to actually capture the deepness of the web of consequences that you read in the novel, I'll really be impressed.

I remember going to see Lynch's Dune way back in the 19880s with a group of friends. Half had read the book (including me), and half had not. Afterward, the half that had not read the book basically thought it was wild special effects and a cinematic spectacle, but were utterly lost by the plot. Those of us who'd read Dune could see the connections, vaguely, but Lynch strayed pretty far from the source material at times. So ultimately it flopped because it was too confusing for the uninitiated, and strayed too far to satisfy fans of the novel.

I'm cautiously hopeful for the new version. From everything I've heard, the director is a true Dune fanboy. I re-read the novel recently, and from the clues given in the movie trailer, this version looks like it tracks the plot of the novel more closely. If so, that should be more satisfying to the legions of Dune fans. Villeneuve has a pretty solid track record with sci-fi, so that's encouraging. I really like some of the casting choices.

I plan to see the new version with a group that again mixes Dune fans and non-readers. So it will be interesting to see if the people that don't know the story can follow the plot of the movie this time.

The opening title card says “Part One”. Kinda gives it away.

"Everyone speaks with great seriousness at all times."

The book is deeply, utterly humorless, to the point where Duncan Idaho's simple, obvious, and silly joke with Paul in the trailer jarred me. It was like watching two Starfleet officers argue over money.

Liet Kynes (the desert ecologist) was male in the book. So men can be interesting too.

I can't believe I missed this article/thread by several days. What's wrong with me?

I actually don't have a lot to say right now as I'm excited to eventually see the movie in a theater (gonna wait a few weeks for crowds to decrease so I can see it a good theater) but for now I'm holding opinions as most reviews are some form of mixed, but mostly good.

But as a big Dune fan (I've read the six Frank Herbert books several times) I kind of don't care what critics say. I like the Lynch film for it's own reasons. I love the books. Even the Sci-fi mini-series has some significant strengths (which does NOT include costuming). It is nearly impossible to film Dune "correctly", so I'm interested to see the latest effort and that's about it.

Except for @1...Paul cannot fold spice without the spice (we're talking books here). The spice impacts prescience. Dune ship tech can fold space, but navigating that path is dangerous. The spice allows the Spacing Guild (through massive ingestion of spice and special training) to have enough prescience to safely get through fold-space. But it's still super-limited. Paul is "special" because his ceiling for prescient ability is unfathomable by current standards. It comes with serious drawbacks and that's what so many of the rest of books deal with.