arkonnen spice harvesters grow rich from the dunes of Arrakis, having governed the planet for nearly a century. But upon an Imperial decree, these austere masters suddenly vanish, giving way to a new clan to take control of the invaluable property. “Who will our next oppressors be?” In the year 10191, on Caladan, the homeworld of House Atreides, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) and his concubine Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and their son Paul (Timothee Chalamet) prepare to depart for Arrakis, where the patriarch will soon be in charge of providing spice to the Emperor, whose cagey space guilds use the unique component for interstellar travel. Dreamy visions of blue-eyed girl Chani (Zendaya) and educational film-book recordings proceed to fill in the gaps for viewers, hinting at the trading of spice and its significance as both a drug and a fuel; the desert-dwelling rebels on Arrakis, known as the Fremen; and the gargantuan sand worms that burrow under the ground, making the collection of spice so hazardous.

From the opening moments, there’s an undeniable grandiosity to the picture, with the music, spaceships, costumes, weaponry, sets, and props constructing mesmerizing worlds of wonder and fear. It’s as if the intensity is turned all the way up, though it infrequently ebbs, preventing each subsequent set piece from being any more exhilarating than the last. This is largely due to Hans Zimmer’s score, which thunders and pulses with deafening percussion and bellowing voices, elevating even middling sequences and segues that should be calmer and subtler. It’s not surprising, however, that writer/director Denis Villeneuve would handle this sci-fi epic with enthusiastic ferocity; after “Arrival” and “Blade Runner 2049,” Frank Herbert’s seminal adventure (and one often described as unfilmable) isn’t something to be trifled with.

And it’s been a long time coming; audiences have been waiting anxiously for an accurate, big-budget, earnest, visionary-led adaptation of what is routinely described as the greatest (and best-selling) sci-fi novel of all time. Villeneuve stays remarkably loyal to the source material, though the dialogue has been updated considerably for the sake of this visual medium and for clarity. Yet that decision comes at a price; as his morbid space opera unfolds, a wealth of characters and locations appear for short periods before they meet untimely demises or are abandoned to introduce additional characters and locations (character development takes a backseat to character inclusion). Rather than aggrandizing certain roles to aid with the setup, and excising others whose removal might not only speed up the pacing but also suitably beef up alternate personas, nearly all of the book’s characters make an appearance, no matter how minor or forgettable. Unlike typical, modern movies, where action or thrills thrust audiences into the middle of the story at the start, “Dune” commendably – yet un-commercially – begins slowly, developing its enormous collection of interconnected, rivalrous fiefdoms and warriors (complete with hierarchies, spies, politics, and the supernatural powers of a witchlike cult of galaxy-wide superstition-planters) and the various factions involved with spice-harvesting. As a result, hours pass before major events come about; the attention to littler details routinely makes this arrangement seem better suited for a miniseries, since the full tale couldn’t be trimmed down to a single outing, and the action sequences themselves aren’t the main draw.

General audiences might grow weary of the consistent strangeness of Paul’s visions and the focus on visual designs rather than action, but the look of Arrakis and its inhabitants (and invaders) are absolutely stunning (in some ways, it reminds of “300,” with its ever-odder conglomerate of denizens, each boasting singular clothing and armory and customs). Additionally (and part of what made the novel so impactful), the prophecies, languages, religions, rituals, ecology (how rare!), and fantasy elements (like a much darker take on the galactic clashes in “Star Wars”) are fascinating; “Dune” was surely one of the first properties to merge biblical tales (along with Islamic references and nods to Lawrence of Arabia) with sci-fi milieus on such a grand scale. Certain technologies and symbolism might be more impalpable, but the seriousness with which the actors take the material (as well as the severeness of the tone and atmosphere) evens out the jargon-heavy scenes. This is one of those productions that will be easier to follow if viewers are already familiar with the premise, though one of its best accomplishments is that it’s so drastically different from the 1984 theatrical version that it hardly warrants comparisons.

“It will take time.” Unfortunately, as visually stunning as “Dune” is, it can’t escape the fact that it’s merely the first of two parts; a few plot points have been altered to achieve a cleaner stopping place, but the story clearly – and disappointingly, after a two-and-a-half-hour investment – isn’t over. In fact, major players such as Feyd-Rautha and Emperor Shaddam don’t even make an appearance. It’s difficult to fully appreciate (and judge) a piece of a story as anything other than the fragment that it is, even if Villeneuve’s acumen for visual imaginativeness is extraordinarily spellbinding.

– Mike Massie