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For Sale Apr 5, 2026 at 7:10 PM

Steven Spielberg lists Villeneuve's Dune 'among my favourite sci-fi movies of all time'

Posted by No_Pizza_6040


Steven Spielberg lists Villeneuve's Dune 'among my favourite sci-fi movies of all time'
Empire
Steven Spielberg lists Villeneuve's Dune 'among my favourite sci-fi movies of all time'
The Hollywood legend praises Dune and Weapons in Empire's new interview. Read more.

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23 Comments

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Technical-Outside408 Apr 5, 2026 +77
He only likes it because it's a great movie.
77
Sheriff_Is_A_Nearer Apr 5, 2026 +29
Qualityslop. People only like it cuz its good.
29
ThePreciseClimber Apr 6, 2026 +3
Bah, a antidisestablishmentarianist...
3
AnohtosAmerikanos Apr 5, 2026 +23
Denis Villeneuve is my absolute favorite director. All of his movies are just awesome.
23
ghad0265 Apr 6, 2026 +2
Same here. Back in 2010 I was huge Nolan fan but then Denis broke my jaw with prisoners, arrival and blade runner. Arrival is the greatest alian movie IMO
2
LPMadness Apr 6, 2026 +1
He’s the best working director today hands down. Denis can handle anything. Dune Part 2 is easily top 5 greatest sci-fi film of all time and it seems like he’s working pure magic for Dune part 3. He does not miss.
1
c4upinhisbhole Apr 6, 2026 +6
Me too, Son. Me too.
6
GL2U22 Apr 5, 2026 +11
I like both Dune movies so far. I want to start out by saying that. I thoroughly have enjoyed watching them multiples times but I am always left feeling like make stuff was missing. I feel like they are pretty hollow compared to the books. There are some truly beautiful shots but there is so much emotion that is missing from major characters. Thufir, Lady Jessica, Gurney, Dr. Yueh, and Feyd all would benefit from another scene or two from the book to help flesh out their characters and personalities. For example, we only get a throw away line from Yueh explaining his motivation for betraying the Atreides without any of the inner turmoil/guilt he feels. We never get the sense that he truly loves Paul and the Atreides. Gurney conveys none of his whimsical/musical/poetic side that makes him being one of the best fighters in the universe all that more amazing/interesting. I wish we got to see him believing that Jessica was the traitor, attack Jessica only to be calmly and logically talked down by Paul. And then how Jessica isn’t even mad at him but shows compassion and appreciation for his dedication to the Atreides and how she prefers the musician/poet side of him most. I wish we could see Jessica and how she feels guilty/remorseful or even conflicted over manipulating the Fremen. I realllly wish we got at least a portion of the dinner scene with the major families/players on Dune to see how well she recognizes threats and diffuses stressful moments against their hidden enemies. The scene in the wet plant conservatory where she gets the hidden message from Lady Fenring and sees the light signals across the basin would’ve been nice too. Really wish we got another scene or two with Thufir as well. He rolls his eyes back in his head a couple of times to do some math but never see his genius in strategy/planning nor any of the emotional ties and supreme sense of duty he feels to serve Leto, Paul and the Atreides. We never get the side plot where he suspects Jessica as being the traitor. That confrontation at night before the attack could’ve been so intense. Would have loved to see the scene where Thufir and Atreides troops are trying to evade the Harkonnen/Sardaukar and witnessing how easily the Fremen take them out but still ends with Thufir being captured. Getting 30 seconds or a minute where he is reunited with Paul at the end of the movie, only to succumb to the poison is beautiful and tragic. The Baron and Emperor order him to sneak attack Paul but he refuses and is satisfied with only apologizing and dying in front of Paul. Even Stilgar isn’t nearly as interesting as he was in the first few books. I’m hoping in Messiah we get to see Stilgar’s transformation out of his zealotry and back into being a thoughtful and measured leader. Considering that is the entire point of his character. Chani is a whole other issue but at least I can see where Villeneuve was/is going with her character. Idk, I’m obviously not a director and certain choices have to be made about what will be included in the movie, I just think a lot of the heart and soul of a lot of the characters were essentially absent from what we have seen so far and the world is left feeling a bit hollow.
11
mattwb72 Apr 5, 2026 +6
Everything you say is true. It’s rare the movie has the depth of the book. Dune is nearly impossible. Just look at that 1984 attempt. I think Lynch really tried with those cringy voice overs., etc.
6
CrasVox Apr 5, 2026 +6
I'm with him on this
6
stakencake Apr 6, 2026 +1
I wanna see his list of favorites!!
1
ai_art_is_art Apr 5, 2026 -12
Am I the only person who found the lack of character building and world building to make the films an absolute snore? They feel like extended VFX trailers with no substance. Not drama with a human core. Just effects shot after effects shot. I love sci-fi, and Villeneuve's 2049 is one of my favorite films. But Dune is so not doing it for me. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is a far better science fiction film. It has real characters with real character arcs and pushes us in places that science fiction is supposed to. Dune is empty and soulless.
-12
Nouseriously Apr 5, 2026 +15
You didn't think DUNE has enough worldbuilding?
15
ai_art_is_art Apr 5, 2026 -8
No! I get "show, don't tell", but it's impossibly incoherent. None of the characters learn or grow. God knows what the f*** is actually happening. It's really awful. I feel like I'm listening to people talk about their MLM when they describe how wonderful the movies are. It doesn't make any sense. They're not good movies. Visual spectacles, yes, but stories full of drama and character development - hell no.
-8
PablosCocaineHippo Apr 5, 2026 +1
I really dont get it either. Watched Dune twice, but its just so boring. Didnt watch the 2nd one yet. And Arrival is my all time favorite movie. 2049, sicario, prisoners.. masterpieces. Idk what it is about Dune, i just cant see it
1
Sheriff_Is_A_Nearer Apr 5, 2026 +3
I f****** love the books and the movies however I can’t help but to agree/understand you. If I didn’t have all the background information from reading the books a bunch I would have missed a lot of stuff and not really understood things.
3
dillondally Apr 6, 2026 +1
God thank you for admitting this. People genuinely act like the movies don’t lose anything from the books
1
dillondally Apr 6, 2026 -2
I’m with you. Dune feels shallow and utterly without stakes. I couldn’t wait for every scene to end because every outcome feels super obvious. Chalamet wins the fight? WOW. He successfully rides the worm even though it’s “impossible”? WOW I think fans of the book series subconsciously fill in the obvious gaps that exist with the films and pretend they don’t exist. The only thing I like about dune is the visuals/sound. When people start talking about it like a masterpiece I throw up in my mouth a little. For me, dune 2 is about the same rank as the first transformers movie. The first dune is worse.
-2
Rare_Walk_4845 Apr 5, 2026 -7
Eh Dune was fine, felt like a movie that was servicing cinematography more than a believable world. But watching people disembark spacecraft for the umteenth time got tedious
-7
TrainingHumorModule Apr 5, 2026 +7
And Pride and Prejudice was just a bunch of people going to each other’s houses.
7
itafunnystory Apr 6, 2026 -4
It's not really a sci-fi movie, but ok
-4
relentlessmelt Apr 6, 2026 -5
He needs a CAT scan
-5
Living-Restaurant892 Apr 6, 2026 -7
I have never been able to watch any dune movie in full. I get bored and change it. 
-7
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