Dune: Part One
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: October 22, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 68 Critic Reviews
Positive:
54
Mixed:
13
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
UproxxVince ManciniNov 3, 2021
It’s an immersive, transporting, intriguing, fully-realized world that we can enjoy spending time in without rating against our ideas of which characters should “win” in that world. I don’t know how this story plays out but for now I’m content to bask in the spice glow. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 20, 2021
Villeneuve is superb at juxtaposing the colossal spectacle with the intimate encroachment of danger and a mysterious dramatic language that exalts the alienness of every texture and surface. Read full review
100
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenOct 14, 2021
It’s remarkable. Read full review
100
The IndependentClarisse LoughreySep 29, 2021
It is a film of such literal and emotional largeness that it overwhelms the senses. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinSep 3, 2021
Denis Villeneuve's new adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel – starring Timothée Chalamet – is an awe-inspiring piece of work. Read full review
100
Total FilmJames MottramSep 3, 2021
An astounding spectacle, vast in scale and ambition. Prepare to have your breath snatched away. Read full review
100
EmpireBen TravisSep 3, 2021
An absorbing, awe-inspiringly huge adaptation of (half of) Frank Herbert’s novel that will wow existing acolytes, and get newcomers hooked on its Spice-fuelled visions. If Part Two never happens, it’ll be a travesty. Read full review
100
The GuardianXan BrooksSep 3, 2021
Denis Villenueve’s slow-burn space opera fuses the arthouse and the multiplex to create an epic of otherworldly brilliance. Read full review
90
VoxAlissa WilkinsonDec 13, 2021
The film moves slowly at times, and that’s entirely on purpose. Cinema is primarily a visual medium, and Dune provides a terrific opportunity to lean in and experience what that really means. Read full review
90
ScreenCrushMatt SingerOct 21, 2021
To my amazement, and to Villeneuve’s credit, this new Dune is totally clear in its premise, politics, and operatic sci-fi story. It’s also filled with the sort of epic grandeur of vision that Dune fans always insist makes the original text special. Read full review
90
The AtlanticDavid SimsOct 20, 2021
Ferguson is the star of the show, imperious one moment and fragile the next, torn between nurturing her son’s purpose and protecting him from becoming a monster. Read full review
90
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 3, 2021
This Dune dwarfs most contemporary sci-fi in its scope and execution, ably juggling multiple characters and settings so that it matches the sprawling drama of the original tome. Read full review
90
SlashfilmMarshall ShafferSep 3, 2021
Audiences deserve to see the conclusion of an action film so immaculately crafted and patiently paced, one that's more focused on inspiring reverent amazement through the simplicity of durable storytelling structures rather than the complexity of cinematic universe building. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerOct 20, 2021
If Villeneuve's grand and epic take evokes any earlier cinematic vision of Dune, it would be the first failed take, which would have seen director David Lean and writer Robert Bolt cross similar wastelands as they did in Lawrence of Arabia. Read full review
88
ABC NewsPeter TraversOct 22, 2021
Denis Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbert’s dauntingly complex novel can sputter and flirt with incoherence, but the director and his actors, led by an all-in Timothée Chalamet, find the pow and the poetry in this cornucopia of visual astonishments. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 20, 2021
For what we get, Dune: Part One is a great ride. Read full review
88
The Associated PressJake CoyleOct 20, 2021
With an immense sense of scale ranging from mosquito to (Jason) Momoa, Dune renders an age-old tale of palace intrigue and indigenous struggle in exaggerated cosmic contours. Like any drift of sand, Dune feels sculpted by elemental, primal forces. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerSep 9, 2021
Denis Villeneuve’s new Dune is a breathtaking film worthy of the visionary Herbert’s rich, sophisticated source material. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennySep 3, 2021
I’ll always love Lynch’s “Dune,” a severely compromised dream-work that (not surprising given Lynch’s own inclination) had little use for Herbert’s messaging. But Villeneuve’s movie IS “Dune.” Read full review
85
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 19, 2021
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is, at its best moments, pure and gigantic cinematic madness. Read full review
83
Original-CinJim SlotekOct 19, 2021
This might be a Dune that could even be appreciated by someone unfamiliar with Dune. Read full review
83
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezSep 3, 2021
Those who find Villeneuve to be a self-serious, humorless, and pretentious bore likely won’t be changing their minds anytime soon after “Dune,” but that just might be their loss. Whether Warner Bros. accepts the call to make a sequel in a climate of dismal box-office returns remains to be seen. But that’s not our concern at the moment; Dune is undeniably impressive, spellbinding, and evocatively immense, regardless. Read full review
80
NMEAlex FloodFeb 14, 2023
Denis Villeneuve’s new reboot thankfully ditches the silly, but it does take itself extremely seriously. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellOct 24, 2021
Grander in scope than any of Villeneuve’s work yet, Dune is proper, ambitious blockbuster filmmaking for grown-ups. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeOct 24, 2021
Right now, Villeneuve is riding the sinewy worm of Herbert’s sacred text with aplomb. Read full review
80
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsOct 22, 2021
The important scenes are allowed to play out in a way that allows for a slower, more satisfying reveal of character motivation, as well as adding necessary ballast to the emotional foundations for later in the saga. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAlan NgOct 20, 2021
Denis Villeneuve delivers on the big epic space story we’ve been waiting for and comes through in unique and unexpected ways. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 20, 2021
The designs and textures of the movie’s various worlds and their inhabitants are arresting, filigreed and meaningful, with characters and their environments in sync. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellOct 20, 2021
Dune might not be for everyone; but if you strap in, immerse yourself in the world and go along for the ride, Denis Villenueve delivers a blockbuster sci-fi epic that's regularly jaw-dropping. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenSep 7, 2021
[Villeneuve] has nailed it where, in different ways David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowksy and Ridley Scott all floundered. His Dune is sprawling, spectacular and politically resonant in its critique of colonialism and exploitation. Read full review
80
BBCNicholas BarberSep 3, 2021
A film with this scope and richness is a splendid achievement, but it's easier to admire than to love. There is some humanity in there somewhere: at heart it's a coming-of-age story about a boy becoming tougher and more cynical on his way to becoming a leader. But will anyone care about the shallow, po-faced characters? They've got exotic names and elaborate costumes, but none of them has much warmth or personality compared to those in a certain other space opera which I won't mention. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 3, 2021
To call this Dune a remarkably lucid work is to praise it with very faint damnation. Perhaps reluctant to alienate the novices in the audience, Villeneuve has ironed out many of the novel’s convolutions, to the likely benefit of comprehension but at the expense of some rich, imaginative excess. Read full review
79
CNETRichard TrenholmOct 8, 2021
Dune is a tour de force of cinematic sci-fi, a star-studded yet deeply weird fantasy epic, a thoughtful and thrilling movie experience... And then it stops right in the middle. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 20, 2021
If you’re at all interested in what a reliably compelling, stubbornly solemn commercial filmmaker can do with money, imagination and no little nerve, Dune is epic enough — even if there’s a wee hole in the middle, where a more compelling protagonist belongs. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 18, 2021
There’s a lot going on here — a quasi-biblical space opera, part Lawrence of Arabia and part mobster movie — and spreading it out over two movies has allowed [Villaneuve] to take his time with the story and tell it richly, and without rushing Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 18, 2021
However inconclusive as a story, the resulting film is a rarity among the overlong effects-heavy blockbusters of the last decade: One actually wishes it didn’t have to end so soon. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenOct 15, 2021
There’s a tactile quality to the film—the way softly glowing lamps float alongside characters in dark hallways or fabrics drape around them and flicker violently in the wind—that makes everything feel simultaneously graspable and out of this world. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 15, 2021
The jaw-dropping visuals and pulse-pounding sound editing in Dennis Villeneuve’s stunningly gorgeous Dune are so awesome it makes up for the slow-moving and quite familiar storyline, which is basically the New Testament meets Mad Max meets Star Wars. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 14, 2021
The movie’s length is, at times, a challenge, but Dune is so original and contains so many strong scenes that the length mostly isn’t a problem. Read full review
75
TheWrapSteve PondSep 4, 2021
Villeneuve’s Dune is both dazzling and frustrating, often spectacular and often slow. It’s huge and loud and impressive but it can also be humorless and bleak – though on the whole, it tries valiantly to address the problems of taking on Herbert’s complex epic. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 3, 2021
The sheer awesomeness of Villeneuve's execution — there might not be another film this year, or ever, that turns one character asking another for a glass of water into a kind of walloping psychedelic performance art — often obscures the fact that the plot is mostly prologue: a sprawling origin story with no fixed beginning or end. Read full review
72
Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganOct 8, 2021
Though it remains true to the first part of the text’s unhurried pace and detailed world building, Villeneuve’s adaptation feels overlong and void of subtext. Read full review
70
PolygonRoxana HadadiOct 29, 2021
Villeneuve has spent his career merging intellectual and philosophical queries with striking otherworldly images, but that duality is frustratingly imbalanced in his vision for Dune. The visuals are mesmerizing, but the world-building is flat. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsOct 20, 2021
It takes seriously the challenge of adapting a seemingly unadaptable novel, and keeping all its big-picture implications in full view. It earns its distinction as a faithful adaptation — and proves a satisfying movie, too. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 18, 2021
Again, 155 minutes is a lot of time for throat clearing, but by the time the film is done Villeneuve is hitting his stride. He has created a complex, intriguing world. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreSep 12, 2021
Being the hero of the story has never looked so poisoned, and that alone is thrilling enough to hope Villeneuve gets to make part two of this impressively batshit venture. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekSep 5, 2021
Villeneuve lays it out before us without smirking or winking; his go-for-broke earnestness feels honest and clean. And the effects, while lavish, also have a tasteful, polished quality. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanSep 3, 2021
Dune is out to wow us, and sometimes succeeds, but it also wants to get under your skin like a hypnotically toxic mosquito. It does…until it doesn’t. Read full review
70
IGNScott ColluraSep 3, 2021
Dune is a gorgeous but imperfect epic, a technical wonder that spends too much time setting up a third act that never comes. Read full review
65
CNNBrian LowryOct 20, 2021
"Part One" represents an admirable effort to do the material justice. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottOct 26, 2021
While Villeneuve’s film boasts a certain trippiness, for the most part it lacks any sense of joy, adventure or fun. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 12, 2021
There’s a trick to making first-film-in-a-franchise films, and while the sweep of this one is every bit the eye candy fans could hope for, Villeneuve, the screenwriters and I must add composer Zimmer don’t so much stick the landing as let their picture peter out. Read full review
63
ObserverSiddhant AdlakhaOct 9, 2021
The film itself is mostly fine, with breathtaking visuals broken up by a less captivating story that often drags its feet (despite several great performances). But its place within Western traditions—both real and imagined—is strange, unsavory, and fascinating. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittSep 3, 2021
The sci-fi epic Dune boasts a few films’ worth of giant sandworms, amazing spaceships, cosmic armies and galactic political drama, though it essentially is only half a movie. Read full review
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