I watched most of the first episode of Dune: Prophecy. (It was getting late and I was tired. I will finish tonight.) Just two thoughts today.
One is that all these worldbuilding shows now exist in the shadow of Game of Thrones. And none of them seem to be as immersive and compelling for the simplest of reasons: Game of Thrones had the characters’ personal motivations dialed up to 11. Familial angst, jealousy, unrequited love, vengeance—it was super simple to understand what drove a multitude of characters, which combined with the medieval backdrop (all the killing and brutality) made it so hyperreal. The characters were so stark (no pun intended) and archetypally human, despite all the dragons and walkers and fantasy malarkey.
The other thought about Prophecy is that experiencing a TV Dune—which is pretty lavishly produced—shows how truly masterful Villeneuve’s movies are. Villeneuve has such incredible restraint and superior taste in every movement and every frame. He has so much discipline not to fill the screen with eye candy. Take away some of the time and the money—and that auteur’s vision—and you get shinier, cheaper VFX, busier sets and that kind of Star Trek look. It’s good, but there is inevitably the sense that we’ve seen all this before.
Comments