Dune "Sets a New Standard"

Gizmodo has the first review I've seen of Villeneuve's Dune and ... yes, it sounds like it is as good as we all hoped.

What could happen in the future isn’t something you can think about when critiquing a movie though. There’s this movie, this story, and if it doesn’t work on its own, that would problem. It’s not a problem here. This Dune, by itself, even if we never get another movie, sets a new standard for modern sci-fi epics. Villeneuve’s attention to detail in design, combined with his expansive vision of multiple worlds, conveys a reverence and respect for the material that makes the film feel even more majestic than it already is (and it’s pretty damn majestic). It would be a travesty if we never got to see the second part of this story, but Part One has satisfying narrative threads with a logical endgame that leaves you wanting more. The set pieces, while sporadic, are exciting and the movie presents such a fantastic, robust sci-fi world, you could watch it a million times and find something new with each viewing. And yet, that dense, complex world exists solely to enhance a personal, relatable, emotional story. A story of a world where a boy grows to be a man with all sorts of unfathomable expectations—expectations this movie probably has on it too. But don’t worry, Dune is awesome in every sense of the word, and it’ll be a movie fans cherish for years to come.

The review is spoiler-free - not that it matters with this one - I can't imagine any reader of this blog hasn't read the book or seen the other adaptations.

I have been wishing for a very long time for a movie adaptation of one of the SF classics that lived up to the full potential of both the original work and modern film technology. Probably the best example in film so far is the Lord of the Rings trilogy (with The Expanse for a long series adaptation). Perhaps Dune will become the new standard.