Rating: 
Summary: What an adorable cartoon mouse!!!!
Review: In the very first sentence of Frank Herbert's novel, the author establishes a connection to the roots of greek tragedy, and all that comes with it. These were stories of kings and gods, and the sacrifices required of them were on a universal scale, their actions affecting everyone within the great chain of being. Over the next several hundred pages, Herbert created what is easily one of the most complex works of fiction in the last fifty years. Alligories for OPEC and native americans, free will, messiahs, and the trappings of fate and prophecy are all included and woven together in an elegant narritive style.
But this isn't the book.
And it really isn't fair to compare it to the book, and I was really prepared to cut the film a whole lot of slack. But it really really comes down, to casting, I think in this film. I'm not going to tell you the directing is good, far from it. It is marginal at best. But the casting of actors THIS bad really caught me off guard. It's like they decided to give jobs to all the people who auditioned for 90210 and Babylon 5, but didn't make the cut.
Actually, two of them, Saskia Reeves as Lady Jessica and most notably Julie Cox as Irulan come off quite nicely. But to move on to the center of the story, Alec Newman as Paul Muad'Dib, I have to think very very hard where to start. I read the director thought it necessary to age Paul a few years so that he could find an actor who could actually portray all that the character goes through and eventually becomes. It is now obvious to me that he was lying, the only excuses I can think of for casting Alec Newman would be unrequited love or a large Mafia debt. Newman does get worse as he goes along, while being often upstaged by his own jawline. Watch him raise the pitch of his voice whenever he is trying to act messianic. Excruciating. He also spends a lot more time greasy and shirtless than I though anyone could justify on a desert planet, no matter how many times he's wrestling another greasy shirtless guy. My favorite greasy shirtless moment is him meditating on a sand dune (in virasana; get it? vira=sandscrit for hero? yeah, the film's not that clever) wearing curiously tight black leather pants.
And speaking of greasy and shirtless (although he also comes with a mysterious triangle backpack) is Waiting for Guffman's Matt Keeslar, who now more than ever proves that all Julliard really guaranties is a dimpled chin and a New York agent.
Ok. Yes, I'm just being cruel at this point. Let me finish up by saying that P.J. Moriarty gives a performace as Gurney Halleck that makes everyone everywhere look bad.
The worst thing about my writing this review, is that I'm not wrong. In the end I can't find much to say positive about it. Harrison is not a great talent when it comes to directing, and I'll try to leave it at that. It's almost as if he deliberately avoided the aspects that worked in Lynch's version, which just highlights things that are missing from this one.
Greek Tragedy it is not, nor should it be. It should be much more than any one thing, like any good work of art. What it comes down to, in the end, is this not a work of art. It is nothing more than a TV movie. The source material demands a sweeping, operatic interpretation that rises to the challege, and that may be something the scifi channel may not have the funding to provide.
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful.
Review: "Diehard" sci-fi fans will always inevitably make a comparison to the original dune book by Frank Herbert. The book spans some three hundred something pages, and to fit the intricacies of a novel of this length and detail into a mini-series is impossible; the comparison between the tv mini-series and the book, even, is a pointless one. With each transfer to a different medium, you lose details and you gain others, since each medium has its unique idiosyncrasies. Therefore, it seems to me a mistake to judge the mini-series or even the movie in comparison to the book, and makes even more sense to judge it independently within the context of each medium. If any comparison can be made is that this mini-series adequately preserves the human element and its metaphoric parallel relevance to our own time of environmental degradation, political intrigue and corruption, lifestyle dependence on finite natural resources, and spirituality as the original book intended. Some might even consider it "injustice" to the book, that some details of fremen rituals or political "feints within feints within feints within feints" were excluded. I might even suggest that for the medium, and the time allowed, these scenes, although relevant, are not necessarily needed. The directors of the mini-series have done a wonderful job adapting the book to the screen. If you judge this series for what it is, and not how exacting it fits into the book, you will derive much more enjoyment and meaning from herbert's intentions, than if you nitpick. :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Tried too hard
Review: It was too bright, too preppy, and reminds me of today’s Saturday morning cartoons. The dialog is horrible, they even mispronounce Harkonnen, and what the hell is with the costumes? They call the Spice melange simply the “Spice,” nothing else and they do a horrible job explaining it. The orinthoptors don’t flap their wings, (an orinthoptor is a aircraft that flies exactly like a bird) The shield fighting scene in the first part was god awful, The worse scene in the mini series is with the hunter seeker, the moment Paul spoke the seeker would of buried itself in his forehead. ...99 percent of actors in this show are British TV actors that no one has ever heard of! Alec Newmen portray of Paul was horrid, if he talk like to his mother in the book he would have been slapped! Dr. Yeuh has almost no say in this movie, (Like Sting in the David Lynch movie). The only good thing that was done in this movie was character development of the Baron (showing that he was gay) and the action sequences (the only problem with those what they failed to show how freman use missile launchers to take out carry-alls and the harvesters) If I was ever give a chance to do this film (not bloody likely) Use original costumes, original worm design, better acting, better performers, and taken more time to do things.
Rating: 
Summary: someone please apologize to Frank Herbert's family
Review: I read the Dune series a number of times and feel that i have a fairly good grasp of the philosophies and environment that Herbert so masterfully created. A tale of religon, power and corruption on a grand scale and at the same time a very human story detailing one mans journey from childhood to adulthood to martyrdom. This mini-series is none of those things. The Lnych movie was an awful piece of garbage (Sting's portrayl of Feyd was the only good thing about it). The series attempts to be more faithful to the story and generally it is. But in it's attempt to tell the original story better they forget to get anything right. The role of Jessica was embarassing, she was a subservient housewife, when she should have been a prime shaper of the story. Paul's trnsformation from privileged rich boy to desert prophet was completely missed. And the Gurney and Stilgar roles were pathetic and without any energy. please do not waste you hard earned cash on this garbage
Rating: 
Summary: A Comprehensible Version of the Classic
Review: I am pleased to own this new version of Dune ! For all those who did not enjoy the dark, brooding, depressing Original, this movie is for you ! Don't pass it by, because of your feelings about the first version of Dune. I avoided watching this, for quite some time--not willing to give 4 hours to a remake of the first "Dune." However, I finally gave it a chance and I was very impressed! I saw the original at the movie theater, when it opened, and I watched the original again a few years ago--but, this New version is Much More Comprehensible (!!!) and flows very well. It is not so herky-jerky and doesn't have the spliced-together feel of the first movie, which just seemed like it was chopped-up and glued-together. No more dark atmosphere, either and the clothing seems more appropriate. The scenes are Wonderful and the Character Development is believable. No flat acting in this film ! This version of Dune will suck you in and keep your attention for hours. The special effects are fascinating, but not over-done. It's all-about the Story & you get a lot more of the Story, with this new version of "Dune." This version gives a Deeper look into the life and development of the main character. His evolution from spoiled rich kid into messiah is more believable and much-more TIME is given to his personal journey and progress amongst the natives. I was very impressed with this film. There are many Classic scenes, in the old film--esp., due to Sting's performance...so, buy both of them !
Rating:
Summary: How could they have gotten it SO WRONG
Review: The book was about the characters. This mini-series didn't give any insight into the characters as Frank Herbert wrote them...What character development there was, was completely wrong. If you read and loved the book, don't bother with this, it will bore you to tears. At least the movie version was fun to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely well done.
Review: I actually saw this movie before I read the book (I know, I know, 25 year old sci-fi buff and I had never read it!?). I thought it was so incredible that I ran out and bought all the Dune books. Dune is an extremely complex story and I feel that all aspects of this movie were very well done. So as to not be long winded, I will breifly touch on a few things. First, the acting. Wonderful. Incredible. Most notable was the actor that played Paul. Obviously, as the center of the story, the character is extremely important and the most impressive thing about the performance is the way the character evolves and develops from the beginning to the end. You really see a change. I thought the effects were incredible (the glowing blue eyes were great!) and the sandworms were really spectacular. The sets and costumes were very intricate and extremely well thought out. All in all, I highly recommend it and can't wait for the Sci-Fi channel's followup, "Children of Dune."
Rating:
Summary: Uneven but true to the story it is telling
Review: Finally, someone has made a Dune movie that is long enough to trully tell Frank Hebert's classic sci-fi epic. This is a nearly four hour long marathon of a mini-series that goes through the entire Dune story missing little, and managing to aviod plot sidetracks that tend to destroy these kinds of projects (why directors and screen writers think they can change a story to make it better than any bestselling classic is beyond my comprehension). The acting while not spectacular is still solid. They managed to get some experianced stage actors to accompany William Hurt. The fighting is setup and executed much better than the last Hollywood version of this movie. The worst problem was the fact that the special effects were uneven. The first hour of the movie looked like a big budget type picture. Unfortanlly they seemed to run out of money one-third of the way through, after that all of the static diologe scenes had backgrounds that looked like badly painted canvas, not a desert.
Rating:
Summary: A Sweeping, Enthralling Sci-Fantasy Epic...
Review: I have never read Frank Herbert's novels, and so therefore I can only review this adaptation based on its merits as a film - or, to be more accurate, as a made-for-television film. This considered, I think that Frank Herbert's Dune is a triumphant success that manages to outdo the David Lynch offering from the early 80s in almost every possible way. It is clear that Lynch tried to fit a vast narrative into a two hour feature, and that the pacing suffered as a direct result of it. Thus the miniseries format (in which this first premiered on Sci-Fi) has a definite edge over its predecessor. The tale is finally given the canvas that it deserves (and the modern technology as well). Dune is full of intrigues and bitter rivalries, and all of the actors involved in this project are superb. The set designs are amazing and probably set new standards, and the visuals are far preferable to those seen in the 80s version (as can be expected, of course). And yet none of the production values serve to conceal the true star of the picture - the story. And the story is most certainly a winner. Frank Herbert's Dune is certainly the best made-for-television picture to come forth in quite some time (next to Attila in its quality). As a result, grading on a made-for-television curve, Dune earns its 5 stars, and even were it a theatrical motion picture I would have no reluctance to offer 4...
Rating:
Summary: Dune Almost Revisited
Review: The new Dune mini-series is a prettier version of Herbert's epic, but is not a patch on Lynch's 1984 version. It lacks the sheer menace of Lynch's film - it is, after all, the tale of a life and death struggle - and takes distorting liberties with Herbert's text. Paul, for example, is portrayed as a sulky, rebellious youth rather than as the dutiful,conscientious and loving son of Duke Leto. The sympathetic relationship between Paul and Irulan is not in the book. William Hurt is wooden and impassive as Duke Leto, and lacks the charisma necessary to be the potent leader of a great House. While it is true that Lynch's film is incomprehensible unless the viewer has read Herbert's novel, it is a far more faithful translation of Herbert's story into film than the mini-series. If you enjoyed Herbert's book - and I think it is one of the great science fiction novels - than you will be annoyed by the mini-series' departures from the text. The film for all its faults, is still gripping viewing and conveys the classic tension between the forces of good and evil more convincingly than the almost languid mini-series. To be fair, the mini-series does have some positive features. However, beautifully designed sets and costumes, and realistic computer generated technology are no substitute for engaging characterisation and enthralling plot. I wouldn't discourage anyone from viewing the new "Dune" mini-series. But I do warn: be prepared to be disappointed.
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