It felt so surreal to be able to watch a movie at the cinema after more than 18 months, let alone the IMAX. I had thought there wouldn’t be too many people in the cinema but it was actually quite full. There were empty seats between us all which were deliberately kept that way to maintain social distancing.

Dune. Wow. What can I say about it? I am so so glad I was able to see the movie in IMAX. It made all the difference. I can’t even imagine watching this movie on a small screen now. I remember back in the 80s when Dune had come out, and it created such a fan following. In all honesty, I am not a huge fan of that movie nor of the books, but boy oh boy, am I a fan now?!

Ok, first off, the movie Dune, is 155 minutes long…that’s 2 hours and 35 minutes. I had no idea about it. When it was about 90 minutes I was looking at my watch and realised this movie will go on for longer. Having said that, I didn’t really feel at any point that I am getting bored, or wishing the movie ended sooner.

The other thing is that this movie is just Part One, and it covers essentially just the first part of the book. So there will be a Part Two it.

Dune is a visually stunning movie. Even though it’s all desert-scapes, and at times reminded of the dunes from The English Patient, it’s incredible how they have managed to capture the dunes ever so beautifully, as well those pesky sandworms! In addition to this, the way they’ve designed the space ships, the cool dragonfly styled flying machines, the uniforms are all so creative and visually appealing.

So, what’s the story?

“It takes place in the distant future, in an intergalactic feudal society presided over by various noble families and one all-powerful emperor. Duke Leto Atreides, ruler of the ocean planet Caladan, accepts a relocation to the harsh desert planet of Arrakis – known colloquially as Dune – to oversee the mining of the all-important spice Melange, of which Arrakis is the only source. Melange is the most powerful substance in the universe, and the means by which space travel is possible. The spice must flow, but mining it is a dangerous business thanks to Arrakis’ massive indigenous sandworms.” (From Empire Online- since they could explain the plot in a much better way than I could!)

I will have to say that the acting from the entire cast has been a treat to watch. Timothee Chalet, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Issac play the son and the two parents. We have Zendaya (from the new Spiderman movies), Stellan Skarsgaard, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Javier Badrem among many other brilliant actors.

In short, I can say that I had a brilliant 2 ours 35 minutes and the end of the movie made me feel little impatient because we are now going to have to wait a long time for part two! Plus the joy of watching a movie in the cinema with an audience was a thrill in itself!

Seen at: IMAX Vox Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai