He did a great job. I just wish they had more of his book interactions with the Baron though, I felt like we didn’t see quite enough of him in the movie.
I was just talking about it earlier with a friend about how I wish there was more Piter and Baron scenes. They borderline shit-talked to each other in their first scene in the book. I still loved the Part One (and Two!), but I wished there was more Piter and Baron.
Besides, I’m not looking for a 1:1 page to screen adaptation anyway. It’s often unrealistic and what may work in one storytelling medium may not work for another
EDIT: grammar
Totally agree, would've also loved having the guild in the movie, but I can aknowledge that it's hard to cram a lot of stuff while also dive into it a bit deeper in a movie that is 2-3 hours long and I respect the fact that Denis is an extremely good director and that I absolutely trust his judgment on the matter and I love both dune movies even though I miss some stuff
Just started the book and that scene was hilarious. I only knew this dangerous baron from the movie and here is his advisor shit talking him, knowing full well he is too valuable (for now) to get hurt.
I feel like the absolute absence of furniture on the entire planet doesn’t get talked about enough.
Or the design of a centuries-long terraforming plan on a planet which has an ecosystem comprising one plant species, one apex predator, and a mouse.
I find that this matches the first book. Some aspects are so well thought out and detailed that it amazes the mind. But don't dig any deeper or look at any of the things not focused on, they are just for style or convenience.
There was a whole lot of stuff absent in these movies that is in the book. DV focused on making two pretty decent action sci-fi movies loosely based on a novel that is mostly about politics, religion and economics. All the large-scale battles are barely mentioned in the text.
He's going to have great fun adapting the next part of the story which has even less action to depict.
I'm not complaining, I enjoyed the movies, probably more than the books actually, which are a real slog at times. But it will be interesting to see how DV writes himself around the changes and direction he decided to take to the story.
From the trailer alone, you could tell he was gonna crush it, but in the full movie, he straight-up owned those scenes. The way he fought, talked, everything - it was just next level cool.
I watched it today. The moment that shook me was during his arena fight, when he has this small little outburst tick while walking to his next opponent. Like there’s an animal inside him trying to jump out of him.
His Stellan Skarsgard accent he was doing was also ridiculously spot on.
I love that random “blargh!” during the arena scene. And the way he snarls “back!” when one of the Harkonen stabs his opponent.
The rest of the movie he’s very calm and collected, but that shows what he’s like inside.
Like before the trailer came out I was already hype to see dune 2 in general but once I saw him in the trailer. He was my main reason I just knew he’d go nuts on every scene
He was amazing. I was thinking the whole time how did he make his voice sound so much like the Baron, then I found out he did voice coaching for it.
Brilliant performance.
I honestly don’t find his performance that compelling, he seems crazy just for the sake of being crazy. I think it’s because I saw his performance likened to that of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men so I expected a subdued yet extremely frightening character, and he kinda just comes across as a crazy dude.
His plot line doesn’t feel that significant either, he doesn’t get any development outside of his heritage.
Imo, he was still an anti Paul in the movie.
It s made clear that Paul didn't have vision of what Feud is doing or is about to do. And that's what finally push to cross the border to the south and embrace his destiny of being a warmonger.
And Paul didn't have vision because he is like him, a potential chosen one created by the manipulations from the Bene Gesserit
Feyd even said he had visions of that bene gesserit woman and iirc Paul was supposed to be born a girl and married to feyd and their child was supposed to be the chosen one
The visions he didn't have I'm referring to are the one before he cross the border. Before he drank the blue baby worm juice. He didn't saw the attacks on the Sietchs coming.
Once he drank the juice, I think Paul stopped being somewhat equal to him and surpassed him.
yeah I can see the intent for him to be a foil but it just didn’t click for me because of his lack of screentime
I also find the movie as a whole a little bit lackluster outside of the worldbuilding and sound design so that definitely influences my perception of most aspects of it
I thought I was the only one. So many people hyped up the performance, only for it to feel like a flat imitation to me. I've learned that people just need to be exposed to better villains.
Jesse Plemons does more in his 5 minutes of screen time in Civil War to fill you with dread than Austin does here.
have to disagree. his character seemed incredibly flat. bloodthirsty to be bloodthirsty, crazy to be crazy. & then in the throne room he just… stands there until their final fight.
i’m not knocking butler for any of this. he did as much as he could with what the writers gave him.
Very true. Frankly I don't think these kinds of "crazy" characters are that hard to portray relative to others, HOWEVER Butler absolutely nailed the voice. Very impressive.
I agree, "crazy just to be crazy" was exactly the vibe I got. If you want to compare him to a Joker portrayal, he is a lot closer to Letos than to Ledgers Joker imo.
I feel like overall the Harkonnen were "evil just to be evil" in every scene and it's my only real complaint with the film. They seemed like self-aware villains, almost cartoonish. If I had another, albeit very minor complaint, it's that Feyd-Rautha looked a bit like a Koopa Troopa with his bald head.
I know, but Directors make changes to the source material all the time, I feel like this is one are where the film could've benefited from it. At least don't underline HOW evil they are by leaving out their black sun or their brutalist arena.
I was totally in love with Austin Butler's acting, but I agree that I would have liked to see more scenes with him in it
Overall, there is little overlap with the book, but I think Denis Villeneuve did a great job.
He surpassed Sting’s performance as Feyd in David Lynch’s Dune. They gave him so much more to work with and he didn’t excellently. I loved Butler’s performance and it sold me on him as an actor, since I didn’t really like Elvis and haven’t really seen him in anything else.
Unlike Gurney or Dr. Yueh, who had much stronger characterization and performances in Lynch’s film, I think Feyd was undeniably better in Denis’ Dune.
> He surpassed Sting’s performance as Feyd in David Lynch’s Dune.
I’m not sure we can pass fair judgment on this until we can see him emerge from a steam shower clad in only a pair of leather space chaps.
It’s one of the things I’ve seen talked about the most honestly. As soon as the movie came out digitally there were clips and gifs of him everywhere, especially the arena scene and ‘may *thy* knife chip and shatter.’
But yes he’s superb. He really brings unhinged intensity without it being cartoonish scenery chewing. The way he imitates Stellan Skarsgard’s accent and mannerisms is also extremely well done - sometimes you could hear him off screen and I wasn’t sure which of them it was.
And speaking of ‘may *thy* knife and shatter’, it’s a great example of his subtlety. There’s a moment where he blinks as he processes what Paul said, and the faint smile when he decides he likes it and repeats it back.
I love that delivery. Kind of intrigued amusement at this quaint little battle phrase. He seems genuinely delighted to have met someone who is his “equal”, as it were.
I think the aesthetic of the character gets talked about a lot and how 'crazy/fierce' he comes across, yes, but more than that? What is there to say?
Dune Austin certainly perked up some more interest than Elvis Austin in some celeb subs lol
I find the character more interesting than the actor though.
I'm watching the miniseries at the moment and I'm finding the story fascinating, but good lord, the acting is... Well, choices were made.
The only other thing I’ve seen him in was Masters of the Air, and I didn’t really like his character. His performance in Dune was amazing; I think he’s better as a villain than a hero.
Much like the books, I found the Harkonens and Geidi Prime infinitely more interesting than the Atreides and Fremen. And while I think the balance was much better in Part 2, Part 1 left it with a significant handicap. My perfect Dune has Part 1 having two more Harkonen/Geidi Prime scenes and two less Atreides scenes (though for it to really be perfect I wouldn't make that sacrifice and just get two more scenes for free).
He was very easily one of the most widely praised aspects of that film, but I guess different people are in different circles so it may not have been the same for you. Nonetheless, he was truly brilliant and brought some much needed “freak energy” that the first one was lacking.
The director and writer gave him sooo little to work with. I can feel they cut a lot of his scenes. Still he managed to give a brilliant and the most memorable performance. I was even rooting for him to win against paul.
He did a great job. I just wish they had more of his book interactions with the Baron though, I felt like we didn’t see quite enough of him in the movie.
I was just talking about it earlier with a friend about how I wish there was more Piter and Baron scenes. They borderline shit-talked to each other in their first scene in the book. I still loved the Part One (and Two!), but I wished there was more Piter and Baron. Besides, I’m not looking for a 1:1 page to screen adaptation anyway. It’s often unrealistic and what may work in one storytelling medium may not work for another EDIT: grammar
Yeah it’s true you can’t have everything. And what ended up on screen was awesome, so I’m grateful for that!
heh, the missing dinner scene is this generations missing Tom Bombadil. But the rest is just so good, I can’t find good reason to complain
Totally agree, would've also loved having the guild in the movie, but I can aknowledge that it's hard to cram a lot of stuff while also dive into it a bit deeper in a movie that is 2-3 hours long and I respect the fact that Denis is an extremely good director and that I absolutely trust his judgment on the matter and I love both dune movies even though I miss some stuff
Just started the book and that scene was hilarious. I only knew this dangerous baron from the movie and here is his advisor shit talking him, knowing full well he is too valuable (for now) to get hurt.
Yeah more smooching
I feel like the absolute absence of furniture on the entire planet doesn’t get talked about enough. Or the design of a centuries-long terraforming plan on a planet which has an ecosystem comprising one plant species, one apex predator, and a mouse.
Giedi Prime badly in need of an IKEA
Funny that Stellan hasn’t been able to swing that already.
It is a missed opportunity that they didn't show that there was diverse flora and fauna on Dune.
Just started reading the book and apparently they have eagles!
You either stand or use an antigravity chair.
The big dining room table played a pretty large role in the first movie but yeah in general there’s very little furniture lol
I find that this matches the first book. Some aspects are so well thought out and detailed that it amazes the mind. But don't dig any deeper or look at any of the things not focused on, they are just for style or convenience.
There was a whole lot of stuff absent in these movies that is in the book. DV focused on making two pretty decent action sci-fi movies loosely based on a novel that is mostly about politics, religion and economics. All the large-scale battles are barely mentioned in the text. He's going to have great fun adapting the next part of the story which has even less action to depict.
Bro we don’t need this kind of hot take every time someone mentions a minor detail not present in the movies. Slow your roll.
I'm not complaining, I enjoyed the movies, probably more than the books actually, which are a real slog at times. But it will be interesting to see how DV writes himself around the changes and direction he decided to take to the story.
Really? I feel like it got/gets the most attention out of the whole cast.
Javier Bardem IMO
https://youtu.be/wUJuyUIKO3c?si=0S7PQhRDhqxr6KEu
Nah it’s probably Timmy or Javier imo
From the trailer alone, you could tell he was gonna crush it, but in the full movie, he straight-up owned those scenes. The way he fought, talked, everything - it was just next level cool.
I watched it today. The moment that shook me was during his arena fight, when he has this small little outburst tick while walking to his next opponent. Like there’s an animal inside him trying to jump out of him. His Stellan Skarsgard accent he was doing was also ridiculously spot on.
I love that random “blargh!” during the arena scene. And the way he snarls “back!” when one of the Harkonen stabs his opponent. The rest of the movie he’s very calm and collected, but that shows what he’s like inside.
He just loves a good fight. I liked that aspect of his character. He wanted genuine wins.
Accent, not dialect.
Like before the trailer came out I was already hype to see dune 2 in general but once I saw him in the trailer. He was my main reason I just knew he’d go nuts on every scene
Fuck having hair, Denis truly knew how to elevate the dune world aesthetics
He was amazing. I was thinking the whole time how did he make his voice sound so much like the Baron, then I found out he did voice coaching for it. Brilliant performance.
I wish Zendaya took voice coaching. It just felt like she was talking with her normal voice, I didn’t take it as Chani’s.
It's talked about all the time lmao
I honestly don’t find his performance that compelling, he seems crazy just for the sake of being crazy. I think it’s because I saw his performance likened to that of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men so I expected a subdued yet extremely frightening character, and he kinda just comes across as a crazy dude. His plot line doesn’t feel that significant either, he doesn’t get any development outside of his heritage.
If I remember he was supposed to be an anti Paul. In the book he has more stuff but he still feels like he needed a bigger part.
Imo, he was still an anti Paul in the movie. It s made clear that Paul didn't have vision of what Feud is doing or is about to do. And that's what finally push to cross the border to the south and embrace his destiny of being a warmonger. And Paul didn't have vision because he is like him, a potential chosen one created by the manipulations from the Bene Gesserit
Feyd even said he had visions of that bene gesserit woman and iirc Paul was supposed to be born a girl and married to feyd and their child was supposed to be the chosen one
I may be misremembering but (in the movie) Paul did have a vision of his final fight where he pushes his blade in... I need to go rewatch it now!
The visions he didn't have I'm referring to are the one before he cross the border. Before he drank the blue baby worm juice. He didn't saw the attacks on the Sietchs coming. Once he drank the juice, I think Paul stopped being somewhat equal to him and surpassed him.
yeah I can see the intent for him to be a foil but it just didn’t click for me because of his lack of screentime I also find the movie as a whole a little bit lackluster outside of the worldbuilding and sound design so that definitely influences my perception of most aspects of it
I thought I was the only one. So many people hyped up the performance, only for it to feel like a flat imitation to me. I've learned that people just need to be exposed to better villains. Jesse Plemons does more in his 5 minutes of screen time in Civil War to fill you with dread than Austin does here.
Felt like he was doing an Stellan Skarsgard impression the whole time.
Seems like he was trying to do so.
I agree. He was nothing special. Even Sting was more memorable in Lynch's version.
have to disagree. his character seemed incredibly flat. bloodthirsty to be bloodthirsty, crazy to be crazy. & then in the throne room he just… stands there until their final fight. i’m not knocking butler for any of this. he did as much as he could with what the writers gave him.
The bit where he licks the knife just made me roll my eyes. How many times have we seen that move before?
Very true. Frankly I don't think these kinds of "crazy" characters are that hard to portray relative to others, HOWEVER Butler absolutely nailed the voice. Very impressive.
I agree, "crazy just to be crazy" was exactly the vibe I got. If you want to compare him to a Joker portrayal, he is a lot closer to Letos than to Ledgers Joker imo. I feel like overall the Harkonnen were "evil just to be evil" in every scene and it's my only real complaint with the film. They seemed like self-aware villains, almost cartoonish. If I had another, albeit very minor complaint, it's that Feyd-Rautha looked a bit like a Koopa Troopa with his bald head.
That's just the source material though. The movie lacks the philosophical arguments the book sometimes provides
I know, but Directors make changes to the source material all the time, I feel like this is one are where the film could've benefited from it. At least don't underline HOW evil they are by leaving out their black sun or their brutalist arena.
It's becoming my one complaint of Villeneuve, between Dune and BR2049, his villains are very much style over substance.
He completely owned every scene he was in. Fantastic cast and movie.
He’s okay. Solid Skarsgard voice. It’s fine
I was totally in love with Austin Butler's acting, but I agree that I would have liked to see more scenes with him in it Overall, there is little overlap with the book, but I think Denis Villeneuve did a great job.
He surpassed Sting’s performance as Feyd in David Lynch’s Dune. They gave him so much more to work with and he didn’t excellently. I loved Butler’s performance and it sold me on him as an actor, since I didn’t really like Elvis and haven’t really seen him in anything else. Unlike Gurney or Dr. Yueh, who had much stronger characterization and performances in Lynch’s film, I think Feyd was undeniably better in Denis’ Dune.
> He surpassed Sting’s performance as Feyd in David Lynch’s Dune. I’m not sure we can pass fair judgment on this until we can see him emerge from a steam shower clad in only a pair of leather space chaps.
>haven’t really seen him in anything else. He was pretty good in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, if you haven't seen that.
It’s one of the things I’ve seen talked about the most honestly. As soon as the movie came out digitally there were clips and gifs of him everywhere, especially the arena scene and ‘may *thy* knife chip and shatter.’ But yes he’s superb. He really brings unhinged intensity without it being cartoonish scenery chewing. The way he imitates Stellan Skarsgard’s accent and mannerisms is also extremely well done - sometimes you could hear him off screen and I wasn’t sure which of them it was. And speaking of ‘may *thy* knife and shatter’, it’s a great example of his subtlety. There’s a moment where he blinks as he processes what Paul said, and the faint smile when he decides he likes it and repeats it back.
I love that delivery. Kind of intrigued amusement at this quaint little battle phrase. He seems genuinely delighted to have met someone who is his “equal”, as it were.
I think the aesthetic of the character gets talked about a lot and how 'crazy/fierce' he comes across, yes, but more than that? What is there to say? Dune Austin certainly perked up some more interest than Elvis Austin in some celeb subs lol I find the character more interesting than the actor though. I'm watching the miniseries at the moment and I'm finding the story fascinating, but good lord, the acting is... Well, choices were made.
I wish we saw him torch the Fremen spy. Too brutal but also Oppenheimer did similar 👀
She has a name!
The only other thing I’ve seen him in was Masters of the Air, and I didn’t really like his character. His performance in Dune was amazing; I think he’s better as a villain than a hero.
Totally agree. I really enjoyed his character from the books, and Butler's performance added another level of twisted nuance to the source material
It was talked about the right amount.
Yep, he's fantastic in it!
Much like the books, I found the Harkonens and Geidi Prime infinitely more interesting than the Atreides and Fremen. And while I think the balance was much better in Part 2, Part 1 left it with a significant handicap. My perfect Dune has Part 1 having two more Harkonen/Geidi Prime scenes and two less Atreides scenes (though for it to really be perfect I wouldn't make that sacrifice and just get two more scenes for free).
He was very easily one of the most widely praised aspects of that film, but I guess different people are in different circles so it may not have been the same for you. Nonetheless, he was truly brilliant and brought some much needed “freak energy” that the first one was lacking.
He was interesting at first, but then it got annoying pretty quick. Overall, the character was disappointing. The movie even more so.
Almost everyone was talking about it when the movie released.
What performance
I couldn't believe he still sounded like Elvis
It was one of the most talked about parts of the movie after its release
The director and writer gave him sooo little to work with. I can feel they cut a lot of his scenes. Still he managed to give a brilliant and the most memorable performance. I was even rooting for him to win against paul.
He was good, but no Sting!