CoD Reviews

[Gobalopper]

This thread is only for detailed fan reviews of the miniseries. Any posts that are not reviews will be removed.

Do not post a review unless you have seen the entire miniseries.

Members can just reply to this thread and if you don't have an account there is a guest review page where you can send out your thoughts.

[Moose212]

I thought COD was awesome. I'm only half way through Dune Messiah but from what I could tell the mini series was a very close adaptation to the book. I was sort of lost at the end of the mini series though. What purpose did it serve for Leto to become Shai Hulud? The movie didn't seem to explain this very well. Or maybe I'm missing something. My favorite part had to be the scene where Chani was giving birth and at the same time they were killing the guildsman, Korba, and the reverend mother. The scene was very well written and put together and the music made the scene. I give COD 9 out of 10. :)

[quoudam72]

I enjoyed CoD although I did not like the over all visual feel to the mini-series and a certain level of mellow dramatics. The story was close to the novels (Children of Dune and Dune Messiah), with that in mind could we see each novel getting it's own mini-series? I ask that question because for people not familiar with the Duniverse leaving Leto II morphing into the collective of Shai-Hulud with the pre-sandtrout exo-suit leaves more questions that only reading the remaining 3 novles could answer. If not try coming to the Duniverse forums. ;)

[Guest nightrunner]

I thought that CoD rocked. It was simply amazing in the fact that it paralleled the books very closly. The soundtrack was spectacular and it left me with a feeling of need for the next in the series. I think that SciFi made a major accomplishment with CoD and that Alec Newman was amazing in the way he portrayed Paul-Muab'Dib, both before he was blinded and after when he was the prophet speaking against Muab'Dib's word. Again, glorious can effectively sum ip CoD in one word.

[MrPsycho]

I loved the movie. SciFi channel has done a superb job this time around. I agree with one of the previous reviews that commented on the overall visual feel. I thought it looked better without all the green lighting, but still something did feel a little off. The acting was nicely done. However I missed the actor who play Stilgar, and the actor who played Gurney. Even though Alice Krige is an excellent actress, I felt she didn't quite fit the part, and played the role without the emotion of her previous counterpart. The music was fantastic; I'll be purchasing the soundtrack. I have to say one of my favorite parts was the scene mentioned above with the birth of the twins, and the death scenes. The music really spoke all the words in the half a dozen chapters they blazed through in those 2 minutes. Above all, my biggest gripe was the way the SciFi channel handled the presentation. Since I'm in MST, I had to watch each segment from 10 to 12, every night, for 3 nights(mostly I'd rewatch the one from 8 to 10 as well). This made me exhausted, but I watched it anyways to support the ratings. Also, the commercials were literally over 10 minutes long; this significantly broke my train of thought and ruined the continuity. I'd love to watch a version all in one sitting, without commercials. I hope the SciFi channel goes on to finish the series, and I also hope they don't come out with a terrible weekly Dune sitcom. Overall an excellent presentation, with few actual gripes in the film. ;)

[keithmcm]

I rather enjoyed the SciFi miniseries. The overall look of the program was good, it didn't look cheap in the way something made for basic cable can. There is the telethon aspect of the commercial breaks, but actually it wasn't that bad. I've watched basic cable programs where the breaks were so long I forgot what I was watching. I thought the acting was a little stilted, but actually thats in keeping with Herbert's epic sweep and the fact that character development isn't really his strong suit. Overall I'd give the program a solid B and do await the continuation of the series. I must be one of the few who thought that the bombastic mess David Lynch made captured the spirit of the novels rather well. SciFi's is a lot more reverential and straightforward, but well worth watching in a television universe where court shows and Dr Phil pass as entertainment. Plus there were some NBA games to watch during the commercials.

[Mahdi]

Note: I believe a film should be reviewed on its own merits, and the source material should have no barring on it, so that is how I am going to review this film. I also watched it in 50 minute sections over a week, instead of the way it was intended to be seen.

Children of Dune was technically perfect. The directing, sets, costumes, acting, writing, everything was just fantastic. The homages to the past miniseries, such as Leto telling Ghani she has need need of that blade with him (and pronouncing her name so it sounded like "Gurney") and Alias final moments, recreating her first moments, were fantastic. Little elements of continuity like that really increased my enjoyment of this film. Only a few times was I disapointed with anything, once in awhile the acting (Amavia, Atterton, and Berkof) seemed a bit sub-par, although on the whole it was good, and Berkof really nailed the half-tamed savage

that Stilgar is. "Summon the worms" was jsut horrible, though. Atterton, well, he didn't have much screen time, and other than a few early scenes in part 2, he really didn't do much.

While it was technically perfect, as I stated above, it was emotionally kinda flat. Especially Dune Messiah. I just didn't feel anything for the film until the godfather montage. I think part of that is because of Tylers soundtrack. While it fit perfectly with the slightly more adventurous tone of Children of Dune, it really didn't work for Dune Messiah, which is a tragedy.

Highlights of the mini: Alec Newman and James McAvoy's performance. Newman was a fantastic Muad'dib in Dune (his Paul was more the fault of Harrison than him) and he continues his excellent understanding of the character into this mini. McAvoy's Leto is also fantastic, and it is easy to see how this slight, quiet boy could become such a powerful force. I was worried about him during his short scenes in Messiah, but he more than proved himself. And Yaitanes. Fantastic direction. Jsut amazing. His switch from the tragedy of Messiah to the more adventurous Children was perfect.

My only wish is that they had another 4 hours to play with: 2 more for Messiah and 2 more for children. Messiah seemed very rushed, and Children, while not feelign rushed at all, could have used a bit more time. If I hadn't been familiar ith the novels, I would've had no idea what was happening to Leto.

I realize how awful this review is, and will undoubtable re-write it soon, so don't worry. I jsut finished watching it, and wanted to get some thoughts down as quickly as possible.

[Guest Chani2000]

I enjoyed COD miniseries, though it seemed rather boring in the middle. Unfortunately I haven't read the novels yet, so I can't say anything concerning the plot, but I'm sure the script-writers did their best. Special FX are very good - for a TV product. So's the entire atmosphere. I think the designers did a terrific job.COD leaves a goos impression. It doesn't cause you to ask as many questions as "Dune". & I think Paul's part is somewhat deeper there, & this time Alec Newman was really cool.