[lsjvjn]

The biggest problem with the 1984 Dune is that the film becomes overburdened with clunky exposition. I think there was a deliberate decision to avoid that mistake with this adaptation.

While, as a fan of the novel, I'd have liked to see these elements given more explanation, I think on reflection that they did a commendable job deciding which elements needed exposition for audiences to follow the plot and which ones could be left as background details and texture for the world to avoid overwhelming the viewer and letting the film breathe more as a film.

[goatlover]

I mostly agree with that, but I don't recall seeing any explanation for the necessity of Mentats and the lack of robots/AIs/computer screens 10,000+ years into the future, or that the date wasn't actually our calendar date, but from the start of the current empire. And it would have still been interesting to show a Guild Navigator plotting a path. The Guild are barely mentioned. It's easy to overlook exactly why the spice is so important. It seems like they could have taken 5 minutes to fit those two in there.

And also the dinner scene with the Emperor and his daughter, since they are important to the story. I saw one YT reviewer confuse the Baron for the Emperor, because they never show him.

[lsjvjn]

Is the fact that the story is set 20,000 years into the future instead of 10,000 really "necessary"? After discussing the film with friends who have no exposure to the books, I think the constrained scope helped make the film easier to digest. We still have a ~3 hour Part Two to introduce the Emperor and The Guild.

[goatlover]

The lack of computing tech in a space empire does need explaining.