It's quite good, but remember that it's an adaptation. Despite having to cut and change things the movie hit the main characters, plot points, and themes well. The human/spider/dog thing isn't in the books but is a perfectly fitting addition. As a fan of the books I saw it, knew where it came from, how it was made, and totally bought that the Baron would have one.

The only major quibble that I have with the film is a design decision. When it came to the costumes, sets, and even ships the film takes a minimalistic approach - probably to highlight how far in the future the story takes place. The books describe the noble houses living in much more opulence. A good example is the scene where the Baron is introduced. In the book his fat, ring-laden hand spins a globe of Arrakis made out of gemstones.

Other deviations from the book are necessary evils. The biggest one was how Lady Jessica acted when Paul was with the Reverend Mother. In the books all of her turmoil was internal and she was completely stoic. For the film it was necessary to have her show her feelings or do a Lynch style internal monologue.

If you liked the complete alien-ness of the people in the Dune movie you'll love the books. Be warned that they get stranger as the series goes on, but that's a good thing if you're receptive to Herbert's themes and ideas.

I'm waiting for Dune 2 to release to tell you.

Dennis saved a lot of the best stuff for the 2nd movie as bait to ensure he would get a second movie.

Dune is such a hard book to translate into a movie because lots of important dialogue that drives character growth and the political intrigue of the book is either Frank Herbert himself narrating the events, discussion or perceptions taking place in the characters' minds, characters talking imperceptibly with their hand gestures, and characters saying one thing but using body language or gestures to mean another.

To adapt that into spoken lines on a script undercuts just how brilliant and smart many of the protagonists and antagonists are. I think Lady Jessica got the worst treatment in the first movie.

We were damaged by the other adaptations, but I thought this one was fucking fantastic.

The movie is an excellent adaptation. A lot of shit gets skipped, glossed over, or changed but I feel like it was in the service of the medium. Books ain't talkies.

Yea go for it.

I'm not a huge dune fan but I do like fantasy so I picked it up.

It's quite a bit better than I expected.