Planet Dune, movie (2021)
image © Acme Holding Company
Article updated: 2022.09.29
The Planet Dune (2021) is a futuristic survival thriller film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Planet Dune, movie (2021)
Original title: Planet Dune
Series: -
Setting: future fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: futuristic survival thriller, Style: sci-fi, thriller, survival thriller, action, creatures
Release: 2021.10.29
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2022.02), first time
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Bad (1 out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Planet Dune, a futuristic survival thriller movie from 2021. It's about a rescue team sent to retrieve a spaceship stranded on a desert planet. The Planet Dune film is watchable, but I only recommend it to dedicated fans of the genre.
If you'd like to be surprised by the Planet Dune film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:40, because it gives away too much of the plot. It almost provides a summary of the film.
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Review (spoiler-free) - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
I've seen the 2021 Dune adaptation, Dune: Part One (2021), so I started to watch the other movies it inspired. I've seen Dune World (2021), and Dune Drifter, movie (2020), so this one was the next. I didn't watch the trailer.
The Planet Dune movie is about a rescue team sent to retrieve a spaceship stranded on a desert planet.
The story is acceptable, although very slow. The pacing is consistently slow. There are no character arcs. There are no major logical problems.
The cinematography is okay. The space scenes look good, but then the desert planet is somewhat monotonous. The movie is not interesting visually. The editing is bad, they constantly cut away from scenes before we could even comprehend them (although this might be to distract the viewer from some cheap shots). Due to the many close (and some extreme close) shots, that take up the whole area, I assume this was made for a small, but wide screen.
We get some glimpses into the personality of the main characters, but not enough to know them. The actors portray them fine.
The music (by Christopher Cano, Mikel Shane Prather) is okay. It's not distracting, but not memorable.
Planet Dune is a watchable but boring futuristic survival thriller, that I think only dedicated fans of the genre could enjoy.
My experience
I was not satisfied with Planet Dune (2021).
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Planet Dune is a watchable but weak film.
Enjoyment: Bad (1 out of 3 points). Planet Dune is boring.
Rewatchability: Low. I don't think anyone would like to watch this more than once.
Chance of watching it again: No.
Chance of watching a sequel: I'd probably watch it.
Planet Dune, movie (2021)
image © Acme Holding Company
Will you enjoy this?
If you like survival horror or action thriller movies (Tremors), you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the Planet Dune movie.
If you don't mind illogical elements in your movies, you can enjoy this.
If you prefer visuals over story, the movie has some nice scenes, but overall, you'd be probably bored.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in alien creature stories, it might be worth watching the Planet Dune movie for the plot points, but reading the summary should be enough.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you watch it on a small screen.
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Planet Dune, movie (2021)
image © Acme Holding Company
Review with spoilers - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
I didn't really like the Planet Dune movie.
It took them 30 minutes to reach the planet shown in the prelude. By 1 hour, I got seriously bored by nothing happening.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer spoils major parts of the movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the Planet Dune film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will make the movie less fun for you.
Promise of the first scene
We see people get eaten by giant worms. I assume we'll either see a rescue operation, to salvage their spaceship, or some revenge mission to kill the giant worms.
Execution: Well, we got to see more giant worms. There really was a rescue mission. I could say I was satisfied, but I'm still not really.
Plot summary / Synopsis
On a desert planet (Planet Dune), we see a spaceship (IMC 5) preparing to return to base, when giant worms eat two crewmembers.
On a space station (Space Force Interstellar Operations Base) we see a female pilot (Emily Killian as Astrid Young) preparing to land a spaceship. She talks with the female captain (Sean Young as Chase) of the space station.
On a solar farm (Russian Federation Orbital Space Station / Solar Farm Zolotse), there's a malfunction, injuring a Russian astronaut.
The female pilot is working on something when they receive the distress signal. The command tells her that the Russians didn't require their assistance, and it's against interstellar law to engage Russians without permission. Despite this, the female pilot leaves her work to save the Russian astronaut. She gets fired, and sent to a penal work on a freighter (Molv 1), to rescue the spaceship on the desert planet.
The female pilot meets the crew, a female engineer (Cherish Holland as Rebecca), and a female navigator (Anna Telfer as Ronnie), and a male tugline operator (Manny Zaldivar as Brad). They start, reach the planet, and land on it.
They find the spaceship but there's no one responding. They are attacked by a giant worm. They hide in a cave, where they find an injured survivor (Ramiro Leal as Harley) from the spaceship. The tugline operator stays with the injured man.
The pilot goes to find the rest of the survivors, and she finds a woman (Sienna Farall as Marilyn). The woman says that there's more than one giant worm, she has seen at least four.
The engineer and the navigator reach the spaceship. It turns out that the engineer wants to repair the ship because she was promised payment for it by a third party, and she doesn't care about the survivors from the crew. One of the smaller worms get inside the spaceship, but they lure it to the exhaust, and burn it. Then the engineer uses a power line to kill another small one.
The pilot is able to reach the command, but she is denied getting reinforcements.
The two man in the cave are able to kill another smaller worm, by pulling the ceiling of the cave on it with a grappling gun. The operator finds it out that by shooting the grappling hook into the giant worm, he can control the worm. Both of them get on the back of the worm. When they fall off, the worm is uncontrolled, and eats the engineer. The operator uses a machinery from the spaceship to kill the worm.
The pilot and the woman create makeshift bombs to distract the worms. They reach their freighter, but the worm catches it. The pilot ignites the fuel, blowing the ship up, killing the creature.
The survivors get together, but they are stranded on the planet.
The female captain pilots a spaceship to save them, against orders, and lands nearby to take them all. A large worm grabs the ship. They use the thrusters to get rid of it. They get home.
The setting
The story is set in the future of Earth. They are able to travel between star systems pretty fast.
There's a Planet Dune, where giant worms live.
Planet Dune, movie (2021)
image © Acme Holding Company
The worms
They eat small metal particles in the sand. They are also able to digest the metal in the blood of humans, so they eat them.
They can sense sounds and vibrations.
There's a large worm, probably the parent, and smaller worms. The large worm can haul a spaceship away. The large worm is about 3-4 meters in diameter. A man can outrun it when it's over the ground. They don't like to go over rocky ground, although we see that they can do so. The smaller ones can even slide over the spaceship corridors.
The smaller worms are still about a meter in diameter, and 10 meters long.
The worms can be killed by electric shock, fire, or crushing damage.
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Planet Dune film are played in sequence, following the same storyline.
There is no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
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Things I liked
- The space stations and space ships look good from the outside. Even some of the inside sets were okay.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I haven't seen any other works of the writers (Joe Roche, Lauren Pritchard) or the directors (Glenn Campbel, Tammy Klein).
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Planet Dune, movie (2021)
image © Acme Holding Company
Analysis of the story - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
I mostly liked the story, I didn't find major problems that would have prevented me from enjoying Planet Dune, but the slow pacing and the small inconsistencies still irritated me.
Problematic elements
Worm riding: The scene sounds stupid and looks stupid. The movie would be better without it.
Self referential humour: When the navigator mentions that it feels like they are running in the same corridors, it's unnecessary. The audience knows that there's probably one set, and it takes the viewer out of immersion.
Unanswered questions
- Why does the Russian space station has "USSR-Cuba" written on it?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Trim the scenes, as many feel too long.
- Remake the sand effects, as they look terrible.
- Redo the cave effect on Vasquez Rocks, because it's not convincing, and the look of it changes between shots.
- Cut the worm riding scene, as it's ridiculous.
- Remake the final worm death effect, as it looks bad, and it should be the highlight of the movie.
How it could have been better?
Cherish Holland would have been a better choice for a lead, instead of Emily Killian.
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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Planet Dune, movie (2021)
image © Acme Holding Company
Uses for the film - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
Plot
- While the crew of a ship is away, they are attacked by native creatures. They get cut off from the ship.
- A rescue team is sent to find a an away mission that didn't report back.
- There are giant burrowing worms that attack people.
Scenes
- The space scenes look good, they can be used to depict near future space stations and spaceships.
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Survive the monster (solo game): There's a spaceship or small base that's getting attacked by a monster. Set up the playing area, with a base or a spaceship in the middle. Designate areas that are devices that can cause damage (hydraulic presses, freezers, exhaust pipes), and determine consoles that can operate those devices. Deploy the crew randomly on the playing area. Deploy the monster randomly inside base / spaceship, as it entered it somehow. The crew members are able to communicate through their radios. The monster attacks the closest crewmember, or move towards the closest they see, otherwise, it moves randomly. The crew is unable to kill the monster, but they can hurt it by successful close combat attacks, pushing it one movement away from themselves. When the monster is in a damage causing area, it can be killed, if it's activated by an operating console. A crew member must see that the monster is there, and there must be a crew member at the console to activate it. There can be bulkhead doors to close an area. If the monster can use another route, than it will go another way. Otherwise, it will start to attack the door, that will break through eventually. Bulkhead doors can be operated by touching the doors, or from the control room.
Working the field (harder for the player): All the crew members are out of the spaceship / base at the beginning of the game.
Large playing area (harder for the player): Prepare a large playing area, and divide it in two. On one side, there's the base. On the other side, there's the field where the crew members are working.
Safe spaces (easier for the player): Outside of the base / spaceship, there are some places that the crew members can use to hide inside. These can be enclosed places (sheds, bunkers, towers), or natural obstacles (water, sunshine, poisonous gas) that repel the monster.
Attack from the outside: The monster start the game at a random edge of the playing area. If the Working the field option is used, it's harder for the player.
Multiple monsters (harder for the player): There are more than one monsters. Any number of them can start the game inside the base / spaceship, or attack from the outside.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Pilots: Human-sized futuristic humans in protective suits.
The giant worm: Giant worm-like creature.
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Similar stories - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
Movies
Dune World (2021): In a futuristic setting, on an alien desert planet, there are giant burrowing worms that hunt people.
Sand Serpents (2009): In a contemporary setting, on Earth, there are giant burrowing worms that hunt people.
Tremors (1990): In a contemporary setting, on Earth, there are giant burrowing worms that hunt people. Tremors was a much better movie than Planet Dune.
TV series & episodes
The Mandalorian: Season 2: Chapter 9: The Marshal (2020): In a futuristic setting, on an alien desert planet, there's a giant burrowing worm that hunts people.
The Outer Limits: The Invisible Enemy (1964): In a futuristic setting, on an alien desert planet, there's a giant burrowing worm that hunts people.
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Frequently asked questions - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
Is the Planet Dune film based on a book or comics?
No, Planet Dune is not based on either books or comics.
Is the Planet Dune film a remake or reboot?
No, the Planet Dune film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in Planet Dune? Does Planet Dune have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in Planet Dune.
When did the movie Planet Dune come out?
The Planet Dune movie came out at 2021.10.29.
Is Planet Dune related to Dune?
No, Planet Dune is not related to Dune.
Is Planet Dune and Dune the same?
Nope. Dune is an interesting novel, while Planet Dune (2021) is a barely watchable movie. There's sand and worms in both of the stories.
Is Planet Dune a movie?
Yes, Planet Dune (2021) is a a movie, although not a memorable one.
Is Planet Dune a ripoff of Dune?
I don't think so. Both Dune and Planet Dune features sand deserts and sand worms, and both of them has "Dune" in their title, but that's where the similarities end. Planet Dune is closer to the Tremors series than to the Dune stories.
Where can I see Planet Dune? What is Planet Dune playing on? What streaming service is Planet Dune on? Where can I watch Planet Dune online? Is Planet Dune available on Netflix? Is Planet Dune on Amazon?
As of 2022.10.16, Planet Dune is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft Movies, Vudu, YouTube.
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Resources - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
Official
The Asylum: Planet Dune: Official article.
Information
IMDB: Planet Dune (2021): Database article.
Letterboxd: Planet Dune 2021: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Planet Dune 2021: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - Planet Dune film (2021)
: Review video about the Planet Dune film with no spoilers.¤
https://www.voicesfromthebalcony.com/2021/10/30/planet-dune-2021-review/
Reviews with spoilers - Planet Dune film (2021)
: Review article of the Planet Dune movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - Planet Dune movie (2021)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of Planet Dune.¤
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Buying the product - Planet Dune, movie (2021)
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Have you seen the Planet Dune film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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