While I may not have liked Dune all that much when I compared it to David Lynch's masterpiece, this sequel steps out beyond the original movie into unknown territory (particularly for me since I have not read any of the other books beyond Dune) so I was actually very keen in knowing how Frank Herbert extended his original masterpiece, and I must say that he did a very good job in doing so. There are actually six books in the series (and this is not counting the books that were post-humously written and published, since many people seem to reject those books as they do not carry Herbert's style) and this mini-series covers two of them, namely Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
The series begins twelve years after the end of the previous book, and where in the previous book Paul Artredies is hailed as a hero and a messiah, over the period his armies have spread out over the galaxy and all how refuse to serve him are executed. As they say his name has gone from being a word of hope to that of a curse. It is interesting to see how quickly things can change, though I suspect that the messianic properties that he displayed had more to do with the Fremin than they had to do with the rest of the galaxy.
The further problem is that while Paul may want to rule justly, certain people have arisen within his government that seek their own power and seek to manipulate his religion in their own ways. There is also a lot of scheming and political machinations that are going on around him as well. For instance his concubine is unable to have children, and it is because she is being fed a poison to prevent her from baring children, however this act forces her to resort to other measures, that is consuming spice to over come the effects of the poison, which results in the children being pre-born.
The first episode is basically Dune Messiah and the second and third are Children of Dune and is set another thirteen of so years after the second novel concludes. The focus here goes onto Paul's children, who, as mentioned above, are pre-born. There is another character who is also pre-born, that is Paul's sister. One is pre-born usually because large amounts of spice is consumed during pregnancy, and while they may be born physically as a child, they are born mentally as an adult. They also have a gift which enables them to communicate with their ancestors, that is gain access to their ancestral memories. Unfortunately, there is a danger to doing this because one can actually become possessed by one of the ancestors, which is one of the major plots in this film.
The other interesting thing is, if you remember Lynch's film, is that at the end of the film it rains on Dune, something that has not happened previously. The problem is that the sand worms hate the water, so as the desert begins to retreat, the habitat of the sand worms becomes ever smaller, resulting in less area for them to produce spice. As you know, spice is required for interstellar travel, and if the spice flow halts, then there is no more interstellar travel.
I would like to write more, but a part of me does not want to give too much away. For those who loved Dune (whichever movie) and wants to see what happens after the happy ending in the first movie, then this film does an excellent job. It has also made me want to return to reading the books, at least the next two (since I really see no need to re-read the first one).
The series begins twelve years after the end of the previous book, and where in the previous book Paul Artredies is hailed as a hero and a messiah, over the period his armies have spread out over the galaxy and all how refuse to serve him are executed. As they say his name has gone from being a word of hope to that of a curse. It is interesting to see how quickly things can change, though I suspect that the messianic properties that he displayed had more to do with the Fremin than they had to do with the rest of the galaxy.
The further problem is that while Paul may want to rule justly, certain people have arisen within his government that seek their own power and seek to manipulate his religion in their own ways. There is also a lot of scheming and political machinations that are going on around him as well. For instance his concubine is unable to have children, and it is because she is being fed a poison to prevent her from baring children, however this act forces her to resort to other measures, that is consuming spice to over come the effects of the poison, which results in the children being pre-born.
The first episode is basically Dune Messiah and the second and third are Children of Dune and is set another thirteen of so years after the second novel concludes. The focus here goes onto Paul's children, who, as mentioned above, are pre-born. There is another character who is also pre-born, that is Paul's sister. One is pre-born usually because large amounts of spice is consumed during pregnancy, and while they may be born physically as a child, they are born mentally as an adult. They also have a gift which enables them to communicate with their ancestors, that is gain access to their ancestral memories. Unfortunately, there is a danger to doing this because one can actually become possessed by one of the ancestors, which is one of the major plots in this film.
The other interesting thing is, if you remember Lynch's film, is that at the end of the film it rains on Dune, something that has not happened previously. The problem is that the sand worms hate the water, so as the desert begins to retreat, the habitat of the sand worms becomes ever smaller, resulting in less area for them to produce spice. As you know, spice is required for interstellar travel, and if the spice flow halts, then there is no more interstellar travel.
I would like to write more, but a part of me does not want to give too much away. For those who loved Dune (whichever movie) and wants to see what happens after the happy ending in the first movie, then this film does an excellent job. It has also made me want to return to reading the books, at least the next two (since I really see no need to re-read the first one).