One of 2021’s biggest blockbusters is now available to watch at home

Spicy stuff...

It's the long weekend. Moments of quiet contemplation will likely be required at some stage. And what better way to shake off the cobwebs than a near-three-hour sci-fi epic that rivals Game of Thrones for treacherous politics between various ruling houses? Oh, and there's giant sandworms, too. We are, of course, talking about Dune; which is finally available to watch at home in Ireland. The film caused quite a box office speculation stir prior to its release in 2021, ultimately grossing $400 million from a reported budget of $165 million upon release. While far from a tearaway billion-dollar success, the powers that be have thankfully granted a sequel, as there is still quite a lot of story yet to tell here. Part one of Dune stars famous Internet boyfriend Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides; the young and somewhat impatient heir of House Atreides, which is led by his father Duke Leto, as played by Oscar Isaac. Rebecca Ferguson plays Paul's mother Jessica, while Paul is also close with military heroes like Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa). Things are relatively peaceful for the Atreides crew until a royal summons commands Leto to oversee the harsh desert planet of Arakis, where the valuable substance of spice is harvested. What seems like a thankless enough honour of course turns out to be a vicious political manoeuvre, one that arouses the ire of the fearsome and brutal Baron Harkonnen, led by a rather terrifying Stellan Skarsgard. You've also got an ancient prophecy, strange visions, additional factions fighting for survival, and extremely lush visuals courtesy of director Denis Villeneuve and his cinematographer Greig Frasier – who recently made The Batman look pretty. Oh, and a typically sky-scraping soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. You'll also find the likes of Zendaya, Dave Bautista and Javier Bardem amongst the cast. This thing is stacked, folks! Long considered un-filmable – even with David Lynch's cult 'classic' version out there in the world – Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's revered sci-fi novel(s) seemed to mostly delight hardcore fans upon its arrival in cinemas back in October. Newcomers could be forgiven for feeling a little lost but that's also the beauty of this being a part one – there's a ton of information to convey while also building a genuinely immersive, unique world. So if that's enough of a sell for you – good news! As of Good Friday, Dune is available to watch on NOW TV, as part of the NOW Cinema Membership for subscribers. Roll on October 2023 when Dune Part Two is scheduled to arrive. Clip via Warner Bros. Pictures