Watched last night - was going to wait and catch in on the big screen but the Bama game required a palate cleanser.
Very good job of telling the story and the visuals were stunning. I've seen in reviews that the score is great but at times I found it a little off but no big deal. Really hope the second gets made.
A couple minor things I thought were missing or under emphasized from the book:
1) There was almost no content about the Spacing Guild or the Navigators or the way space travel is achieved other than a brief mention that spice is required. Lynch went a little overboard with this element in his film so maybe it was a way to distance from that. Gotta think Part 2 will cover this more.
2) There was at least one reference to the Landsraad (Dr. Kynes was asked to report what happened to this body) but as far as I remember it was never explained what this was. Even a minute of further explanation somewhere in the film of the relationships between the Emperor, the Great Houses (and even the Spacing Guild and Bene Gesserit) would help the viewer (non book reader) understand the power balance.
3) Maybe it was just me but I thought the sanctity of water was under emphasized. There were references (Stilgar spitting as sign of respect, telling Lady Jessica here greatest riches are her water, the gardener watering the palm trees) but it felt like more of a "you need water to survive in the desert so these suits will help you save it" rather than the real significance of every single drop of water.
4) No mention of how computers (thinking machines) are banned.
5) No explanation of the Mentats and what they do
6) Limited to no explanation why Dr. Yueh was so trusted
Not complaints - just observations.
I'll watch it again