It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I'd seen parts of the David Lynch Dune movie and it was decent, and when I heard that the Sci Fi Channel was doing a miniseries based on the original Frank Herbert novel, I was excited. Maybe it would do more justice than the movie. Turns out it was actually pretty darn good.They brought in a lot of foreign actors, and not just American ones, and William Hurt was good as the father of Paul Atreides. But some of the acting was a little stiff and some might think that the guy playing Paul was a little too old. Maybe a twenty-something-year-old would have been nice. But the visuals were pleasing and the technology looked well done. I've only seen the miniseries once, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. At least the Baron didn't look too revolting. And the sandworms were definitely formidable. The ornithopters could have been more exotic-looking but they were decent and were much better than the ones in the David Lynch movie.Bottom line: If you were put off by the movie and want something a little more accurate and exotic, this should be on your to-do list. If it were me, I'd keep both for comparison. That way we don't have to fight. And it's not a contest. Just try to enjoy one or the other, or even both, okay?

I came into this with mild expectations, having seen Lynch's Dune and then reading the entire book series. Needless to say I was disappointed at best.Paul is unrecognizable in this series, gone is the noble yet immature Atreides. Instead we have a spoiled, impudent brat. They insert pointless dialogue which never occurs in the books or movie for the sake of comic relief supposedly, something which detracts from the high-stakes nature of this epic. Unforgivably they also cut crucial sections out of the production (struggle in the ornathopter after Leto's death) and replace it with an ornathopter chase! The re-unification of Paul and Gerney is also woefully unemotional contrasted with Lynch's rendition.TL;DR: Unnecessary additions, criminal subtractions, bad acting/casting (outside of the Baron and perhaps Irulan), action-movie-esque kitsch, gawdy set design, cringeworthy CGI.Unless you are a die-hard Dune connoisseur avoid this mini-series. Watch the director's cut of Lynch's Dune and Children of Dune but avoid this miserable rendition like the plague.

I looked the other way on the special effects because to truly realize Herbert's vision over the course of a miniseries at the time was probably cost prohibitive.That leaves us with the acting where the ball was dropped on the main character.There are main characters then there are MAIN CHARACTERS and Paul Atreides is of the latter type and in this version of Dune, unlike the novel, we get right out of the gate, a Paul Atreides that is little more than a surly punk exhibiting none of the nuanced maturity or complexities of the Paul Atreides in the novel.That's all I really have to say on the matter.

Dune 2000 TV series, with so little budget of $20,000,000 they were able to treat it with so much love and care that would only make you wonder what would they did if they didn't had to make it on so tight schedule and low budget, it's a story of a wasteland that was made so many times but never like this, when just a boy had to leave his home land and face terrible destiny of becoming a messiah, you can feel, watch how his character grow, At the end he is not the same person, and the best part is you can believe it. Almost most of the actors are unknown, but they all (well ...most) fit their parts perfectly, William Hurt as Duke Leto Atreides, i always though Leto to be a stronger character, but he did a great job, i got used to him in the first minutes, Alec Newman as Muad'Dib, this is the Muad'Dib in my mind, and now after seeing the series i can never visualize Muad'Dib other than him , and that is a big deal because Muad'Dib is my all-time hero , Saskia Reeves as Lady Jessica Atreides is not as good as i was hoping, she have few minutes to shin , like when she talk's to paul about him going too far , fearing for him and the rest of the universe, Ian McNeice as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen , there will never be a better Baron Vladimir Harkonnen than him , he is so good here i think he was born for this part, it's so good to see actors like him have a part where they could really show their true talents, he is outrages , melodramatic, with sick twisted cunning mind, whenever he is on the screen i think he is giving the series a whole new dimension. if you are frank herbert's fan , or a fan of any kind of Si-Fi, or simply love deep philosophical story , this is a must watch