“Dune” Director Denis Villeneuve recently called Marvel movies copies of each other with little originality integrated into each film. I find Villeneuve’s comments on Marvel movies quite ironic after watching his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel “Dune.” Many Marvel movies have something that Villeneuve’s “Dune” lacks — heart. Spirit. Some sort of soul. And this is coming from a guy who takes great pleasure in criticizing Marvel movies. 

“Dune” features a stellar cast, with stars such as Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård and Javier Bardem lending their talent. What does “Dune” do with such a star-studded group of performers both young and old? Well, not too much. 

For all you Zendaya lovers out there, you are going to leave “Dune” feeling disappointed. Even though Zendaya is billed as one of the lead actresses of this film, she only has a few lines and mainly appears in some exceptionally shot dream sequences of Chalamet’s character Paul. In fact, the non-dream Zendaya doesn’t actually appear until there are about 20 minutes left in the movie. I truly couldn’t tell you the name of her character, if she even had one to begin with. (I have just Googled it, and it would appear that Zendaya’s character’s name is apparently Chani.)

And while a lot of desert may seem like it would get stale after a while, it doesn’t. I have never been so captivated by sand in my life.

Now, let us move on to Chalamet, the reason most Fordham College at Lincoln Center students are even seeing “Dune” in the first place, I would assume. Chalamet’s performance begins pretty lifelessly. This isn’t necessarily due to bad acting on his part, but more so because of the script.

The one time in the first half of the movie where Chalamet is allowed to shine is a scene in which he meets with the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam and is subjected to a deadly test, the Gom Jabbar. Chalamet gives it his all, portraying great anguish as he fights to stay alive. Other than this exceptional scene, though, he isn’t very noteworthy. 

As the film progresses, Chalamet becomes a lot more comfortable in the role. His lines allow him to be more intense and show more emotion, and he ultimately starts to better embody the character. But here lies a major problem with “Dune” and its two lead stars, if you can even call Zendaya that: When I see them on the screen, I never feel as if I am seeing Paul and Chani. I feel like I’m seeing Chalamet and Zendaya. Throughout the film, I never became immersed enough to believe differently.

That’s not to say that “Dune” has no story; it does, albeit being a bit muddled and hard to follow for newcomers.

The rest of the cast ranges from okay to good. Isaac does a good job as Duke Leto Atreides, father of Paul. He brings a level of power and maturity to the role that I appreciate. Lady Jessica, the mother of Paul who is played by Ferguson, gives one of the more spirited performances of the film. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see Bardem, as I did not know previously that he was in the movie. And, of course, he delivered as the cool and somewhat mysterious leader of a group of Fremen, the nomadic, indigenous people of Arrakis. 

But the standout performance here has to be Skarsgård, who is completely unrecognizable as the fleshy Baron of House Harkonnen, the main antagonist of the film who appears as threatening and cold as would be expected.

On a technical level, “Dune” shines really brightly. The cinematography is fantastic, with some gorgeous shots of the landscapes and scenery of Caladan and Arrakis. And while a lot of desert may seem like it would get stale after a while, it doesn’t. I have never been so captivated by sand in my life. 

The visual effects are on another level, especially in regard to the gargantuan and terrifying sandworms that populate the sands of Arrakis. I also have to give serious props to the costume department for crafting such sleek clothing for everybody. And how can I not mention the music? Absolutely incredible. It’s epic, immense and really fits with the scale of the movie. 

Unfortunately, what Villeneuve fails to realize is that all of this magnificent technical stuff should be in service of something, like a substantial plot or fully-fleshed out characters. That’s not to say that “Dune” has no story; it does, albeit being a bit muddled and hard to follow for newcomers. But it’s mainly just one, long set-up.

Possibly the movie’s biggest flaw is its complete inability to make its audience feel anything.

The characters never develop more than surface-level personalities. The whole movie just feels like a very long beginning to something greater. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely gets better, particularly in its last 45 minutes, but a two-and-a-half-hour movie such as this one, it comes off as too little, too late. 

Possibly the movie’s biggest flaw is its complete inability to make its audience feel anything. I simply felt little to no emotion while watching it. No matter which character died or who got betrayed or who triumphed, there was a sense of distance and detachment. 

Instead of feeling as if I was on Arrakis, I felt far, far away, seeing these events unfold with a pair of binoculars. I ended the movie feeling largely unsatisfied and unfulfilled. If you are the type of person who adores visual effects and the technical aspects of movies, then you will want to marry “Dune.” But, if you are someone who watches films in order to feel something, to be impacted, to be thoroughly engaged, then you’ll probably leave “Dune” feeling slightly disappointed.

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And I’m sure there’s going to be some rube who will read this and say “Well Nick, you didn’t see the film the way it was supposed to be seen, in a theater, on IMAX, the best way possible, so your review is wrong until you go to the theater and see ‘Dune’ that way.” Well, to my knowledge, a screen, no matter how huge, and speakers, no matter how great their audio output, cannot imbue a film with soul. If you can find me the magical theater that can do this, then please send me its way. But until then, I’ll be skipping that venture, thank you very much.