I also appreciated how it's not afraid to be weird and foreign. Like I watch a lot of SF and, technology or politics aside, everyone is pretty relatable and "normal." Not so with Dune. The psychological requirements of existing politically are apparent, even as the humanity of the characters living it is clear. A mother may love her son, but allow the Bene Gesserit to kill him. A son may love his mother and also resent that he was created to fulfill a political purpose. A man may be a powerful warrior, but still need to life and allegiance to a fallen house.

Sure, they make great attempts for us to relate to the characters, like when Paul complains about having to do The Voice just when he wakes up, and Papa Atreides says he will love his son no matter what, but this is standard screen writing manipulation, the equivalent of making your character pet a stray dog to make them likable from the outset.

I also deeply appreciated that Paul hesitated to kill Jamis, and it was only when the mother pointed out that Paul hadn't even killed anyone did I remember that, "holy shit, yeah, killing someone is kind of a big deal." I'm so used to death in film being treated as a throwaway thing, it is just so grounding to see it being taking as a psychologically signifcant event.