I think it’s trying too hard to be Star Wars - 21st century edition. Villeneuve’s strength is that he can make the weird engaging and palatable while keeping that edge. There just wasn’t enough weirdness in the Dune movies to set it apart. The cinematography and production were great but overall felt underwhelmed. Even 2049 had enough interesting compelling weird elements. I understand he’s under immense pressure from the studio to do his thing so I can’t fault him either.