I was very excited about Foundation before it started. Started watching the first episode on opening night and fell asleep. (Embarrassed) I decided to let it sit for a bit…
Then I saw Dune on the big screen and loved it. Watched Dune again on my iPad and I loved it even more. The visuals were, of course, diminished, but the story was tight! I felt like the tension was unabated even having seen it through a week earlier.
Then I returned to Foundation and was able to binge 6 episodes. I found it extremely enjoyable also. Like others have said, once I accepted the fact that it wasn’t a direct re-creation of the book, I enjoyed it for what it was.
I think the overlap between the two is great and thought provoking—there is no need to “take sides” though it makes sense that some people will like one more than another or dislike both, I suppose.
It's the acting for me where I get the disparate feeling between Foundation and Dune. They are much more hit or miss in Foundation than Dune. I can easily get past the Gaal gender switch from book to series, but the acting is just so constantly melodramatic with the actress...the cerebral aspect of Asimov's character is lost in a series of romantic angst dialog and tantrum whining on par with a Disney Channel show. But Salvor and Brother Day put meat into their roles even as these characters take liberties with the book's versions. Their scenes get you engaged and looking forward to the next chapter.
In Dune, everyone seems a perfect fit and tone to the book, and no better than the actor playing Paul Atreides. Having read the book a long time ago, this nonetheless was the visual and temperament that I imagined for Paul. The rest seem well matched too (ooo...loving Skarsgard as Baron Hark!) and the only ones I see slightly weak are the over used Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa for character typecasting. It was a bummer when this reached the end, knowing the 2nd installment is probably years away since it hasn't even been green lighted yet.
It's just my take and as an old generation who read/lived these books long before attempts were made to cinemize them, I really like both despite any biased flaws I may see.
Also the visuals and fx in Dune were top notch, Foundation’s were meh
Comparing the budgets of a single movie to a 10-episode series is rather silly. Feature films historically have bigger budgets for 2 hours than a TV show, as that’s only 20% of a 10-episode season. You are comparing two different mediums, which operate differently.
Agreed, Foundation moves glacially slow and I lost interest. Maybe next season redeems it. Dune on the other hand was very well done IMO. I'm really looking forward to part 2.
Slow? Is that a joke? You guys either have the attention span of a fish or an idealised view of the books. They weren't page turners, in fact they were very slow reading since nothing much happens page to page. The story spans a thousands years, so its the long game Asimov played with regards to the overall plot.
No adaptation will ever be true to the books in that sense. But this one is very good in that it sticks to the broad plot and has good pace. And its just the start. Goyer is aiming to do 8 series all up! Awesome.
I’m really impressed with Foundation. They’re doing a great job keeping an interesting plot going while throwing in some intellectual concepts as well.
Also the visuals and fx in Dune were top notch, Foundation’s were meh
Comparing the budgets of a single movie to a 10-episode series is rather silly. Feature films historically have bigger budgets for 2 hours than a TV show, as that’s only 20% of a 10-episode season. You are comparing two different mediums, which operate differently.
It seems to me like Foundation was done with the idea of making it onto the small screen with commercials at some point. Many (most?) of the episodes are about 45 minutes or so, roughly typical TV show runtimes.
Foundation's Season 1 hasn't been particularly exciting to watch, with some questionable main characters acting (i.e. Salvor, Gaal, Brother Dawn, Phara...). I do hope that Season 2 will improve on pace and performance quality. I like the the intellectual challenges but the general theme is too sleepy.
Comments
Then I saw Dune on the big screen and loved it. Watched Dune again on my iPad and I loved it even more. The visuals were, of course, diminished, but the story was tight! I felt like the tension was unabated even having seen it through a week earlier.
some people will like one more than another or dislike both, I suppose.
In Dune, everyone seems a perfect fit and tone to the book, and no better than the actor playing Paul Atreides. Having read the book a long time ago, this nonetheless was the visual and temperament that I imagined for Paul. The rest seem well matched too (ooo...loving Skarsgard as Baron Hark!) and the only ones I see slightly weak are the over used Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa for character typecasting. It was a bummer when this reached the end, knowing the 2nd installment is probably years away since it hasn't even been green lighted yet.
It's just my take and as an old generation who read/lived these books long before attempts were made to cinemize them, I really like both despite any biased flaws I may see.
No adaptation will ever be true to the books in that sense. But this one is very good in that it sticks to the broad plot and has good pace. And its just the start. Goyer is aiming to do 8 series all up! Awesome.
entropys said: I'm a heretic like you! Fully agree.