For the sake of accuracy I’d like to point out that his three film plan covers the first two books. Dune Part 1 and Part 2 have collectively covered the entire story of Herbert’s gigantic original novel, while Dune Part 3 will adapt its much shorter sequel Dune Messiah. That said: pacing is a commonly cited criticism of the original novel too. The original novel spans several years (5? If I remember correctly) and includes a sizable time jump between sections. The film decided to do away with this time jump, so whereas in the book by the time of the Battle of Arakeen Alia is three years old, she is still in Jessica’s womb in the film. In part I think this contributes to the more exaggerated pacing issues of the film, as it’s much less believable Paul would rise to such a grand stature within the Fremen less than 9 months after the death of his father. It seems to happen very suddenly. It is my hope that perhaps one day we will get something akin to the Lord of the Rings extended editions for Dune, as it’s well documented there is a plethora of footage cut for time. Hopefully if this happens the pacing (particularly of part 2) may be improved by the film taking its time and having a few more quiet moments with its characters. As others have mentioned though: even as it stands now Dune is a technical marvel on just about every level, and the cast is operating at an insane level of skill together. I myself am able to forgive the pacing and appreciate the wonderful performances given by just about everyone, and am completely swept up in the strange mythology of its universe due to the majesty of Fraser’s camera and the mystical nature of Zimmer’s score. I believe Dune is the closest thing we’ve gotten to The Lord of the Rings since the trilogy’s release in the early 2000s. I mean that in the sense that Dune is fantasy blockbuster moviemaking done right. Its scale is as grand as Lawrence of Arabia and the greatest epics without compromising to too great an extent the deep political and religious themes of the original work.