Quoted from attyrhodes:I don't know where OPs negativity is coming from, I thought this movie was absolutely brilliant. My wife had not read the books and she thought it was amazing as well. Some absolutely stunning shots in the film, and the soundtrack was exceptional.
I agree, i had zero expectations and stumbled upon it on HBO without ever hearing of the book. We thought it was great! I enjoy movies like dune that have time for plot and character development, as apposed to 2 hours of action scenes. Had the feel of a classic. My only complaint, i'm little disappointed with the abrupt ending and the 2 year wait for part 2.