Children of Dune did have a couple of areas where things could have been improved, Susan Sarandon overacts with an accent that was at home in Thelma and Louise but out of place here, the mini-series does get to a slow start and can drag a little at times and there are occasional moments of cartoonish effects, stilted dialogue and incompleteness. That of the way, Children of Dune is good, of the three Frank Herbert Dune adaptations- the others being the David Lynch film and the 2000 adaptation- as an adaptation and on its own it's the best one, and that's saying a lot as the other two adaptations had moments but were lacking in too many areas. The production values in Children of Dune are just great, the costumes are eye-catching with a very interesting and never weird mix of styles and the sets are gorgeously rendered with a lot of striking colours and attention to detail. The special effects clearly look as though time was spent on them, they look well textured and designed and they look natural, there are a few cartoonish ones here and there but not many at all. The whole mini-series is also very well-photographed throughout. The music has the right moodiness and majesty, in the more moody elements it is so compellingly dark it's haunting and the majestic elements are genuinely rousing and somewhat uplifting too. Overall, an appropriate and very dynamic music score. Most of the dialogue provokes thought and is intelligently written, a few instances of awkwardness but not in a way that hugely problematic. It is also relevant to each scene and doesn't try to include too much exposition or filler. Adaptation-wise, Children of Dune does a good job with a complicated book though towards the end at times feeling incomplete. There are a few changes like the maturing of the twins but nothing that is enough to annoy anybody, and it is true in spirit to the story and Herbert's style. Children of Dune succeeds even more on its own terms(to me adaptations are always much more fairly judged on their own merits), the story here is thrilling, mostly well-structured, always maintains interest and unlike Lynch's film is easy to follow. The directions shows solidity, a sense of involvement and heart and a willingness to take charge but being sympathetic to the actor's needs. Never is there the sensation that the director didn't know what to do with Children of Dune or have little interest with it. The acting is good on the whole and greatly improved from the 2000 adaptation. Alec Newman is a very good lead and much more at ease. James McAvoy is an inspired addition and Alice Krige is regal and somewhat calculating, stealing all her scenes. Only Sarandon doesn't come off so well. All in all, a good and highly satisfactory mini-series. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I loved the first picture by Lynch. Nothing left of the spirit it told and the atmosphere it had in these.Dumb and dull lines, glorifying violence, scenes which defy logic e.g.: ever thought of carrying a worm on a "stretcher" hanging on a space-ship to another planet? Oops and nobody cares about these intruders - not even the all knowing ONE registers. But he and his squadrons do have a brutal regency which seeks revenge. Exploitation mixed with boredom and lousy, romantically intended but nicely light flushed scenes, with probably animated background. Weather the book is better and the movies fall short or both are crap.Nice costumes though!

After seeing the original Dune Mini-series and hating it (preferring, unlike most, the David Lynch movie instead) I really wasn't expecting a lot from this. I never could get on with the books giving up about half way through the first one although I loved the idea and story from what I'd seen in the Lynch movie.Children of Dune was showing one night in it's entirety and I was at a loose end so figured I'd record it and see what it was like since I was keen to find out what happened after the events portrayed in Dune. Well I can only say I'm glad I did since Children of Dune is much better than it's predecessor. It still isn't perfect but it's infinitely more watchable . Here we still have some crappy acting but there's also some pretty good acting. There's some crappy FX but there's also some really good FX as well.What I really found compelling though was the political intricacies of the plot and characters and this is what makes the show win out over it's flaws. I never did like Ian McNeice as Baron Harkonen but thankfully he's not in this much. The guy who plays Paul Artreides though was good, better than he was in the original series. Gurney was still crap and can't act although Alice Krige was as good as ever and I even got used to James McAvoy as young Leto, Pauls son, after a while.Aliyah was more human here than the scary-assed kid she was in Lynches movie (although I liked that portrayal of her too). I felt that casting beautiful young stereotypical actors/actressess from the BH 90210 brigade didn't do the show any favours though, although they were probably cheap. This is one reason why I prefer David Lynches version of events, that and probably the stark contrast between his more whacked out version and the more down to earth presentation of the original show which is probably what put me off it in the first place. Maybe I'll check it out again someday.But for now I'm really keen to see what comes next (is it God Emperor of Dune?) if indeed there are any plans to continue the series...

I've read all the books from Frank Herbert's Dune, even the continuation written by his son Bryan Herbert. The books are just amazing and can be called the true rival of Isaac's Asimov Foundation series. "The Children of Dune" story is somewhere at the middle of Dune series, and without reading the books or at least watching the movie "Dune", which is the first part of series, it may be hard for you to understand all the intrigues. But for those passionate about Dune's universe this movie is WOW. I remained pleased surprised about how good the actors played their roles and also how perfect was each one for their role. Also all the decorations create a very good impression, being like I imagined while reading the books. I recommend this movie to fans and not only, but to those who really want to imagine a completely universe.