Well, Part III of the Dune miniseries on Sci-Fi Channel, and hence the series itself, is now complete. And I am much better pleased than I was after yesterday's installment. My main concern - Paul's struggle with the conflict between his destiny and his loathing for where that destiny would take him if he followed it - was not exactly satsified, but it was mollified somewhat tonight as that element was brought in via his mother Jessica and his reference to a "terrible purpose". This is not really enough, as I still think it would have served the messianic story better for Paul to wrestle openly with this theme, but I'm glad they at least brought it to the surface. Plus, when the series is viewed a a whole, yesterday's "problems" fade considerably. It was just in seeing them as an isolated part, I suppose, that they were really troubling.

Most of my enthusiasm is generated by the fact that tonight episode was nothing short of marvelous. That renders yesterday's episode a necessary middle stage I may have been premature in judging so harshly). In almost every particular, it was good or better. Some parts were magnificent. Oh, they did some things I didn't like (most especially the silliness with the water flowing from Paul's feet when he claims the mantle of leadership as Duke) but they are minor. Tonight's finale was a triumph.

They included a version of a specific scene I have wanted translated into film since Day One: The fight with the Sardaukar who had infiltrated Gurney's smuggler band shortly after Gurney links up with and rejoins Paul! They dropped it from three Sardaukar to one but did so in a way that advanced the plot and helped later by allowing them to skip over a minour scene and still have a Sardaukar to deliver a message to the Emperor. Then there was the vital scene wherein Gurney threatens Jessica, still believing her to be the traitor who killed Duke Leto - they could have done it better, but they did it very well and it was given the importance it deserves. So, too, Leto II, an entire plotline Lynch dropped in his version. And, of course, the tension over how Paul could become accepted as leader of the Fremen without killing Stilgar - they handled this very, very well indeed.

I was less pleased with the plot change that made had Baron actively seeking to get the Emperor involved on Arrakis, but I see its dramatic utility. Irulan's overweighted role has persisted, but it adds to the poignance of Jessica's final words, preserved almost verbatim from the novel, so I will forgive this as a minour adaptation. She did do some interesting things and turned out to be one of the best characters in the flick - and her importance here may serve to highlight the difficulty she has in her proper role as the unwanted wife in the sequel (Harrison says somewhere on the Sci-Fi channel web page that he is already writing a sequel that will encompass both the second and third novels, which is pretty marvelous in itself).

The only real characterization problem is Feyd - Sting was a much better Feyd. Come to think of it, Patrick Stewart was a much better Gurney Halleck, but at least this one convinces. This Feyd is much too effete and dainty throughout. The one fight we really saw him in (in Part I) was far too easy for him, despite some dialogue that was apparently intended to leave us impressed with his prowess. He would have been much more convincing - and his character more interesting - if we'd actually seen the fight in which he killed his 100th gladiator (that we heard mentioned but didn't get to see). Well, for all his faults, he shines in his final fight with Paul. That hand-to-hand battle to decide the fate of both their Houses (and the Imperium) was all but perfect (and far better than the one Lynch gave us). OTOH, Othyem - another character who was given no attention at all before but who will be important in the sequel - is very interesting here; in short, great stuff by one of the better actors in a supporting role.

Of course, it goes without saying that the "weirding way" of battle presented here is leagues ahead of those inane sound weapons Lynch pulled out of his nether regions. The rendering was well executed and the "way" itself incorporated into the story without letting it take over - a real accomplishment. I liked the overall presentation of the Fremen religion and its overtones. I think they may have overplayed Jessica's having "used" the Fremen, but it is very deftly handled for the most part. And, finally, there's the Fremen attack on Arrakeen: Quite satisfying and possessed of so much more depth than Lynch's as to make it unfair even to compare them (though such comparisons must, of course, be made).

As a final point, let me say something about the costuming and other artistic decisions. I haven't talked much about the topic up to now because it is in the visual area that the old movie had the strongest hold on my conceptions and I wanted to see as much as possible before making a judgment. I have seen enough now to be able to say that the look and feel of the flick is, in most respects, very good. I still have doubts about the appearance of Geidi Prime, but otherwise the stylistic choices and scenery are much better suited to the settings than the dark and dripping look we got from Lynch. It takes some time for the look to settle in but once it has, it works only too well.

To sum up, this mini-series, as a whole (and tonight's finale in particular), has been terrific. The middle part has some problems and there are important themes and subplots that have been given short shrift or ignored entirely (see my comments about yesterday's episode for more details), but one has to expect that when a work of this magnitude is adapted for the screen - even with six hours in which to portray it, not all of this magnificent story can possibly be told. All the participants are due a huge amount of credit, especially Sci-Fi Channel (for taking a 20 million dollar risk to do a six-hour version of a movie that had been done before and basically flopped). I am very impressed. Yes, I am predisposed to liking it, but, as a lifelong Dune fanatic, I am also a harsh critic. I now know for certain that I will be watching this one again and again, most likely to the exclusion of the previous film: This is now the definitive version in this fan's mind.