It's not "good" and most of the "battles" are lame, but it's funny in most of its faults and occasionally very evocative in a way I can't imagine a modern action movie being.
I did laugh out loud at the lengthy worldbuilding exposition getting impatiently interrupted by someone else who wanted to do other worldvuilding exposition. Really 95% of the movie is exposition, and that's because 5% of it is lengthy establishing shots and the like. Normally I hate endless Proper Nouns, but it works here because most of it is casual and, hilariously, a lot of it is mentioned once and never again. That impatient interjection I mentioned name drops the "CHOAM Corporation" I guess that's something in the books because it doesn't seem to be here!
It was also a really bad idea to have Marty McFly demonstrate his combat prowess while refracted through a Roblox beta asset. They only use that shit one time later and it's in a very inconsequential way!
I found some of the set design and some of the performances very memorable.
It's probably movie heresy but I unironically enjoyed it.
Oh yeah, I absolutely love the Emperor's throneroom (especially with that navigator train barging in).
The lead Harkonnen did great, the little sister was surprisingly not bad, Sting was solid . . . The Doctor and the other turncoat had appropriate ennui, Kirk was fine, the pug did well . . . Uh . . . Honestly the dialogue was so weird that I didn't even think about the acting most of the time, except for being unimpressed by McFly (not that he did a bad job, just meh).
This isn't really kino but it is head and shoulders above the vast majority of commercial slop even today. The only shit they have room to talk is about the personal shields and the occassional bad greenscreen.
the pug should have received an oscar for Best Supporting Pet
I am in the unironic enjoyment camp too.
I think it is spectacular. Apart from where the budget ran out, the set design and special effects are amazing. The music is great, the casting is great. And so what if it strays from the source material? It was 1984 and they did a bloody good adaption of an "impossible to film" book.
If it weren't for this film I would never have read the books.