Hey, Dune: streaming alternatives to the sci-fi epic

Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece Dune is out on cinemas now and watching it on the big screen is the best way to enjoy it. But for those who prefer the comfort of home, or those who are wary of Covid, the movie is also out on HBO Max. Unfortunately for Cyprus, our little island is not covered by HBO yet, meaning that cinema is our only choice.

If you would like to stay home and still want to scratch that sci-fi itch, here are some suggestions that are guaranteed to fill that Dune size hole in your heart.

Foundation (Apple TV)

A free adaptation of the series of books by sci-fi author Isaac Asimov, Foundation tells the story of the final days of an intergalactic empire millennia in the future. Jared Harris stars as mathematician Harri Seldon, a genius who develops a branch of mathematics called ‘psychohistory’. Seldon’s job is to analyse past historical events and patterns on a massive scale and through these predict the future of civilizations. And Harri’s prediction is a direct threat to the empire as he claims that civilization is at the brink of collapse and a dark age that would last thousands of years is upon them. Harri’s response to the impending doom is to establish a colony of scientists tasked with preserving all scientific knowledge so the Dark Ages will only last a thousand years.

Foundation is currently on it’s first season and has been renewed for a second. New episodes are released every Friday.

The Expanse (Prime Video)

Based on a series of books by James SA Korey (the pen name of Ty Franck and Daniel Franck, who also serve as writers and producers of the show), The Expanse tells of a not-so distant future where humanity has conquered the solar system and broken into three distinct factions. The largest faction is Earth, where countries have been abolished and the whole planet is led by the UN. Earth and her colony on the moon are in a constant state of Cold War with the Martians. Mars was colonised generations ago and that colony has become hyper-militaristic and dedicated to a single purpose: terraforming the planet and making it habitable.

Completing the puzzle are the Belters, humans who spent their whole lives in space stations and have never set foot on any planet. The Belters are looking to become independent from the planets and are not beyond terrorism to achieve that goal.

Detective Miller (Tomas Jane) is called upon to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young woman who is far more that she originally seems, while ice-freighter workers James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton and Alex Kamal witness an event that changes their lives. These two stories become intertwined in a plot that threatens to start a universal war that will annihilate everyone.

Valerian

If far in the future human civilizations and alien planets are what you want, Valerian (available on Netflix) is definitely worth a look. Luc Besson’s magnum opus was released in 2017 but was considered a flop as it has not made back it’s $230 million production budget. This visually stunning movie tells the story of Major Valerian and his partner, sergeant Laureline, working as security for the Human Federation on the space traveling station Alpha.

Be warned though: Valerian is only for the hardcore fans of the genre, those who can get lost in the visuals and the prospect of alien sci-fi. Which is great because it allows one to ignore the glaring problems of the film.

Valerian did not get good reviews, with many criticising the plot and how it failed to live up to the successful comic it was based on. Pacing is also problematic as the movie drags at some points, while also trying to awkwardly balance comedy and action, but failing at both.