What female lead?!
The book
As a dyed-in-the-wool science-fiction aficionado - already well-versed in Asimov, Bester, Bradbury, Clarke, Heinlein, A.E. van Vogt, etc. - I stumbled upon Dune back in the 1970s, and devoured it.
It portrays the best thought-out, most-detailed, believable, and largely self-consistent fictional universe I have ever encountered.
As evidence of that, consider the fact that the book has an extensive appendix, including a glossary, maps, time-line, list of aphorisms, etc. And it works!
Having said that: It is overly self-important and sententious. Attempting to achieve a high level of gravitas, it nearly achieves that - but only nearly, thus making it an easy target of satirization (see the uproarious National Lampoon's Doon).
The movies
The 1984 film by David Lynch
The 1984 film by David Lynch was a respectable film realization. Though flawed (pacing), I think that it was relatively true to the book. Esthetically, it was quite pleasing. (Any film adaptation of Dune will rise or fall, depending upon how well it captures the book's esthetic; any attempt to provide a thorough treatment of the book's ideas will, however, always fall short.)
The 2000 miniseries
I haven't seen the 2000 miniseries by John Harrison and so won't comment on it.
The 2021 Denis Villeneuve version
A week ago, I viewed (on Netflix) the Denis Villeneuve version (Part I). Like the 1984 version, it was esthetically pleasing; the music was less impressive, but still in keeping with the film's monumental tone.
Some of the actors - most notably Timothée Chalamet and Sharon Duncan-Brewster - delivered their lines with all the casualness one would expect when mumbling an order at a MacDonald's drive-thru. Duncan-Brewster was sadly miscast, and the role of "Dr. Kynes" barely a cameo. Stellan Skarsgård is a fine actor, but also miscast (or perhaps the director demanded that he play his role that way): His portrayal of the book's thoroughly debauched and decadent "Baron" is unforgivably boring (probably due to the demands of "political correctness," which nowadays don't allow a villain to be sexually perverted). The character of "Chani" is there only to show a strong, independent, feminist woman who does nothing but belittle "Paul."
An on-screen portrayal of the "Guild" is entirely missing!
Although 155 minutes and length and halting just after Paul joins the Fremen, the film - unbelievably - glosses over or outright omits much of the exposition that would help us understand and enjoy the Byzantine machinations, behind-the-scenes manipulations, and cloak-and-dagger goings-on of the book.
Rating
If I were to award the 1984 version barely three and a half out of four stars, then I would have to give the 2021 version barely three stars.
Regards,
Agree 1st version was much closer to the book than this new woke version.