Thoughts on Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies

Saw the first film, but could never get a review done, and the only thing I did not care much about was the cave-in to some bits and pieces of the time and place, which I did not want to see done differently than the book! 

I have not decided to see the second film ... can't afford to go to the movie houses these days ... gosh, a small bucket of popcorn for $10 bux? Does anyone have a pocket pop'r so I can bring my own popcorn for $1.29?

Most Frank Herbert readers consider the first Dune book to be by far the best one, and Villeneuve's 5+ hour adaptation into two films will unquestionably be considered definitive for a long time. There will be always be those who will complain that the screenplay excluded certain aspects/characters/storylines, while others will make much of the changes that were made. Still, this rendering is just so well done that I'm sure the overwhelming majority of those familiar with the book will be able to overlook any imperfections and appreciate the immense amount of work that was done to put this epic back into the public consciousness.

Setting aside the endless quibbling over casting (which I thought was above average), the absolute best thing about these movies is how smoothly and logically the story (which in the book is very dense and almost over-written) unfolds. I'll admit it's been decades since I've read the first book, but while watching these I was able to understand what was going on and remember the character inter-relationships without any problems. Unlike the Marvel/DC movies, these films always take themselves seriously, almost to the point of austerity. The beautiful visuals and world-building are truly awe-inspiring without being too CGI-overloaded, and Hans Zimmer's otherworldly scores are just the cherry on top.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on these two films, positive or negative?