It does have some clever plot reveals, but at some point the "Ha! Little did you know this was the plan all along" becomes rote.

The failure in adaptations I see is not understanding why people liked the source and leaning into that.

It's not the window dressing / surface-level stuff that's too often mimicked: it's a more core, simple... thing.

To me, Foundation was about 'epicness across time'

But, if I wanted a better written version of that, I'd read the first 3 Dune novels.