Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. I am going to come right out and say that I never read any of the Dune books, so if you are looking for a review that will be all about how accurate or inaccurate of an adaptation this movie is to the book, this just is not it. From what I understand, this movie is basically the second half of the first Dune book, so it does pick up directly after the events of the first film. Denis Villeneuve is one of the most impressive directors working today and has proven himself as a formidable filmmaker in the realm of intense thrillers like Enemy, Sicario, and Prisoners and elevated science fiction such as Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and the first Dune movie. Whereas his first Dune film set up this extremely complex futuristic universe with various political factions and power struggles at play, Dune: Part Two builds upon the seeds that were planted in some very unexpected and unpredictable ways.
I find it quite fascinating that Dune: Part Two has a 190 million dollar budget and yet, it is far more visually compelling and has ten times better VFX than so many of the 300 million dollar superhero blockbusters that get churned out every year. Cinematographer Greg Fraser and director Denis Villeneuve prove once again to be a dream team in crafting jaw dropping imagery, whether it’s the breathtaking visuals of spaceships maneuvering, shots of planet Arrakis and its sand worms, or the varying environments of different planets. Seriously, this movie has textbook level examples of stunningly well lit shots. This sequel is massive in scale, scope, and story, with far more action set pieces than its predecessor. I’ll be completely honest in saying that I’ve never had a strong opinion on Timothee Chalamet’s acting abilities. I think he’s a pretty good actor whose popularity is compounded by fangirls (and fanboys) on social media. While Chalamet gave a solid performance in the first Dune, I personally found him to be terrific in Part Two, as the character of Paul Atreides has far more complex character development than he did the first time around.
I’ll be avoiding any specific details, but Paul sets off a rift between the Fremen. Certain tribe members believe that Paul is this messianic figure while others remain skeptical, despite there being “signs” that he actually is. Among the staunch believers and leader of the Fremen is Javier Bardem’s Stilgar, who has plenty of great moments here and brings much needed levity to the very serious tone of this film. Now, when I say levity, I don’t mean forced jokes or MCU-like bathos that undermine the dramatic tension or enormously high stakes, but rather humor that naturally springs from the situations taking place and Bardem’s comedic timing couldn’t be better. Zendaya’s Chani also gets a far bigger role in this film and she gives a very real performance as her character has some truly multifaceted development from beginning to end. I was a bit worried that the love story between Paul and Chani would echo the cheesiness and one dimensionality of many relationships portrayed in YA book to film adaptations, but thankfully, it’s nothing like that here, and there are far more layers to it than one might expect.
Rebecca Ferguson has a much different role than she did in the first film as Lady Jessica, and although I can’t go into any details, Ferguson is utterly haunting. All I will say is that she utilizes a lot of the darker elements of her Bene Gesserit witchcraft abilities we only got a glimpse of in the original movie. The makeup work done on Austin Butler deserves award recognition, as he is so unrecognizable that I wouldn’t have known Austin Butler was in the movie unless I looked at the film’s IMDb page. Butler plays Feyd-Rautha, the nephew of Baron Harkonnen, and has been tasked by his uncle with a major leadership position in the war against the Fremen. Elvis has most definitely left the building, because Butler is next level terrifying as the Baron’s heir and proves to be a spine chilling psychotic villain who steals every scene he is in.
I cannot forget to mention how good Stellan Skarsgård is as the Baron yet again. He still talks like he smokes 15 cigarettes an hour and at times it’s hard to tell what he’s saying, but nonetheless his grotesquely obese presence and calculating personality prove to be extremely intimidating. There are so many cast members in this movie (some of whom are a surprise), including newcomers, like Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan and Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV who both are great and have pivotal roles which can only be discussed in a spoiler review. Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, one word: Badass.
This movie deals with some very heavy themes like blind fanaticism, religious tribalism, fundamentalism, fate versus free will, and spirituality. Lots of religious undertones. Luckily, all of these dense thematics are handled with coherence and maturity thanks to a no-fluff script by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts. It is far more action packed than the first one, with epic and breathtaking battle sequences. Plenty of hand to hand combat and even the sand worms get more than a few crowd pleasing moments. The action is brutal, pushing the PG-13 rating to the limit and in some instances comes merely frames away from earning an R rating. Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is unsurprisingly euphoric, utilizing some of the same musical cues from the first while adding to it with an effective use of auditorium shaking drums.
After seeing the film twice, I guess the only thing that kind of bugs me is that I remember hearing that this movie was going to be 3 hours 15 minutes long, and this cut is only 2 hours 46 minutes. Still quite long, but nonetheless, I did notice a few areas which might have been expanded on in that 29 minutes of footage left on the cutting room floor. One last thing, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but whenever Dave Bautista yells at someone in this movie, I can’t help but think of Drax the Destroyer from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. In a time when blockbuster cinema is often being bombarded with studio manufactured commercial rubbish, Dune: Part Two gives me hope that there is an optimistic future for substantial big budget science fiction films reaching a wider audience. Overall, DUNE: PART TWO builds upon the world, characters, and complex power dynamics set in motion by the first film in the most compelling, epic in scale, beautifully shot, and enthralling ways imaginable. Director Denis Villeneuve adds yet another terrific science fiction masterwork under his belt.
Comments