Dune Part Two

A film being able to evolve with a sequel is always something that should be acknowledged. Drawing people in with one film is impressive but being able to keep them involved by showing that a second film is going to be more than just sloppy seconds takes some effort, and some of the biggest franchises have done this. Star Wars proved to the world it wasn’t just a light-hearted sci-fi adventure with Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II managed the impossible and delivered a film that many believed exceeded its already beloved first film, Terminator was a respectable film yet Terminator 2: Judgement Day is considered one of the greatest action films ever made, and while there are franchise that are good yet stumble with their sequels, it’s more amazing when a film that wasn’t hugely loved gets a sequel that wins people over. The 2021 film version of Dune wasn’t a failure by any means, but didn’t really connect with audiences, with many claiming it to be overly dull and only appealing to those who were fans of the original Frank Herbert novel series. This mindset managed to be shaken when Dune: Part Two was released in early 2024, with many seeing it as a massive improvement. Set immediately after the events of the first film, Paul Atreides (played again by Timothée Chalamet) and Lady Jessica (played again by Rebecca Ferguson) are living amongst the desert people of Arrakis named the Fremin and are trying to adjust to their society after escaping the slaughter of their house. After settling and even becoming romantic with a Fremin warrior named Chani (played by Zendaya), Paul discovers that a faction of this tribe, mainly its leader, Stilgar (played by Javier Bardem), believe he is the prophesied one that will lead their people to victory and restore peace to this barren planet. Despite knowing he isn’t the true messiah, Paul successfully fights alongside the Fremin against the Harkonnen forces, which causes a frustrated Baron Vladimir (played again by Stellan Skarsgård) to send his psychotic nephew, Feyd-Rautha (played by Austin Butler) to handle the situation. With pressure further mounting against them and needing something drastic to turn the tides of war, Paul may actually decide to embrace the prophecy in order to secure a victory over the Harkonnen army, but this may in turn push those that care about him away and transform him into the very thing he so desperately fears to become. With stellar reviews from audiences and critics, Dune went from a niche film for dedicated book fans, into a crowd-pleasing blockbuster that elevated its material while still retaining its distinct personality. With fantastic visuals and direction, a clever screenplay that highlights the brilliance of the original books, incredible acting and a great mix of cinematic thrills and explorative world-building, this is a film that will last the test of time.

It’s about as good a time as any to pay respect to Frank Hubert and his Dune series, as these series of books were so impactful to the genre of science fiction that many might not even realize how much was taken from them. Being a story that tackles so much complex sociopolitical commentary under the guise of a familiar intergalactic war tale, containing characters that are incredibly complex and subvert familiar archetypes, and created a world so packed with mythology and personality that exploration within it would be incredible and deemed un-filmable by many filmmakers, it’s almost too massive to properly comprehend. It may not be for everybody, but its legacy is nothing short of incredible, and it make sense why it would be an alluring story to tell but would also be incredibly hard to pull off. The first film was able to effectively compartmentalize a lot of the story in a fashion that, while still incredibly front-loaded and did result in an experience that felt more like an extended prologue than a proper film, effectively captured the spirit and personality of its environment. The plus side is that due to the overwhelming levels of exposition and reserved atmosphere present in the first film, it allows the second film to change things around and upgrade itself, presenting a sequel that feels unbelievably energized, flashy and incredibly grand in scale, whilst still retaining its thoughtful voice and thriving environment. The directing by Denis Villeneuve is very good, bringing his usual sense of visual spectacle, but combining it with a passionate drive and hype-inducing personality that makes it feel more mainstream and commercially flashy, but in a good sense. There’s a lot more action and suspenseful moments, the characters have more charm and charisma, the world is broadened and made to feel authentic and liveable, but still distinctly sci-fi,  and the narrative may have a pretty traditional outline of ‘’overthrowing an evil empire for the sake of the common individual’’, but the ways it subverts tis cliché and creates a situation that is so much more real and complex is incredibly great to watch. While the screenplay for this film by Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts is very good at bringing this world to life and even altering things from the original text to feel a little more fleshed out, a lot of the source material was already ahead of its time, and this film’s dissection of the ‘’chosen one prophecy’’ trope was all of its own making, and it’s outstanding. How it talks about the dangers of blind worship, how those in power can construct a legend in order to control the masses and restrict them from taking action themselves, the ways religions can weaponize a figure’s image regardless of moral standings in order to gain followers and fearful respect, and how much is someone willing to lose of themselves in order to fulfill a desired goal in the name of destiny, is very gripping and makes for easily the best scenes in the entire film. With that said, while this almost three-hour-picture is almost flawlessly executed from a pacing and scripting perspective, some tweaking could’ve made things a little smoother. Some characters arrive a little too late to let them develop, and some moments don’t feel as big as they should, but these are minor complaints in an otherwise close-to-flawless execution.

This is a stacked cast full of incredible talents, both new and old, and every one of them is spectacular in this picture. Even if they don’t have a lot of screen time, everybody is giving 100% in making these roles memorable, charged, and dramatic in a sense that is both grounded but also very Shakespearean at the same time. When someone needs to be serious and quiet, they do that great, and when they need to shout and be a little more theatrical, they can also do that in a way that is entertaining but also feels genuine. With that said, there is an odd imbalance between actors that feel like they are perfect for this environment, and those that (regardless of how strong their acting is) do feel a little out of place. This was an element of the first film as well, and it does carry over here, with people like Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin and even Zendaya, having a modern and different feel from the rest of the cast, which can feel a bit off. They still act great, and Zendaya is actually pretty incredible as the character of Chani, (thankfully being a lot more than just a basic love interest) but they do feel like they belong in a different genre. Timothée Chalamet has this issue originally as well, but once he adopts the messiah persona, he fully embraces this world through a performance that is captivating and intimidating in a way that truly makes him feel like a biblical figure that someone would praise, but also bow in fear of. People like Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and Léa Seydoux are a little underutilized, but are still great in their small parts, Stellan Skarsgård and Javier Bardem are given more to do this time around and they pull it off great, and even people like Souheila Yacoub, Anya-Taylor Joy, Charlotte Rampling, Alison Halstead and even most of the extras are so great at adding a sense of character to practically a nothing role, it’s an outstanding cast all-around. Austin Butler is so effective as the main villain of this film, containing a threatening charisma about him that makes people hate him for his actions, but still find him entertaining to watch. However, it feels like he doesn’t get enough time to really stand out, and while the amount of personality gotten from him through actions alone is incredible, he doesn’t even show up until after the halfway mark and doesn’t get many scenes as it is, so he could’ve used a bit more time.

The environment of Dune is such an interesting world to be in, not just for its world building and the rules that governor each distinct place, but also in how it looks, how the people look, and how each different planet operates. It would be worrying that since this franchise was the inspiration for several other sci-fi films, that its own iconography wouldn’t be as unique anymore, and while you can definitely see inspirations for stuff like Star Wars and Mad Max, it still feels like its own thing and still looks incredible. The production design by Patrice Vermette has such a unique look that adopts the perfect balance between abstractly surreal and credible within the boundaries of their reality. The ships are still designed in a unique fashion, the ways each society operates like how the Fremin handle water (especially from within people) just feels like that right amount of strange but still believable, and the costume design by Jacqueline West is also wonderfully extravagant and delightfully bizarre. The film also looks and sounds outstanding, as would be expected from a Villeneuve project, but this one feels slightly different. While his other films have grand visuals and scale, they  are usually not loud pictures and often delivered in a subdued way, whereas everything about this film is loud, whether it is the sound design by Richard King, the incredible musical score by the always incredible Hans Zimmer (which is so good at getting an audience hyped up), and even the cinematography by Greig Fraser, which is shot and angled in a way that feels very polished and cinematic, but also like it’s charmingly showing off. The frames are positioned in a way that feels purposeful and not just for the sake of being artsy and extra detailed (and even when it does, it is done in a more likeable sense). Whether it’s the expansive and orange-tinted world of Arrakis, or the beautifully surreal infrared world of the Harkonnen people, it is a stylish movie that doesn’t feel it is just in pretty clothing. The action is very similar, as a lot of the fights are well framed, up the stakes, and add a nice punchiness to what was a pretty slow-moving first film.

If the first Dune movie was a slow tip toe into a new world, Part 2 is the first full sprint. It’s an amazing jump up for the franchise and has taken what was once a specific franchise that had some hesitations about its public reception and transformed it into a juggernaut that has the potential to last as long as other crowd-pleasing franchises like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and many others. There are few tweaks that could be made to iron out some pacing things, but overall, this is a wonderfully executed film from a character, writing, directing and visual standpoint, creating a brand-new environment for the world to get lost in. For those that were originally unsure after the first film, this sequel will change their minds, no question. The film that emerged from the sand and rose to godly status, this sci-fi adventure is one for the cinematic history books.