We all knew this was going to get hit right out of the park, right?
With Denis Villeneuve’s English-language filmography being something the man has every right to be proud of, there was very little doubt that this sequel to the surprisingly re-watchable Part One (2021) was going to deliver. And now…having just rolled in from the theatre (on an alarmingly snowy March day), I can confidently say that Villeneuve and Co. brought their A-game to this epic continuation of the surprisingly lean-yet-grand first movie.
One of the elements that I love about the first film (and now the second) is that it feels like an actual ‘movie’, not just ‘content’.
The first one transported me to these awesomely realized worlds and characters, faithfully, from a book that many have deemed ‘unadaptable’. Just look what happened to poor David Lynch’s ambitious 1984 attempt (which I still have a nostalgic soft-spot for, so suck it!). But at the time – Crash and burn, baby!
But then along comes this uppity Francophone Canuck director with a decent resume…and actually pulls it off. And not just ‘pulls it off’…pulls it off wonderfully, IMO, seeding the science fiction arena with a fresh take on an old story and the resulting content has effortlessly entered the lexicon of contemporary geek culture, pretty much on arrival.
Well, those seeds get amply watered here, with what I deem to be a sequel that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the terrific original, while also organically expanding upon and improving on some concepts set up in Part One.
In those respects, there’s something of a The Empire Strikes Back vibe stamped on this second entry. And that ain’t no bad thing!
Dune Part Two picks up where Part One ends, with ‘Paul Atreides’ (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother ‘Jessica’ (Rebecca Ferguson), both of whom everyone believes killed (though some have doubts) in the Harkonnen siege of Arrakeen, fleeing into hiding amongst the tribes of Fremen in the deep desert. From there, many things begin falling into place. ‘Paul’ and ‘Chani’ (Zendaya) enter into a war-strained romance as ‘Paul’ works toward a path of revenge against the Harkonnens, while ‘Jessica’, through her powerful Bene Gesserit training, ascends to the prestigious level of Reverend Mother among the Fremen, seeking council from her unborn daughter (I liked this concept), who’s development and intelligence are greatly enhanced in the womb when ‘Jessica’ takes the Water of Life, the powerful drug derived from the sandworm’s bile (I liked the direction Ferguson took with her portrayal of the fugitive royal concubine, there was something spooky and sinister to it). As these dramas play out, the ‘Emperor Shaddam IV’ (Christopher Walken) and his daughter, ‘Princess Irulan’ (Florence Pugh) plot with the Harkonnens behind the scenes to hunt down rebel leader ‘Paul’ and his marauding Fremen allies, to destroy the last obstacle, and the message it represents, before taking total control. Into this enters the psychotic nephew of ‘Baron Harkonnen’ (Stellan Skarsgard), ‘Feyd’ (Austin Butler), a sadistic monster who’s tasked with reestablishing control over Arrakis and the production of spice. The threads, and some others, all come together in a (mostly) epic fashion.
Speaking of epic, Dune Part Two qualifies. Cinematically, it’s a fucking treat…nay…a feast, for the looking balls. I just recently mentioned this in my Prisoners (2013) review, but Villeneuve knows how to convey LARGE scale, in a manner that makes the worlds shown loom over us, the audience members, further pulling us into the story. SO many shots, in both films, are beautifully constructed images you could easily frame and hang. In conjunction with the top-tier cinematography, Villeneuve needs to buy his product designers a beer, because they’ve created a cinematic universe that sucks you in. The sets and locations look great, the costuming is terrific, the vehicles and weapon designs feel bulky and used, and overall, each world we see has its own stylistic flairs (loved the presentation and concept of day-time Geidi Prime!). When paired with Villeneuve’s penchant for Large Frame compositions, it all comes together.
It also helps that the cast, many of whom are returning from Part One, absolutely commit to the material. One aspect that I appreciated was the periodic hints of humor that found their way into the 2 hour and 46 minute narrative, mostly via either Javier Bardem’s amusingly devout Fremen leader ‘Stilgar’ or Josh Brolin’s perpetually grumpy ‘Gurney Halleck’, though many of the incidental group interactions have humanistic qualities as well, in the relatable way they joke and banter amongst themselves. I actually found it refreshing, further rooting my sympathies with the Fremen.
What’s not quite so refreshing is the one notable strike I do have to lay on this one and that is, much like Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) before it, the Second Act felt a little bloated and self-indulgent. The first Act is probably my favorite, with great pacing and some genuinely inventive and exciting action scenes. The third Act largely brought it home, with only just a hint of rush to the pacing. It’s Act Two that’s the issue. There’s only so many slo-mo shots of Zendaya at dusk (as beautiful as she is / they are) that we need, or shots of her glowering / scowling / frowning at Paul for extended takes like an angsty teenager (which I do suppose she is). Some motifs, like ‘Paul’s MANY slow-motion visions (accompanied by music score that, at times, comes close to self-parody), did start to feel a bit repetitive and padding-like, therefore causing the pacing to stumble around the halfway mark. Another minor gripe is that certain key characters, destined to perish, find themselves getting rather tame deaths, instead of something as epic as what had come before. That said, a bit more splashed red would’ve been cool too. Lotta violence…very little blood. Just saying.
Luckily, things ramped back up for the climax and the narrative re-found it’s stride and charged full-steam ahead…right to a straight-up sequel bait ending of near-epic proportions!…which I am cool with, as I don’t feel as though I, or the story, are done with this particular universe. Hopefully, this one blows up the box-office and WB green-lights Part Three in short order.
By and large, this was a solid sequel to a terrific first film (that was better than it had any real right to be, IMO) and I had a great time taking it in on the Big Screen. It’s a beautiful looking flick and if you’re an appreciator of true Cinema / intelligent science fiction, then you owe it to yourself to get your ass to the biggest screen you can find and sear your senses with this movie. Some expected pacing / run-time issues aside (film could’ve easily shaved 15 or so minutes off), big portions of this story play out with great pacing, while showing lots of genuinely cool ‘sci-fi’ ideas on screen to keep fleshing out the multiple worlds at every turn (loved how the Fremen took revenge on enemies by draining their bodies of useable water…while still alive). There are several very awesome action sequences, including a harrowing cat-n-mouse battle between ‘Paul’ and ‘Chani’ and a Harkonnen gunship ornithopter during a fiery ambush on a spice harvester that had me grinning my ass off. And that wasn’t the only scene that stroked my sci-fi geek to a happy ending.
“The Spice expands Life…the Spice expands consciousness.”
-‘Princess Irulan’, 1984
So go see this damn fine movie, you nerds! Do it, now…so we get a third one!
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