Every so often a movie comes along that checks all the boxes. It has a great story, great acting, amazing graphics, beautiful cinematography, and just the right score to go along with it. If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about the original 1984 Dune. I’m obviously joking, but that movie was ahead of its time back when it came out and it was a great science fiction flick for the 80’s. Instead, I will be talking about Dune: Part Two. I had the pleasure of seeing this over the weekend and much to my delight, it held up from what I had been reading about. Before I go much further, however, let me remind you that this will be full of spoilers, so come back after you’ve watched it, check out some other reviews here, or better yet, continue reading and then watch it afterward to see if you agree with me.
Let me start by saying that I was a late-comer to Dune. Having been a young boy when the original came out, I didn’t try to watch it til much later in life, and to be honest, I didn’t put much stock in it at the time. I’ve also never watched the made-for-TV movies of the early 2000s. But all that changed in 2021 when Dune, the rebooted one, came out. I went back and re-watched the original so it was fresh in my head and I enjoyed it a lot more. I then had the pleasure of watching the new one and fell in love with it. But enough about the old, let’s get to the new.
I had been reading quite a bit about Part Two and was excited to see it finally get released. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be: Wow! Do yourself a favor and go see this in a movie theater on a big screen. Even if you haven’t watched Part One, you can still have a great time and immerse yourself in this cinematic masterpiece. This might be the best film I’ve seen since I was able to experience Oppenheimer while it was in theaters. I’m not sure any sort of recap I put here could possibly do it justice, but I do want to touch on a few things.
First, Paul Atreides (Timothẻe Chalamet) and his time learning the Fremen way. This is the advantage of making this into two parts, it was great to see him start to pick up on their traditions and fighting styles. This also allowed for more time between him and Chani (Zendaya) and their brooding romance. Honestly, though, my favorite part was Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and his ever-growing loyalty and faith towards Paul and what he could do. A lot of people don’t believe him, but he is slowly able to convince them as Paul continues to surprise with his skills and loyalty back to them. This is also when Gurney (Josh Brolin) reappears and joins the fight with Paul and the Fremen.
Second, I need to talk about the rise of Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler). What an amazing job Butler did with this role, one of the best on-screen villains that I’ve seen. As Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) removes Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) from his position of power and places Feyd-Rautha in his place amid multiple attacks on the spice production and continuous failed attempts to stop them. He thrives in this role and is more ruthless than Beast as he drives the Fremen out of their home and into the South. I was really hoping they would re-write this to allow his character some more screen time in future franchise releases.
Finally, Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson) and her ever-growing desire to take matters into her own hands. She becomes the resident Reverend Mother of the Fremen and travels with them when they go South. Somehow she is still able to pull all the strings she wants and even gets Paul to drink the sandworm poison that she did earlier. All of this leads them to a confrontation with House Harkonnen, the Emperor (Christopher Walken), and his army. None of it matters as Paul and the Fremen take control of the planet, the spice, and the throne. As Paul challenges the Emperor, Feyd-Rautha takes his place and gets defeated in battle setting up another sequel somewhere in the future.
I wasn’t sure how far they were going to take the story. I thought maybe it would end after this one so it lined up with what they did in 1984, but this is wide-open with various ways the main story can go from here. But on top of everything, this was just a stunning piece of artwork from start to finish. Brilliantly written, beautifully shot, and the cast was about as good as you can get. Kudos to Denis Villeneuve and everyone else involved from the gorgeous and sometimes creepy soundtrack/score to the costume designers and their spot-on outfits that look like they could withstand a 5,000-mile-wide sandstorm.
Overall, I can’t say enough good about this film and how much I urge you to see it on a big screen where you can get the best experience possible. The cast and crew did an amazing job to create something phenomenal and very entertaining even for those who didn’t see Part One (just ask my son)! Even at sitting at nearly three hours long, it doesn’t feel remotely boring or dragged out. Now the long wait for Part Three begins, but in the meantime, I give this movie my highest rating yet (since starting this website) with a 9 out of 10.
Can this be topped? Join me next week to see what comes next!
I need to see part 1 first! Part 2 sounds good!