“I AM PAUL MAUD’DIB ATREIDES, DUKE OF ARRAKIS. THE HAND OF GOD BE MY WITNESS, I AM THE VOICE FROM THE OUTER WORLD. I WILL LEAD YOU TO PARADISE”

My rating: Cryptid Cinema

Dune Part Two, the second half of Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious two part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 sci-fi classic, feels like a blockbuster to end all blockbusters, a monumental cinematic achievement. While the Lord of the Rings comparisons may seem pretty obvious, especially since Herbert’s novel is often considered the sci-fi equivilent of Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy, it absolutely fits here because if 2021’s Dune (or Dune Part One) felt like filmmaking on an epic scale that we hadn’t seen since Peter Jackson first transported audiences to Middle Earth with The Fellowship of the Ring back in 2001, Dune Part Two feels like filmmaking on a level that we haven’t seen since The Two Towers in 2002. On top of that, Villeneuve and Jackson’s adaptations of their respective novels have a lot in common, as both find a perfect blend of straight up, accurate adaptation of the material while also finding ways to expand upon the themes of the novels in a way that feels respectful and makes sense. 

Dune Part Two is the perfect example of the “when everybody does their part for the group project” meme. Whether it’s Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts’ script, which perfectly blends humor, drama, action and even horror in a way that makes the nearly 3 hour runtime fly by, to an all time great score by Hans Zimmer, who truly feels as if he’s firing on all cylinders in a way that he really hasn’t before, to Grieg Fraser’s breathtaking cinnematography that brings the different planets that make up the Dune universe (Dune-iverse??) to life (the black and white gladiator arena sequence on the Harkonnen home world of Giedi Prime in particular is a key standout), to the stunning and immersive production and costume design by Patrice Vermette and Jacqueline West respectively, everything comes together to create a film that not only builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, but far sures it, cementing itself alongside the likes of the afformentioned Two Towers, T2, The Godfather Part Two and The Empire Strikes Back as one of the all time great cinematic sequels. That’s to say nothing of the acting, which is also phenomenal. Timothée Chalamet cements that he was perfectly cast as the series’ awkward, reluctant messiah/chosen one, Paul Atreides. While it would itedly be easy for some of Paul’s decisions, actions and dialogue to come off as whiny or insufferable, Chalamet chooses to lean into Paul’s apprehension and reluctance to taking on a role/title that was imposed on him by the people around him, while at the same time, dealing with the very real grief he feels over basically everybody he loved and most of his family being senselessly massacred by the Harkonnens and basically becoming the leader of not only his family but of the royal House Atreides basically overnight, resulting in easily Chalamet’s best performance to date. Rebecca Fergusson’s Lady Jessica continues to metaphorically and also quite literally be mother. In fact, she’s so good at being mother that this film gives her the title of Reverend Mother (which in Bene Geserit is basically the ultimate mother). Javier Bardem’s Stilgar proves to be the comedic heart of the film while not being reduced to a laughing stock or a purely comedic character and, along with Lady Jessica, serves as the perfect representation of the film’s themes of religious fervor and fanaticism. Together, the two of them believably play on Paul’s vulnerabilities and grief to manipulate and mold him into the “Lisan Al Gaib”, the prophecized Messiah figure. On the flipside, there’s Zendaya’s Chani, who, along with Paul, serves as the more skeptical counter to the adult’s religious fanaticism. Chani is easily the film’s MVP. After so much buildup for her appearance in Part One (which famously lead to people getting “Zendaya-baited” by the movie because she was such a huge part of the promotion for the film and ultimately had like 5 minutes of screentime in the actual movie), Chani both is and isn’t the character you expect her to be, even if you’ve read the book. Villeneuve, Spaihts and Zendaya herself give Chani some much needed depth and complexity that truly elevates her character. As for the newcomers, Austin Butler is easily the standout. Butler brings all the rockstar energy and swagger that he brought to the role of Elvis but dials it up to 11 to his chilling portrayal of the murderous and psychotic Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and steals every single scene he’s in. However, not all the characters fare so well. While we certainly get more of Stellan Skarsgard’s Baron Vladamir Harkonnen and Dave Bautista’s Glossu “Beast” Rabban than we got in Part One and their performances are great (especially Bautista’s, who really gets to showcase Rabban’s physicality and why he has the nickname “Beast” in his scenes), they aren’t given nearly as much depth as the heroes are. While their motivations are clearly defined, they don’t hsve the depth of someone like Paul or Chani. The other newcomers who aren’t Butler (Christopher Walken as the Emperor, Florence Pugh as his daughter Princess Irulan and Lea Sedoux as Bene Geserit sister Lady Margot Fenring) really drew the short end of the stick when it comes to screentime but with a story as character dense as Dune, that was bound to happen. 

It isn’t all positive though. Even with two films that have a combined runtime of nearly 6 hours, Dune is such a dense book (the book is over 600 pages and the audio book version I listened to on Audible clocked in at just over 21 hours), it’s possible to TRULY adapt all of Dune, and some elements of the story do feel somewhat rushed due to Villeneuve and Spaihts opting to change what in the book is a time jump of a couple years during which Paul and the Fremen disrupt spice production and Maud’Dib becomes a figure feared by the Harkonnens and Imperium alike to a couple of months (if even) in the movie, which, in the longrun isn’t something that deeply impacts the story, but it does make certain smaller details make less sense as we near the film’s climax. That being said, Villeneuve and Spaihts are clearly aware that doing a *fully accurate* adaptation of Dune. even with the two movie constraint that they had, was nigh impossible, so they opted to omit certain things, condense others, and in some cases, add things, all while keeping true to the spirit and themes of Herbert’s novel to the point that it’s clear that they both have a deep reverence for the novel. Given how Dune Part Two ends off, I have no doubt that the inevitable conclusion to Villeneuve’s trilogy, Dune Part Three/Dune: Messiah will also take liberties with adapting ITS source novel as well, and if the first two parts are anything to go by, that’ll be for the best.

Dune Part Two is, without question, one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made and a standout in Denis Villeneuve’s already incredible filmography. While it’s very easy for a movie to get way too overhyped way too quickly, in the case of Dune Part Two, ABSOLUTELY believe the hype. Believe the hype and see it on the biggest IMAX screen you can, just as Villeneuve intended, or if you’re lucky enough to see be living near a theater that’s showing it in 70mm film, as I did for my second screening, do yourself a favor and see it in that format too. (But, if you do that, do yoursef a favor and also see it in IMAX. Movies like this are why IMAX was invented).