Seb’s review published on Letterboxd:
I'm still slightly unsure of my score, could easily be an extra half a star but for now I'll keep it at 4 stars.
Dune: Part Two is a technical marvel and just as epic as everyone says it is. It's definitely one of the most memorable sci-fi stories to be told and it'll be interesting to see how this holds up with the other beloved franchises.
In my review for Part One I mentioned my main issue was the fairly shallow characters, and I though Paul was pretty one-dimensional. This installment though fixes that, there is a lot of time, particularly in the first half where we get to see a different side to him and his time spent with the Fremen and learning their ways really compliments that.
The action is dotted throughout the film really well, it never lasts too long but it works so well with the guerrilla fighting style of the Fremen. The choreography is stellar, and this really gets shown off in the final sequences.
The visuals and music that go alongside these scenes are incredible, there were some great shots and just badass moments toward the end that had me grinning with excitement.
I loved seeing more of the Harkonnen's, the shift in the visual style with the scenes of their home planet are a lot of fun. I don't know how much I enjoyed Austin Butlers character, I really liked him at the start and found him super interesting, but I have to it he seemed pretty one-note towards the end.
I don't know if it's just my own fault, but I created this image of the emperor being this formidable devious puppet master, after how he is talked about in the first film. But I just kinda found him to be a bit of a regular dude? I haven't read the books so it's probably my own fault for having that assumption of his character but it did throw me a little.
I loved the focus of the Fremen culture though, learning more about their various beliefs, techniques, and ways of life was so much fun. The world building is so strong with both of these films, which is crazy because there are other film franchises that have more installments but lack in that department, where Dune just knocks it out of the park.
