An improvement over the first part with more focus on intrigue and more consideration for character, yet still underwhelms by reducing the roles of some of the story’s most interesting developments. I did like that this one slightly more embraced the weird and Butler’s Skarsgaard voice was a standout. Like the first, it’s a technical accomplishment, but also like the first I’m still wanting a lot more from the storytelling. It would have worked better by sticking to the trilogy format in the book. Making the story two films gave the first awkward structure and the second a rushed and unfulfilling resolution. I’ve found this exploration of Paul’s reluctance to be interesting, but as a fan these films have left me feeling robbed of what I love about the book and its other adaptations. What they get right they do well, but what gets left out gets in my way of being able to enjoy this interpretation. Alia’s role in the finale is what makes Dune a true storytelling success, for this reader at least. So, as a fan, to have that narrative coup de grâce reimagined this way left me feeling pretty dissatisfied. While I liked it better than Part 1, I still wanted to be able to like it a lot more.