I'm going to be boring here and merely add my voice to the deafening chorus of praise for this film, I'm going to be boring in this regard because as a filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is anything but, once again showcasing masterful craftsmanship in his work and delivering perhaps the most epic picture yet in his career with Dune: Part Two.

Of course it's helped considerably that the vast majority of the set up was handled by the first film, so Part Two here is allowed to hit the ground running in paying off the that set up position, so if one of your chief complaints of the first film was a lack of action then worry not, it is here in spectacular abundance in Part Two.

Though that doesn't mean the film is any less a cerebral offering than it's predecessor, far from it in fact as the second film here in what I can only hope does prove to be a full Villeneuve penned and helmed trilogy of Dune picture's goes in more on the supernatural elements of the lore, the deep prophetic and specific religious aspects of the story of Paul Atreides, going from a young and confused Duke's son to an omniscient force to be reckoned with in charge of a vast army and people. in the space of two film's no less, doesn't feel it should work as well as it should but a mixture of Chalamet really driving home the transition in his performance and Villeneuve deftly weaving his magic on these two film's just sells it really. Also in this area of the story, Rebecca Ferguson is fierce in this second outing as the newly appointed Reverend Mother, perhaps the most intimidating character in this saga so far, a typically strong showing from her here.

My favourite performance though in this sequel? It's Austin Butler for sure, now I make no bones about it I was quite disappointed that he did not walk away with the Oscar for Best Actor for his work in Elvis, think what you will of the film around him there sure, but for me there was no greater performance by a male actor that year, I mean it helped somewhat that he lost out to Brendan Fraser as I'm a fan there to, if it had been anyone else I'd have been far less forgiving I assure you. For me Butler feels as much the man of the moment in Hollywood right now as any other one could think of, even his castmate in Chalamet even who I think is less man of the moment now and similar to their co-star Zendaya's boyfriend Tom Holland is just an established star talent, which is exactly where I think Butler is heading to in quick step fashion, because he's once again deliriously good to watch here, as the na-Baron Feyd he is bringing menace and intimidation to proceedings, a sense of lethal capability as this psychotic force to be reckoned with, and my biggest complaint coming out of this near three hour film is we didn't get more of his performance in the film.

Which taps into what I'm I guess less thrilled about with the film, but it's a nice problem to have I suppose for the filmmakers on this one, I'm just so bowled over by the opulence and grandiosity of Dune: Part Two that I want more, I want more of these character's and their story, I could have happily sat there another hundred minutes if it meant we got more detail about the lives of character's who are not Chalamet's Paul, if this was a limited series I could have done with a whole episode dedicated to Brolin's Gurney Halleck and what he's had to endure since the fall of the house he so loyally served, I would have loved to see the more devious tactics employed by Ferguson's Reverend Mother as she riles up the southern fundamentalist's in order to bring them to her son's banner, I would have been divinely happy to see more of the Harkonnen family dynamics and history, it should be obvious that I would have liked to have seen more of Christopher Walken's Emperor because they cast bloody Christopher Walken in that role, and as much action as there is to enjoy in this film I would have liked to have seen more, more of the Sardaukar and their fight with the Fremen, more of the Great Houses and their repsonse to events unfolding on Arrakis, but I understand that perhaps there's more of a reluctance today to do the Peter Jackson treatment of Lord of the Rings, I get that Villeneuve with these films wants to give enough but not everything and in some ways that's maybe why they're as good as they are, to much of a good thing and what not.

In of a visual and audible experience, there are few film's you're likely to see that are able to match the the quality of what Dune: Part Two offers in this regard, the spice covered desert glistens in the low hung sunset, the blue eyes of the Fremen pop out at you from the screen, the Harkonnen home world feels oppressive to the eyes and but terrifically realized on screen in such a captivating fashion, the practical and lived in design and feel of the world Villeneuve brings to the screen cannot be understated as a winning factor, it's what makes the Original Trilogy of Star Wars feel so alive as it does, to see on screen environments, clothing, technologies etc that all feel understandable and seen to be well utilized, it gives one the impression of tangibility and more easily allows our imaginations to see ourselves in these creations of fictions, I think a lot of the more recently produced sci-fi productions, with an emphasis on cleaner aesthetics and design philosophy lose sight of the importance of creating world's with a lived-in feel to them. It's as close as one can get to the detailed description literary works are afforded in their ability to do the same thing, providing the reader in that case with the tools to put themselves in the world and the story at hand, with the character's on the adventure and in the action.

In of sound it's just an authoritative experience through and through from Hanz Zimmer here with his billowing compositions, demanding your attention as they thunder through the screening, it's terrific work again from him. One of my favourite reviews on all of Letterboxd is a jokey log for the first Dune film from Villeneuve and Co, where the reviewer (who rated with what I thought to be an unfair 2.5/5) reduced the experience of Dune: Part One to "two hours of Hanz Zimmer's giant mechanical goose going off" or something like that, I think about that review a lot and it always brings a smile to my face. That guy won't be happy with this sequel I assure you, Zimmer's giant mechanical goose sounds are back in action and louder than ever, and in the words of Logan Roy "I love it, I fucking love it".

It's also the sound design in general in Dune: Part Two though, the way Fremen interact with the desert environment with thumpers to summon the giant worms, the manner in which military technologies and firearms sound so alien and unfamiliar and yet understandable to your ears at the same time, as though you've always known that is what these things you've never seen before are supposed to sound like. The daunting spectacle of the crowded Harkonnen gladiatorial arena and the chanting voices of the masses, the sinister accent carried by Butler and Skarsgaard in their performances and of course, the ominous commandment of Bene Gesserit "Voice" used more and more by Ferguson's Reverend Mother and Chalamet's Paul Atreides, quickly establishing their authority in any given situation. It's not just Zimmer's music that is a sensual delight for the ears in Villeneuve's film.

Look perhaps narratively this might not be the perfect film, I do walk away from it wanting more for sure, but even maybe slightly feeling a need of more and you shouldn't walk away from a film feeling a need for more, a want is fine but not a need I feel. The thing is though it's rendered somewhat a moot point by the sheer majesty of the filmmaking on offer as a whole here, Villeneuve delivers a true beauty of a film here and I think when we look at Part One and Two as a whole it's now a definitive realization of Frank Herbert's famed work, supposedly impossible to adapt but I think for many Villeneuve has demonstrated there is a clear way to doing so, with compromise sure but then so was Jackson's way to bringing Lord of the Rings to the screen, and yet those film's as masterful in their execution and I think so is the case here with what Villeneuve has done with Dune: Part Two.

I saw this film with a friend, we saw the first film together to and as we walked out of the screening last night she simply said; "Well it was better than the first one!"

Yes, it is. Frankly that's the least of what can be said about this supremely accomplished film, to which on my part at least there is no sense of recency bias pervasively entering into my analysis here, I feel I will be as bowled over by Dune: Part Two in two decades time as I am by The Lord of the Rings today.