Review
Dune: Part Two (Sci-Fi, Adventure) [Based on Novel] (2024)
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert (Based on Novel by)
Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler
Integrating with a desert culture called the Fremen, the heir of House Atreides is hailed their messiah, rallying those around him to eliminate House Harkonnen and their all-consuming capitalist ways.
As a sequel to 2021's Dune reboot by Villeneuve, Part Two follows Paul Atreides' journey with the Fremen, learning their ways and gaining strength to face an overwhelming Harkonnen force. Needing time to be greenlit, while already having intended to direct a two-part film series unlike David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Herbert's books, it was soon clear that it would be set in stone. Despite that, the feature was delayed due to 2023's well-known labour disputes ravaging production schedules. It was produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
After the eradication of House Atreides, the ducal heir Paul (Timothée Chalamet) retreats into the southern deserts of Arrakis, making peace with the Fremen, parts of which see him and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) being prophesied, delivering prosperity to their planet. While House Harkonnen continues to pillage the planet's natural reserves of Spice, another war is brewing, uniting the inhabitants of southern and northern tribes to take up arms and inaugurating a golden age of prosperity.
Following the widely popular reboot, Villeneuve continues the tale of Paul Atreides as he ascends to be the Lisan al Gaib, a foretold messiah in the Fremen's lore. Building further upon the narrative weaved already, the director's prowess continues to show within its atmospheric and political storytelling themes.
Harkening back to the reboot's opening, this time Florence Pugh's newly introduced character Princess Irulan, daughter of the emperor, narrates to allow re-immersion into this complicated and far-reaching political landscape set in motion by 2021's "Dune". At the same time, a glimpse at the future as it'd take some time before Irulan and her father in Christopher Walken's Emperor Shaddam IV would make their presence known. Lavish modern palaces make way for us to return to the arid Arrakis as Chalamet's Paul and Ferguson's Jessica integrate with Fremen society as a cold war wages between the industrial and morally-wicked House Harkonnen and the nomadic Fremen who they fail to take as seriously as they might be needed to.
Forming mostly the entirety of its narrative on Arrakis, with sections on the Harkonnen home planet of Giedi Prime, "Dune: Part Two" uses its strengths, as the previous iteration seems additionally so a complete set-up and pivoting heavily towards the political elements of Herbert's universe, this sequel provides a much grander culture in a romantic, yet religious narrative. While the politics are still contained within segments featuring Walken's Emperor Shaddam IV and his daughter, they feature less oppressively. Chalamet's Paul is on his journey for power; takes patience and time emboldened by the spacing granted, breathing in its vistas and environments using silence and bass as effectively as I'd ever seen, rightfully earning an Oscar for Best Sound.
Immersion is Villeneuve's strength, able to excel in his manner of world-building, although without too much lore-hyping, which then provides a more natural narrative, allowing easier access for those not secular to Herbert's universe. Keeping my preferences to myself, not being fond of Villeneuve and his mannerisms, positivity was palpable about his initial dive of the Dune world, which was previously butchered by producers and executives, cutting the original 1984 adaptation's allowances apart, which led to Lynch himself disowning the feature. While a third film is planned already, I can say boldly that for those immersed within Herbert's world, this is the cinematic experience it always deserved to be, and I'm happy that fans got this version. Dune: Part Two is much more of a whole presentation and thus feels more structured, a righteous sequel tying things together and furthering the universe in question with love, war and politics while remaining digestible by the average viewer.
Verdict
Plant the thumper device firmly in the sand, and be ready for what is to come.
8,5
