‘Dune Part 2’ Review: Villeneuve Strikes Back

A Totally Reel Review

Rate It Out of Eight:

7/8

I didn’t love Dune: Part 1 as much as the rest of the world seemed to. Of course visually it was one of the most stunning movies I’d seen in a while, but the story felt dragged down at times by exposition and world-building. The ending also didn’t feel satisfying because there was no dramatic climax other than a one-on-one ritual duel. There are challenges to splitting a story into two, but ultimately each should succeed on its own as well. With all that said, I liked Dune: Part 2 as much as I’d hoped I would, and I certainly liked it more than I thought I would. Christopher Nolan was right: this is Villeneuve’s Empire Strikes Back.

In retrospect, Part 1 served its purpose well as an introduction to the universe of Dune, but personally I did not find it to be an especially memorable standalone movie. I haven’t read the books and there are so many characters and lore in the universe that, especially on my first viewing, all I could do was keep track of the various characters and their motivations. It doesn’t help when there are names such as Harkonnens and Caladan and some people look normal while others look like solidified pudding in human form (referring to the Baron Harkonnen though the human part is debatable). In all seriousness, I could certainly feel the 2.5 hour runtime and the action scenes just weren’t quite rewarding enough. However, these complaints don’t apply at all to Part 2 as we jump straight into the action. The long runtime feels justified as characters are fleshed out and there is an incredible climactic sequence. Timothee Chalamet is fascinating to watch as Paul evolves by the end of the movie to what feels like an inevitable conclusion to his character arc.

Of course, much of the credit for what made Dune: Part 2 so spectacular goes to Frank Herbert for writing the novels. As with great sci-fi stories, this one keeps the reader grounded with conflicts of a political, familial, and religious nature — timeless ones that resonate even today, six decades after the novel was first published. In such a universe of inter-galactic warfare, it is ultimately a very human story. However, I do also want to credit Villeneuve and his team for bringing this vision to life. The creative direction, VFX, cinematography, and costume design all complemented, but never distracted from, the grandness of Paul’s story.

Is Paul the Hero? It’s Complicated

The great care that Denis Villeneuve and his cowriter Jon Spaihts took in adapting a script of such colossal scale is one of the biggest reasons why this worked so well for me. Sometimes sci-fi movies overemphasize flying spaceships and crazy visual effects, sacrificing action for three-dimensional characterization (such as Avatar: The Way of Water). I love Timothee Chalamet’s performance, his bone structure has a very patrician look, but I was skeptical in Part 1 that he doesn’t have the physique of a traditional storybook hero. Even in this movie watching him fight and win in hand-to-hand combat was just a tad hard to believe. However, as we see in Part 2, his character is more complicated than that.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, please skip to Possibly a Perfect Sequel if you don’t want to be spoiled. Seriously, do yourself a favor and don’t spoil it.

In Part 1 Paul is very clearly a hero going on this journey, he is choosing to do what he believes is right and not lead men into a deadly war in his name. Yet when Herbert had written the novel, it was meant to be a warning against charismatic leaders and the faith we place in heroes. Villeneuve explains that Herbert elaborated more in the second book Dune Messiah that Paul isn’t the cut-and-dry hero and he incorporated that earlier on in Part 2.

“When Frank Herbert wrote Dune, he was disappointed at how people perceived Paul,” Villeneuve explains. “In his mind, Dune was a cautionary tale — a warning against charismatic figures. He felt that Paul was perceived as a hero, when he wanted to do the opposite. So in order to correct that, he wrote Dune Messiah, a kind of epilogue that makes it very clear this story is not a victory, it’s a tragedy.” — EW

Paul spends a good half to two-thirds of Dune: Part 2 fighting against the prophecy and his mother’s insistence that he wage a holy war against the Great Houses. He sees the bloodshed and apocalyptic visions of the future. I will say that the movie could have made it a bit more clear exactly why he decided to drink the Water of Life after resisting for so long. It’s implied that he had a dream of Chani dying or that he needed to see more potential futures to find a way to save everyone.

However, we see him start to truly believe that he is the Messiah. He storms into the Fremen war council and instead of honoring tradition and dueling Stilgar (Javier Bardem), he starts reading into people’s pasts and using the Fremen’s religious fervor to convince them to go to war against the Harkonnens. Sure the Harkonnens are also their enemies, but he’s clearly taking advantage of the propaganda that Lady Jessica and Bene Gesserit had been planting about the Messiah coming to save them.

‘[All] my visions lead to horror.’

‘Why? Because you lose control?’

‘No because I gain it.’

Because he initially resisted becoming the Mahdi, it is more compelling when he chooses to do just that. He chooses to hold the Emperor hostage and ascend the throne by marrying Princes Irulan. He chooses to wage war against the other Great Houses, knowingly leading the Fremens into a war far larger than themselves. It becomes more chilling to see this change, yet there is an old part of him that might still be there when he looks at Chani. However, The fact that he tells her “I will love you as long as I breathe” right before he announces he will marry Princess Irulan feels like a punch to the gut and only further shows his change. Maybe he genuinely believes he is saving the Fremen, or perhaps that is his justification for his delusions of grandeur.

Surprisingly Well-Written Minor Characters

Paul, of course, was well-written but his own development also depended on his relationships with Lady Jessica and Chani. I haven’t read the books but apparently Villeneuve also made some changes to the script that gave these two female characters a greater role and presence on screen.

The movie could’ve easily side-lined Chani to be a passive love interest who blindly follows Paul, but instead she challenges him and adds depth to their dynamic. She is skeptical that he’s the long-awaited Messiah and at times openly hostile to the idea that this white Duke from another planet is supposed to come and save the Fremen. However we still see her fall in love with who he is, detached from the prophecy and politics, but there is always some tension in their relationship. In the book, apparently, she was loyal to Paul and stayed by his side and bore his children even after he married Princess Irulan. Villeneuve allows her to be more vocal about her own beliefs and she makes it clear to him: You will never lose me as long as you stay who you are. She wasn’t afraid to leave when he chose to fulfill the prophecy and she certainly wasn’t going to stick around while he married another.

Rebecca Ferguson’s performance as Lady Jessica was intriguing and much needed in the story. She has her own agenda and while her husband and son have the titles, she wields her own power over them. I loved that scene when she saved Paul’s life in the first 15 minutes of the movie by bashing this soldier’s head in. She manipulates the Fremen, in her chilling monologue about converting the weak-minded to Paul’s side. I still can’t tell if Jessica is actually able to communicate with the fetus or if she’s just using that as another tactic to control Paul. She’s cunning and is fascinating to watch on screen.

Austin Butler gave one of my favorite performances as Feyd-Rautha, he was totally unhinged and incredibly effective. I do wish Florence Pugh had more to do, she was a passive character for the most part, offering unhelpful commentary such as “Feyd-Rautha? He’s psychotic.” Not exactly Oscar-worthy performance but also I do know she will play a much larger role in Dune Messiah. Javier Bardem added some much-needed levity and Josh Brolin did exactly what he needed to in the 15 minutes of screentime he had.

The Creativity and Scale of the Spectacle

Dune: Part 2 is visually breathtaking. The sweeping shots of the desert are clear homages to Lawrence of Arabia, the costume design adds to the otherworldly ambiance, and some of the spaceships and weapons are unlike anything I’ve seen. I especially loved the metal headgear that they had for Princess Irulan in the five minutes that we saw her. Or for example I was so confused to see the shot of the Muad-dib mouse sniffing the tube, and all we can hear is quiet, machine-like inhalations. A minute later it was so satisfying to see the Fremen fighters rise up from the sand.

Two sequences, besides the final climactic battle, that stand out are the sandworm-riding and black-and-white sequence on the Harkonnen’s home planet. It’s such a shame that they showed so much of the sandworm riding in the trailer, but even after seeing it so many times it was exhilarating to see the full sequence. The scale of that worm, the anticipation between planting the thumper and Paul’s first jump, and just the triumph we feel as he stands up are top-tier moments.

The black-and-white sequences with the Harkonnens was one of my favorite parts of the movie; it not only looked incredible but also was very effective storytelling that showed us the type of person Feyd-Rautha is. He battles prisoners of the House Atreides but only clearly wins against them when they’re drugged. It’s a matter of pride, showing off to his uncle that he is capable of ruling Arrakis, hence his anger when one of the guards hurt the last prisoner who hadn’t been drugged. Austin Butler ordering Dave Bautista to kiss his feet was especially memorable, in part because physically Dave Bautista is so much larger, but Austin Butler still commands so much power. It was a shame that his character was killed already. Kudos to the makeup team for making him look nearly unrecognizable.

Possibly a Perfect Sequel

Dune: Part 2 shines as a sci-fi epic with incredible performances from the entire cast, a strong script, and some of the best VFX I’ve seen in recent years. It is easily the best movie that has come out this year. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Part 1 but Part 2 would not have been as incredible without that proper groundwork. Timothee Chalamet gives such a nuanced performance, adding depth to Paul’s character and hopefully setting up for a third movie.

The more I think about it, the more I like this movie. It checks so many of the boxes of a great sequel: it expands on the universe, adds depth to existing characters, ups the stakes, and sets up for another movie (post-credits scene optional). If The Dark Knight is Nolan’s perfect sequel, this is Villeneuve’s.

If you’re able, I highly recommend watching it in IMAX for the expanded aspect ratio and definitely in 70mm IMAX if you’re lucky enough to live near one of the few theaters that support the format. Oh, and don’t forget to buy the cursed popcorn bucket too while you’re there.

As usual, here are some of my favorite Letterboxd reviews: