For their return voyage to Arrakis, Denis Villeneuve and his creative team have delivered an altogether much more enthralling and comprehensive work in the form of “Dune: Part Two.” Where the first film had the hefty task of introducing general audiences to the multi-layered and complex world, mythology, and characters of Frank Herbert’s iconic 1965 science-fiction novel (a job which David Lynch’s 1984 would-be-blockbuster attempt had already attempted and failed at decades prior), the sequel gets to hit the ground running, as Villeneuve and co. capitalize on all of the groundwork they so diligently laid in the first film. The result is a sequel that offers a much richer experience in practically every way, with “Dune: Part Two” making the best of both Herbert’s novel and Villeneuve’s own cinematic gifts.
To quote Herbert himself, “The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” “Dune: Part Two” is a film which fundamentally understands this. Herbert’s novel is now nearly sixty years old and has influenced practically every major science-fiction film to be made since its release. From “Star Wars” to “The Matrix,” there are strands of DNA from Herbert’s novel present throughout the history of cinematic sci-fi. Because of this, various story beats from across “Dune”‘s runtime could risk feeling repetitive or worn out due to their over-exposure via cultural osmosis in the years since Herbert’s novel was released. But Denis Villeneuve is a filmmaker who prioritizes an audio-visual experience above all else, and it is in this way that “Dune: Part Two” succeeds on a particularly unique level.
I spent large swaths of “Dune: Part One” in awe of the craft and technique on display, but rarely felt particularly enraptured by the storytelling itself. “Dune: Part Two” pushes that jaw-dropping sense of filmmaking innovation even further but also doubles down on character and emotion in surprisingly affecting ways. The result is that “Dune: Part Two” truly does carve out a “reality to experience” and is a much stronger work because of it.
TOP FIVE OF “DUNE: PART TWO“
5. Hans Zimmer’s Score
Zimmer’s score for these “Dune” films feels as integral as John Williams’ music is to “Star Wars” or as Howard Shore’s is to “Lord of the Rings.” From the literal opening seconds of both films, before a single frame of celluloid has hit the screen, Zimmer’s transportative score immediately sets the stage for an otherworldly epic.
Zimmer has long been a master of orchestral and boundary-pushing bombast in film, with his scores for everything from “Gladiator” to “Inception” fundamentally changing the way that artists and audiences alike think about film scores and their construction and implementation in truly fascinating ways. The genius of Zimmer’s “Dune” work is the way in which he interweaves the truly alien (the heavily distorted waves of audio, the “Dune”-specific languages utilized within the music itself, etc.) with more distinct Earthly sounds and instrumentation.
Much like pretty much everything, what was established in the first film is built-upon in truly incisive fashion here, resulting in a score that roots itself in the same fundamentals but reaches unparalleled new emotive heights. Zimmer is a master composer, and his score for “Dune: Part Two” is among his best work.
4. The Ensemble Cast
To even read the cast-listing for “Dune: Part Two” is a bit staggering. This thing is bursting at the seams with A-list performers, all of whom bring their A-game.
Everyone is great, but to highlight just a few specific people: Zendaya gives a dynamic and multi-faceted performance which sees her literally chipping away at a gruff exterior to expose the empathy beneath across the course of the film, and it rules. From the second Josh Brolin shows up playing a futuristic-esque acoustic guitar and singing a ballad about piss, he’s an absolute delight. Austin Butler is deliriously unhinged as the villainous Feyd-Rautha. Javier Bardem manages to be a scene-stealer among scene-stealers in one of the most charismatic performances in either film.
But the actor who most single-handedly walks away with the film is, somewhat surprisingly, Timothée Chalamet. Chalamet’s protagonist Paul was a well-intentioned and often reluctant messianic figure in the first film and that continues here, but is developed in startling and deeply thought-provoking ways, leading to Chalamet getting a lot more room to show off the depth of his acting gifts, and the young actor absolutely rises to the challenge. He is absolutely fantastic in this.
3. Weak Spot: The Reconfigured Structure
Look, this section could just as easily be called “nitpicks,” because these are relatively small fish to fry, but the structure of “Dune: Part Two”‘s narrative leads to some less-than-ideal consequences.
First, the idea to sideline some villainous characters from the first film (to keep from introducing a million things to the audience all at once) was a good idea for that film. However, this results in said characters not necessarily feeling like they ultimately have the impact or resonance within the story that they should. Both Butler’s Feyd-Rautha and Christopher Walken’s Emperor fall into this category of characters who one wishes we could have gotten a bit more time with.
Secondly, out of necessity to keep the film’s momentum up and the runtime down, several narrative concessions are made in the film’s second act (all right around Paul’s big character turn). Sadly, this results in some of the film’s biggest themes getting a bit muddied and confused, simply because their context isn’t quite as clear as one might hope.
Paul’s ultimate turn winds up keeping the audience at arm’s length more than one might hope, making Herbert’s signature culminating ending play a bit less resonant.
2. Drastically Improved Action
I think Denis Villeneuve is a pretty great filmmaker. From “Enemy” to “Prisoners” to “Arrival” to “Blade Runner 2049,” the man makes quality stuff that is always ruthlessly interested in pursuing a kind of purely cinematic experience. But one thing Denis Villeneuve isn’t necessarily is an action filmmaker, and “Dune: Part One” did demonstrate some growing pains in this area, at times.
For as incredible as Villeneuve is at creating grand, operatic imagery, that didn’t necessarily translate into making impactful or tension-filled setpieces. Something like Duncan Idaho’s final stand in “Dune: Part One” was shot in such an objective manner and with such matter-of-fact staging that it did little to elevate one’s heart rate. However, “Dune: Part Two” sees Villeneuve and co. going above and beyond to sell the ever-living shit out of every action sequence.
I mean, “Dune: Part Two” literally opens with an action setpiece that is more tension-filled, more adrenaline-fueled, and more satisfyingly structured (the implementation of setups and payoffs here are great) than anything in the first film. And things only get better from there. “Dune: Part Two”‘s action is truly enthralling stuff.
1. Villeneuve and Fraser’s Visuals
And as is only logical, just as everyone else stepped up their game for this sequel, so did Villeneuve and his cinematographer Greg Fraser. Together, this team of visual storytellers, alongside collaborators such as production designer Patrice Vermette, have delivered a genuinely incredible cinematic experience unto itself. As mentioned previously, “Dune: Part Two” really is a reality that one simply must experience, and there is nothing more experiential about it than this monolithic visual work.
“Dune: Part One” was already a herculean accomplishment, but this sequel sees Villeneuve and Fraser further honing their own unique voices and delivering such an idiosyncratic and distinct vision on such a gargantuan canvas. For a perfect encapsulation of this, one need look no further than Paul’s first worm-riding adventure, which wrangles Villeneuve’s objective visual language into a genuinely transcendent moment of purely triumphant cinematic elation.
RGM GRADE
(B+)
Overall, “Dune: Part Two” is phenomenal. It’s a film so strong that it made me retroactively appreciate its predecessor all the more and recognize the sheer scope of Villeneuve’s massive ambitions here. It’s a big, bold, brazen blockbuster that feels so indisputably hsnd-crafted that it’s nigh impossible to look away.
