- Release year: 2024
- Director: Denis Villeneuve.
- Producers: Diala Al Raie, Gergö Balika, Cale Boyter, Amanda Confavreux, Howard Ellis, Adam Goodman, Genevieve Hofmeyr, Fuad Khalil, Tanya Lapointe, Gianluca Leurini, Robbie McAree, Patrick McCormick, Mary Parent, and Denis Villeneuve.
- Screenplay by: Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts.
- Cinematography by: Greig Fraser.
- Music by: Hans Zimmer.
Synopsis: Paul Atreides becomes the leader of the Arrakis locals and leads them on an attack against their invaders.
Shotgun Commentary: yet again, slow and dragged-out. The colour palette has changed, though, that’s kinda fun…
Review
Dune: Part Two is gorgeous. That is the main selling point of the film. Like many middle areas of a story, it does feel a bit tedious to watch from time to time, but the overall story is still entertaining, and the drastic aesthetic change certainly makes it easy to differentiate this instalment from the previous.
Too much, too little
Full disclosure, this isn’t necessarily yours truly’s favourite genre. While one does enjoy a good rebellion, such as the ones in The Hunger Games saga and other David-vs-Goliath narratives, timing is everything with this sort of story. Any small, irrelevant addition spoils the experience greatly. As such, certain moments of the film that felt completely unnecessary to understand the narrative and the characters become a nuisance on an otherwise quite engaging film.
However, this same subject will surely be processed way differently by people who have read the books and are big fans. Much like it happened with Harry Potter back in the day, those who watched the films before reading the books, didn’t notice anything was amiss. The book fans, on the other hand, felt that tons of great characters and moments were missing. As such, fans of the Dune books will very likely appreciate the level of detail and emphasis made on even the most menial things. Sadly, this appreciation will probably not be the same for your average spectator with no prior knowledge of the literary work.
The value of scissors
A similar phenomenon occurs with the establishing shots, described by Empire as “Beloved by TV directors and thick people”. Now, there is nothing wrong with a few establishing shots in films where the spaces are completely fictional. Especially when one has put in the work to make everything looks as gorgeous as it does. The spice floating in the wind of the desert, the red eclipse resembling the cover of Twilight’s third instalment of the book saga, the gorgeous caves and cities, etc. That being said, there is a fine line between breathtaking shots that bring beauty and relevant information to the story, and having a person in charge who loves themselves way too much to know when to edit out irrelevant takes.
Dune: Part 2 has a production design and cinematography work worth exploring on the extra content of physical copies or even books that explore the aesthetics. However, the emphasis within the film to these two arts goes past the artistic and into a clear lack of ability to edit out what doesn’t need to be part of the feature. You could even do an extended version with as many establishing shots as your heart desires, but putting unsuspecting people through an essay on how great you are is going a step too far and, not to mention, detrimental to the storytelling.
Happy eyes, happy ears
Speaking of visuals, the special effects are as on-point as they were in the first movie, making this work totally worth the cinema visit. The strange looking worms obviously play a huge part in this, although there are a few other instances where visual effects are key, and they do not disappoint, similarly to the sound edition.
While the score is repetitive and low-key easily mockable, the sound mixing is fantastic. There are no big issues when it comes to hearing dialogues and music at the same time, at least, not as big as there were during Dune: Part One (2021), which is a great upgrade.
A worthy love interest
Zendaya fans will be thrilled to learn that Dune: Part Two does feature the artist on a more significant level than the previous instalment. Furthermore, her character Chani is a lot more relatable and admirable than 1984’s Chani. Instead of a decoration to make the protagonist more relatable, Zedaya’s Chani is a woman in her own right, with her own feelings, thoughts and, most importantly, principles.
Source: Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve, 2024).
This might seem like a small detail, but it is hard to describe how satisfying it is to see a female character who doesn’t feel the need to compromise her principles and beliefs for her love interest. More often than not, when a male character changes his mind out of nowhere (or seemingly nowhere), we watch as female characters scramble to adapt, looking for reasons to justify the fact that they are willing to change their whole existence just because they fell in love with a man. Chani remains who she is despite how much it might destroy her heart, and for that, she is easily one of the best characters of the whole saga.
The boys and the puppeteer
As for the other character worth watching every single instalment to this series, the protagonist’s mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), only gets better with time. If the first instalment establishes her as a strong, intelligent woman with deadly abilities, this second film emphasises on her influence abilities and strategy skills. Growing up in a coven of women who design the future of the universe by pulling the right strings, she is more than perfectly trained to influence the mass of people living in Arrakis to believe whatever she wants them to. While her presence is not as prominent as it was during the first film, her power is felt throughout the whole story as a silent force that moves the wind in the direction she wants.
As for the male characters, they remain mostly the same as they were, with the only exception of Paul (Timothée Chalamet) going darker by the minute, kinda like Anakin (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, 2005), desert and powers included. We are also introduced to a new bad guy who is pretty much irrelevant, the modern version of Sting’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, played by Austin Butler, a man capable of the impossible: offering an even cringier character than silver-swimsuit Sting was ever capable of.
Source: Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve, 2024).
All in all, Dune: Part Two has similar editing problems as the first instalment. Other than that, the film is visually stunning, and textually entertaining thanks to a few strong characters played by wonderful actors and actresses that make the whole experience worth it, regardless of how dragged-on it might be.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Some actors don’t match their character’s energy, and that’s OK… as long as you don’t hire them, that is.
- Javier Bardem gets closer to being an extra in The Life of Brian (1979) with very instalment.
- The ending of this feature would make absolutely no sense if we remained ignorant to the stupidity humanity is capable of. Sadly, that is not the case.
What’s your take? Have you watched Dune: Part Two? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀
This is the one where I agree most 😀 it certainly felt dragged, and it might be because I had already read the books before watching it but feels like a poorer adaptation, the obscure relevance of Feyd-Rautha being a perfect example of this. Also a disservice to the most awesome female character in the book (Paul’s sister). It is not a middle part though, this is the ending of the story told in book 1: book 2 tells a different one (albeit technically a sequel).
From the POV of someone who is just watching the films, it is a middle part. But it is interesting that both films are actually the same book, comes to show that sometimes it really is worth it to divide books when it comes to cinematic adaptations. It does feel like the cut from the first film to the second is way less dramatic than the one from the second to the third, but that doesn’t really translate as the ending of book one for someone with no other knowledge of the story outside the films. It just reads as a natural progression for the story, the stakes keep getting higher, so the ending is more shocking.
Final thought: these are fantasy movies, and seeing what most fantasy looks like nowadays… I’ll take more of this, with all its flaws, anytime before any Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or Star Wars flick of the last decade. Hands down.
They are certainly tapping into a new market of fantasy that feels fresher than other franchises. Still, I would like to see something big in the genre that is not an adaptation from something else, or a remake, sequel, prequel, etc. This genre in particular seems like it has been out of original ideas for a while now, which is a shame.