DUNE: PART TWO – Review by Valerie Kalfrin
The sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two is rich in multilayered world-building. While its dense story might leave some cold, this is a movie meant for big-screen grandeur, from the detailed costumes to the cinematography, special effects, and score.
Set on a desert planet where a hallucinogenic spice sets warring factions against each other, Dune: Part Two is a sight to behold, especially in IMAX. Spice sparkles in the air above waves of sand dunes. Warriors face off in a black-and-white arena while inkblot “fireworks” dot the sky. A domed spaceship lays waste to a sacred tomb in a thunderous volley. Flames spill across a mirrored palace, and a desert people thump a rhythm into the ground, summoning giant sandworms for transportation and battle.
Yet for all the filmmaking craft onscreen, your mileage with the story may vary. Fans of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels, first published in 1965, no doubt will enjoy it. Others might have trouble keeping track of who’s against whom or connecting emotionally with the narrative. Those who haven’t seen 2021’s Dune or read the books will find Dune: Part Two much like jumping into the middle seasons of Game of Thrones.
That said, what returning director Denis Villeneuve and his team bring to the table is impressive. The 2021 film picked up six Oscars: sound, visual effects, production design, film editing, cinematography, and original score. Here, that artistry again is striking, with Hans Zimmer’s percussive score, Patrice Vermette’s production design, and Jacqueline West’s intricate costumes particular standouts.
The script by Villeneuve and returning co-writer Jon Spaihts picks up largely where the 2021 film left off—and ends on an ambivalent note, even after two hours and 46 minutes. Thankfully, while the earlier film handled a lot of table setting, this one dives right into the action, unfurling at a brisk pace.
After the slaughter of his father and most of their supporters in the previous film, Paul (Timothée Chalamet, Wonka) and his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, Silo), have become embedded with the Fremen, the desert people of the planet Arrakis. Arrakis is the source of Spice, which the Harkonnen family (led on the ground by Dave Bautista, The Boy and the Heron) now mines, having usurped Paul’s late father as governor.
“Power over Spice is power over all,” a voice intones before the film even begins, which is about as much backstory as Dune: Part Two allows.
The Fremen, led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem, The Little Mermaid), distrust outsiders and want the Harkonnens gone. They’ve taken in Paul and Jessica because Paul exhibits signs of being the prophesied leader for whom they’ve waited centuries—a position that Paul initially finds uncomfortable. Much of the dramatic tension comes from Paul wanting to avenge his father’s death but being reluctant to take on the “chosen one” mantle. Chalamet plays Paul with a believable sincerity, happy to fight alongside the Fremen and telling Jessica, “They deserve to be led by one of their own. … It’s not a prophecy. It’s a story you keep telling.”
As Jessica, Ferguson is formidable, her clipped tone and intense bearing more intimidating than the tattoos that adorn her face once she becomes the Fremen’s Reverend Mother, or religious leader. As other women in her religious order, the Bene Gesserit, plot to create another heir, the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and his daughter Irulan (Florence Pugh, Oppenheimer) discuss how to quash the Fremen uprising. Meanwhile, the pregnant Jessica speaks with her developing fetus who, in an otherworldly touch, responds in voiceover.
Paul’s initial earnestness and scrappiness as a guerilla fighter against the Harkonnens wins him the admiration of the Fremen and the love of Chani (Zendaya, Euphoria). The two create a playful spark in early scenes, such as when Chani coaches Paul how to walk across the sand without causing tremors that summon sandworms. He contradicts her based on what he’s read, then realizes he’s mansplaining to a native and apologizes.
The tug-of-war over whether he’ll embrace his fate and just what that might be gives Dune: Part Two substance, even if Paul’s decision ultimately feels abrupt. Among the other players in the all-star cast, Austin Butler (Elvis) is all forehead and no eyebrows as the sociopathic Feyd-Rautha, a Harkonnen set up as a foil for Paul. Bardem earns several laughs with his sly delivery, such as when Stilgar notes that Paul’s humility is exactly what the foretold prophet would have. The Fremen, though coded as Middle Eastern and North African, still have few MENA actors in prominent roles, although Souheila Yacoub (Making Of) is a welcome and feisty addition as Chani’s friend Shishakli.
While the ending implies plenty more story to tell, Dune: Part Two for now crafts an immersive sci-fi adventure.
