Revenge, love, spice, and a prophecy are at the core of filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, a continuation of the science fiction epic. The sequel picks up only hours after Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) killed Jamis, a Fremen, in a one-on-one battle and won the respect and acceptance of Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya), a clever warrior.
After traversing a significant portion of the Arrakis desert, they arrive at the Fremen’s main camp. The tribe selects Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), to become the new Reverend Mother, and both she and Stilgar constantly stoke the belief that Paul is “the one,” the messiah described in the prophecy.
Meanwhile, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), who had Paul’s father assassinated with the Emperor’s (Christopher Walken) blessing, is now in charge of overseeing Arrakis and mining its spice. The collection of it isn’t going well because of sneak attacks by the Fremen who’ve been destroying the Harkonnen mining machines and killing their troops.
Feeling that his nephew Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) has failed in his job to keep control of the planet, the Baron gives his other, younger, psychopathic nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) a chance to crush the Fremen rebellion.
As the battles on Arrakis rage on, Paul and Chani fall for each other. They begin a love affair just as the older Fremen start to believe that Paul might be the messiah they have been waiting for.
Dune: Part Two is a visually stunning spectacle with gorgeous cinematography, strong performances, and a stirring musical score by Hans Zimmer. However, coming in at just under three hours, it’s also an overlong and occasionally slow-moving epic that gets bogged down in its own mythology.
The best performances this time out are delivered by the supporting cast, including Javier Bardem as Stiglar, the seasoned leader and warrior who truly believes that Paul is the savior his people have been waiting for. Bardem steals every scene he’s in and has chemistry with both Chalamet and Zendaya.
Austin Butler delivers a memorable and menacing performance as Feyd-Rautha, the psychotic warrior who loves killing and inflicting pain. This is made clear in one of the film’s best scenes as Butler as Feyd-Rautha fights to the death with three Atreides survivors in an arena to entertain his uncle, the Baron.
Timothy Chalamet gives another above average performance as Paul Atreides, who is now coming into his own and becoming who he was always meant to be. Chalamet shows the vulnerable side of Paul, especially when he is alone with Chani, as well as the smart, tough warrior side as he leads some of the desert raids against the Harkonnen machines and troops.
Zendaya delivers a mixed performance as Chani. She has solid chemistry with Chalamet in their scenes together, teaching him how to sand walk without attracting deadly sandworms or while comforting him after he has a disturbing vision. Sadly, this is not the case in the latter part of the film as Chani fears she’s losing Paul and fears he’s losing himself to the prophecy. At that point, Zendaya’s performance comes off like a teenage girl pouting and brooding over being lied to by her boyfriend.
The battle scenes in Dune: Part Two are nowhere near as impressive or as grand as they were in Part One. The major fight near the end of the film between the Fremen and the Harkonnen troops is much too short and lacks the intensity and massiveness it deserves.
Still, Dune: Part Two is a masterfully well-crafted, beautifully filmed science fiction epic that deserves to be seen on the big screen to truly appreciate it.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, brief strong language, and some suggestive material
Release Date: March 1, 2024
Running Time: 2 hours 46 minutes
Screenplay By: Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, based on Frank Herbert’s novel
Studio: Warner Bros Pictures
