Directed and co-written by Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two naturally continues the story of the 2021 Dune film, centred on Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). They have narrowly survived a massacre by the vicious Harkonnens and must journey further into the endless sands of the planet Arrakis, escorted by native Fremen warriors Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya). They must learn the Fremen ways if they wish to take back control of Arrakis and its spice (space fuel/super drug), which all of the galaxy watches closely. Power of spice is power over all.
There is a sensation in the air, like spice flowing across the dunes of Arrakis when the sun is low. Dune: Part Two is an unexpected and overwhelming phenomenon, resembling the cinematic domination of “Barbenheimer” last year. Denis Villeneuve’s sequel is also rather difficult to review as it is, naturally, a direct continuation of Part One and its story cannot be so succinctly covered here when a whole movie already did that. What is rather remarkable about Part Two is that, similar to some of the greatest sequels of all time, one does not necessarily NEED to see the previous film to understand the characters, motivations, and ramifications of this film.
Paul Atreides has, by the film’s beginning, already learned the value of Arrakis to the rest of the galaxy, the ruthlessness of the Harkonnens first hand, the deception of the Imperium, and the awe and majesty of the sandworms revered as Shai-Hulud. Now it is time to dig deeper. Paul’s genetic lineage being selectively bred by the Bene Gesserit, of which his mother was their most gifted student, has lined him right along with ancient Fremen prophecies of their Messiah, the Voice from the Outer World who will free them from oppression. But these prophecies are more plans within plans from the Bene Gesserit, highlighting the nihilistic fatalism that runs a current through this narrative, and the final effect is total devastation.
Paul’s avoidance of the religious fundamentalists among the Fremen for fear of making his genocidal nightmares come true leads him closer and closer to Chani. Their romance blossoms wonderfully thanks to palpable chemistry between Chalamet and Zendaya, and Paul’s change in character away from vengeance and towards love is deeply felt and communicated by Chalamet under Villeneuve’s direction. Chalamet’s high demand as an actor is astonishing to behold, but Dune: Part Two is one of those movies where he shines terrifically as a powerful and commanding presence, intense and soulful with every action and emotion fully realised. Zendaya’s rise to stardom is equally incredible, but just in the same manner her performance as Chani is perhaps the film’s best; vulnerable, luminous, direct, and absolutely shattering in the film’s last few scenes.
Though one mourns the removal of Stephen McKinley Henderson and Tim Blake Nelson from the final cut (the former was a lovely presence in Part One), this cast is almost too good to behold. Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica transforms in real-time from a devoted mother to someone more duplicitous, and relishing every moment of her ascent to power. Javier Bardem’s Stilgar is oddly the film’s levity, his total belief in the Messiah or Lisan al-Gaib and eccentric ways of looking at life resemble the absurdity of Monty Python’s Life of Brian, but with an equal dramatic streak that Bardem switches to perfectly. Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck is a total badass in almost all he does (finally playing the baliset), Dave Bautista’s Glossu Rabban is a towering presence covering for a scared creature inside, Charlotte Rampling’s Reverend Mother delivers such poise and terror behind thick robes and a heavy veil, and Stellan Skarsgård is pure dark pleasure under 40 kilos of prosthetics as Baron Harkonnen.
New additions like Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV and Florence Pugh as his daughter Princess Irulan don’t have massive parts to play but are nonetheless captivating in their simplicity, but the standout newcomer is Austin Butler as fan-favourite psychopath Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Butler is disguised under a heavy bald-cap, no eyebrows, blackened teeth and a Skarsgård accent, but his deliciously evil performance shines through, laughing in the face of death, slaughtering anyone who looks at him funny, and mocking the power of Paul Atreides. Butler steps far out of the shadow of Sting’s codpiece (see 1984’s Dune) and makes the role all his own, thanks also to the extraordinarily well-choreographed and brutal knife fight he was with Chalamet in the final sequence.
Denis Villeneuve and his co-writer Jon Spaihts take their time once again with Herbert’s narrative, choosing to omit whole sections that have little to do with Paul’s central character conflict or the threat of the Harkonnens and the Emperor. We are thrown deeper into Dune-lore, shown how Fremen summon and ride the great sandworms of the desert, the significance of the Water of Life, how vital it is that Bene Gesserit sisters “secure bloodlines”, and just who or what Alia Atreides is. Villeneuve does not shy lightly away from some of the most bizarre elements of the text and somehow works them all into a cohesive whole, a testament to his total investment in the power of this story. One may question just what you’re watching, but it is never confusing and always fascinating.
Like the greatest sequels of all time, Dune: Part Two excels due to a conscious effort by all departments to try and out-do their previous efforts. Visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert and the thousands of visual and special effects artists present a detailed reality to all of the constructed images and environments, a constant immersion into an impossible universe that feels like another pinnacle of modern digital filmmaking. Jacqueline West’s costumes and Patrice Vermette’s production design goes to another level, with robes and armours hand-made from advanced textures that feel tangible, and the enormous sets evoking an ancient quality that fits this world 10,000 years in the future. The sound, effects from Mark Mangini and score from Hans Zimmer, captures every nuance of an explosion, a call to action, a tonal shift, echoes in the sand, cries in the dark, and the awe of mighty monsters laying waste to whole armies. Joe Walker, perhaps the finest editor working in motion pictures to this day, keeps such a steady and mesmerising pace to this 2 hour and 45 minute film, with every sequence allowed to breathe stride and stun you second-by-second.
Above all else, in my opinion, is the tremendous and game-changing work of cinematographer Greig Fraser and his insanely talented camera crew. Harkonnen warriors floating over mountains while an eclipse burns Arrakis orange, Geidi Prime soaked by a black sun and shot with infrared cameras creating an alienating monochrome palette, the light of the heavens shining through into Fremen strongholds, and the painterly framing of Paul against surfacing sandworms or millions of Fremen warriors; these are some of the greatest images we have ever seen captured on digital then scanned onto film and then back onto digital (yes, that’s how they did it).
What will captivate you most is beyond the absolutely perfect style on display from hundreds and thousands of monumentally talented artists servicing an ambitious and clear vision. It is the progress of the narrative, the terror and despair you feel when you realise that all of this is doomed. Paul’s progress to being a better man and someone capable of love, Chani’s belief in Paul as a good person who can do the right thing, Jessica’s love as a mother, Stilgar’s beliefs, Gurney’s dedication, it is all in service of greater systems of power that control this galaxy and all who exist in it. The end battle is not glorious, it is painful and wrong. Paul’s victory comes at the loss of his soul and his love. And it is all what Frank Herbert intended 60 years ago. This is a cautionary tale against religious fundamentalism, a commentary on our lost relationship with nature, and a powerful treatise on fatalism.
Denis Villeneuve crafts an absolute epic in every sense of the word and delivers on the promises of his nonetheless terrific Dune: Part One, harmoniously marrying influences of David Lean, Stanley Kubrick, and Ingmar Bergman. Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya give the best performances of their careers, every single department have done an absolutely perfect job in bringing this complex and overwhelming universe to full reality, and the journey of the characters is one that touches so deeply on universal themes of love and connection. I mean every word when I say that Dune: Part Two is The Empire Strikes Back of the 21st century, a beautiful, horrifying, and flawless masterpiece of science-fiction storytelling.
