Dune: Part Two (2024)

 

Genre: Sci-Fi/ Adventure 

Time: 2h 50mins

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Quick Summary: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

You Know what's better than 3 hours of the world of Dune? 

Another 3 hours of Dune.

Here we are back in this wonderful world, and we get to experience even more of it. Everything is much grander and a lot heavier too. There is a lot more at stake in this one, and also there is a lot more focus on the religious themes within this story. 

The first half of this is pretty nice and simple, as we watch the lives of the freemen and how Paul and Jessica create their new lives. This is nice because, especially if you are watching the first and second back-to-back, it's so refreshing to have this relief and time to just enjoy what's going on, learn about these characters much deeper and how visually pretty these films are. I didn't really touch on it during my review of the first, but boy these are so pretty. The landscapes seem to be never-ending paintings of dessert, glittery sand filled with spice in luscious yellows and oranges, the cool neutral pallet these both have overall. This is such a treat visually. 

There's even a section of the film that is so cool. It's like the colour has been sucked out of everything, but also inverted. It's not quite Black and White, it seems like an alternative version of it. Characters walk in and out of the direct sunlight (which causes this change) and the shift in colour to no colour is so flawless and impressive. Honestly, it's actually kind of hard to explain, but this is also a visual treat.

Unlike the first film, this has a lot more religious and political focus, which isn't everyone's cup of tea admittedly, but it's definitely mine. So many Religious themes are laced throughout this and none of them feels forced in, or hamfisted. Honestly, it is used as a slight comical point at times, when Paul doesn't want to admit he's a messiah, which to the freemen means he's just being humble and is a messiah. This plus a lot of other things begins to unfold and show us how big this web of intricate narratives actually connects, and slowly through this first half, we begin to see the bigger picture at a pace that isn't overwhelming at all. 

The second half is where shit gets real. Everything Goes full steam ahead and the grandiosity returns. We see Paul undergo some transformations. From being the son of royalty to experiencing love, the narrative takes a surprising turn when he assumes authority in the third act, and man does Timothée Chalamet really go all the way. The same goes for Rebecca Ferguson as Jessica, and technically Alia. She undergoes such an intense change and even though we don't get to see too much of her in this, watching her change through the bits we see is so interesting. She becomes much harder and more fierce. Both the changes in these two were so striking and interesting to watch. Something I was actually a little confused about is the change in Zendaya's character Chani, who becomes more angry than she was in the book. I feel like it took out some of the support for Paul throughout his journey, and something that happens at the end didn't hit as hard emotionally as it should have done for me because of this. 

In addition to this, they have changed the ending slightly, which isn't a massive issue in the grand scheme of things but leads to some confusion as to what will happen next in the story because of these changes. The one change that has upset me is we don't actually get to see child Alia walking and talking, in fact, we only get to see her as an embryo. She was such an interesting and complex character that actually affected multiple moments in the story, so the changes made because of this were new to me, which isn't a bad thing but made me long to see her in this world. I did notice a few characters didn't really get a lot of screen time, so I do have hopes they will in the next.

Another thing I ended up not talking about in my previous review was just how good the script is. Most of them are taken directly from the book, but they are so good. Almost everything is important, and worth listening to. So much of is quotable too! Honestly, I think I can even go as far as what was said would create such an impact on certain scenes. 

If you loved the first one, I am sure you will ADORE this one. It's as good, if not better than the first. Shame they changed a few things, but that's just a personal gripe. Absolutely wonderful story that I will never stop recommending. 

Thoughts from my Partner: 

Dune part two continues one of the best sci movies you will watch right from where Part One ended which is honestly appreciated big time, part two also continues its theme of being one of the best with incredible awe-inspiring scenes, the freshman are a much bigger part of this one so be prepared for a lot of messianic preaching and very strong character building, every actor involved reprise their roles beautifully with Timothee Chalamet become more like Paul in this one even more than part one and I'm all for it.

Rebecca Ferguson remains as Lady Jessica and really drives home that Bene Gesserit feeling of manipulating the politics of everything with grace and fear, honestly I could go on for a while about how ever an actor was perfect for the role they were given but I'd be here forever and take up most of the space, watch Dune, Read Dune, love Dune.

9/10

"The Madhi is too humble to say He is the Madhi. Even more reason to know He is! As written!"

"The visions are clear now. I see possible futures, all at once. Our enemies are all around us, and in so many futures they prevail. But I do see a way, there is a narrow way through."

" Lisan al-Gaib, show us the way!"