In Love All Over Again. Dune: Part Two (2024) Review

All the wonderful things that were set up in Dune: Part One are paid off perfectly in Dune: Part Two. Just like with the first film, I am struggling to come up with anything that hasn’t already been said. It was a hassle to find the time to see the damn thing and it’s been another hassle to order my thoughts into something cohesive.

For me Dune: Part One was a feat in exposition and dramatizing complex lore. Part Two shows the same level of skill in its exposition but with a bonus. Its pacing is amazing. Despite being nearly 3 hours long and adapting 2 books (the acts in the novel), Part Two has a flow that, like the spice, is addictive.

Following the destruction of his family House, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) wants to do his part in the Fremen’s war against House Harkonnen. He becomes intimate with Chani (Zendaya) as well as with the Fremen culture and way of life. However, his fellow tribesmen, including their leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) suspect his messianic destiny. This suspicion turns to worship and spreads to all the Fremen on Arrakis. Paul and Chani’s relationship begins to strain because of the widespread reverence, forcing Paul to consider whether he wants to be a soldier or a leader.

The Characters 

Paul is a literal anti-hero as a hero is the last thing he wants to be. At the end of Part One we learned from Paul’s visions that if he becomes the Fremen messiah, a bloody jihad will spread through the galaxy and kill billions. Paul’s arc concerns his struggle to evade this fate.

Leaders deified by their subjects has always been the point of Dune but no adaptation or piece of inspired media has ever conveyed this theme as well as Part Two. Here Paul is a white saviour who knows he’s a white saviour but doesn’t want to be. With this aspect of his character realized in the film, this interpretation of Paul is a lot more fun to watch than another Neo or Jake Sully.

Chani is better in this film than she is in the book, never mind previous adaptations. Like Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and Rabban (Dave Bautista), Chani is a character from the first film who really shines in the sequel. She is Paul’s lover, teacher and critic. She’s not as religious as her fellow tribesmen hence she doesn’t believe in Paul’s prophesised destiny. While the scenes with her and Paul falling in love are genuinely awe-inspiring, things get really interesting when they start disagreeing with each other.

Feyd (Austin Butler) in a fight to the death with Paul (Timothée Chalamet) [Credit: Warner Bros.

The Harkonnens are wonderful villains. They’re just as deliciously evil as those in David Lynch’s film but more intimidating. Rabban’s displays of muscle and rage are so violent and extreme they border on being comical, in the best possible way.

Watching the Baron demonstrate even more of the manipulative genius he did in Part One is a treat. Especially in the scenes he has with Feyd (Austin Butler).

Speaking of Feyd, the youngest brother of Rabban and nephew of the Baron is a sadistic psychopath. On paper he’s nothing more than a physical adversary for Paul but the film does an excellent job of showing the threat he poses with a blade. It’s hard not to flinch whenever he moves.

The Pacing

Fans of the book may be surprised by how soon certain events occur in Part Two, specifically in Paul’s journey in becoming a Fremen. This is obviously so the film can tell the rest of the Dune story within its runtime. However, the brisk progression through Paul’s arc does not by any means diminish its power or pathos. 

Despite its spectacular setting and scope, Dune is an intimately written story that’s more interested in the thoughts and feelings of its characters than the exotic landscapes they occupy. The book takes its time and doesn’t feature a lot of action. Now this isn’t to say that Part Two dumbs down the book but its pace certainly isn’t as delicate.

Paul (Timothée Chalamet) witnessing the war [Credit: Warner Bros.]

All of Paul’s scenes either enhance his Fremen identity or tempt him with his messianic fate. Whether they’re showing his and Chani’s romance flourish or the war against the Harkonnens escalate. There’s no fat in Paul’s scenes, they are all precise.

Part Two takes more advantage of the book’s cast of thousands than Part One, which helps the pacing a lot. Before you get sick of Paul in the desert, the film will cut to Rabban in Arrakeen, Feyd on Giedi Prime or the emperor (Christopher Walken) on Kaitain.

This sequencing of plots, which are all of varying degrees of importance, generates a perfect pace. The film is 2 hours and 50 minutes long but feels like 2 hours and 10, which for an adaptation of a novel as complex as Dune is remarkable.

Is it up there with The Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight as a great sequel? I don’t know. As of writing it’s still in its theatrical run. I personally can’t answer that until the hype’s died down and I watch it again. However, it exceeds all the expectations I had following Part One and that alone is incredible.

Needless to say, I love it. Bring on Part Three.

I give Dune: Part Two a great 10 out of 10.

I Think I’m In Love. Dune (2021) Review

After reviewing ten Hellraisers, I needed a break but even before I was fully rested I knew exactly what I was reviewing next. As well as being the best adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel to date (this is coming from someone who’s very fond of David Lynch’s effort by the way), Dune is a stunning and thought-provoking space opera unlike anything prior from Hollywood.

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) joins his family in settling on the planet Arrakis to maintain their security and reputation in a hierarchy of interstellar dynasties. A vicious plot to take down House Atreides awaits the family, a plot that will tear Paul from his privileged life as a prince and throw him into a world where only the strongest survive.

The Characters

Anyone who is familiar with Dune’s premise knows that the story is essentially a hero’s journey. This adaptation is aware of that fact as it does mostly focus on Paul. However, it is also aware that, since the days of the original Star Wars, audiences have been seeing nothing but hero’s journeys. Fortunately there’s more to Herbert’s tale than simply a prince’s rise to power, a lot more and this adaptation embraces that.

Paul is an empathetic protagonist in that very few of us can actually relate to what he’s going through but we can all imagine what it’s like. The same can be said about his parents. While the plot concerns numerous characters, our feelings are clearly meant to centre on Paul, his father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) and mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).

All three of them are burdened with inescapable responsibilities; Leto is a Duke, Paul is his successor and Jessica is part of a religious group known as the Bene Gesserit. All these responsibilities are challenged when the family lands on Arrakis, Paul has to learn to be a leader and come to terms with the possibility that he’ll have to become one sooner than he expected.

(From left to right) Gurney, Paul and Duke Leto [Credit: Warner Bros.]

The other characters serve as either reminders of the trio’s responsibilities or as threats to them. For example, Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) is a reminder of Paul’s need to be martially competent as Gurney is his weapons teacher. Another example is Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) who’s a reminder to Jessica of her duty to the Bene Gesserit sisterhood. The Harkonnens clearly represent a threat to the Atreides’ responsibilities. Led by the Baron (Stellan Skarsgård) and his nephew Rabban (Dave Bautista), the Harkonnens share a long bitter rivalry with House Atreides hence they are more than ready to exploit any opportunity to conquer them.

The World

The brilliance of Dune’s worldbuilding has two notable components; the first is its look and the second is how it’s presented.

All the ships, vehicles and buildings on Arrakis look alien enough to pass as something from the future but rusty enough to look like its been used, to look as if this universe has been how it is for a long time, the story does take place in the ten thousandth century after all. The costumes and certain pieces of technology also look alien but unlike the ships and architecture, their alienness is stronger in that they look like they’re from a completely different culture.

A great Spice Harvester [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Dune masters the look of its future but, and this is much more impressive, it also masters the exposition of its future. Anyone who’s read Dune will know how much of an achievement this is.

If the film can’t show the backstory, it’ll weave it into the dialogue, almost seamlessly. There are few points where you feel like you’re being spoon-fed information or enduring an exposition dump. For most of the film you feel you’re just watching the people in this universe going about their business. The only consequence is that some of the dialogue can sound a bit clunky at times but they’re barely flaws in my opinion.  

I’m struggling to find anything else to say as a lot has already been said since the film’s been out for almost a month. If you’ve seen the reviews, they’re glowing for a reason. Unless you’re really not a fan of space operas or period dramas, there’s little reason why you shouldn’t see it. Dune is simply marvellous and I highly recommend it.

I give Dune an outstanding 9 out of 10.