‘Dune: Part Two’ Crests Higher Than The First Movie
Dune: Part Two hits the ground running. Before the studio credits start we are reminded “He who controls the spice controls the universe.” We are then sent to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), who briefly (and I do mean briefly) uses narration to sum up the events of the last film. We also get our first glimpse at the Emperor, played by Christopher Walken.
Aesthetically and sonically Dune: Part Two is a perfect escalation of the last installment. As we meet more Fremen we see variations in their clothing and hear different instrumentation and tempos that still feel of a piece with the world. The Harkonnen home world of Giedi Prime, which we spend much more time on than in Dune, is a great example of this. It is devoid of color but feels full. The music is more industrial and tonally darker than the reedy, vocal heavy score of Arakkis. When the final battle for Arrakis occurs these scores layer over each other as Paul and the Harkonnen army square up creating a truly unique sound. The Emperor and his retinue have a string heavy, classical film score sound. This is perhaps the best score Hans Zimmer has yet composed.
While the film is aesthetically damn near perfect and excellently acted it is going to get one of the rarest critiques in my arsenal: it needed to be longer. Packing the very dense back two thirds of the novel Dune into one film was never going to be an easy task for director Denis Villeneuve but it really feels like Paul (Timothée Chalamet) is the only character that gets non-reactionary development. I can’t help but wonder if it will lose folks who haven’t read the book(s). Jessica’s (Rebecca Ferguson) turn from fierce mother and Bene Gesserit to full zealotry is well acted but so quick it feels off. They also choose to portray her pregnancy through sharp camera cuts to a fetus, which I found to be a slightly off-putting choice.
Chani (Zendaya) is given more depth in this adaptation which I generally liked. She probably gets the most depth after Paul, but I still could’ve used a little more time with her. Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha made my skin crawl. His vocal match to Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Harkonnen was spot on. The ensemble cast is just fabulous — I just want more of them.
The world of Dune: Part Two is deep and beautiful. The questions it raises about the making of a messiah are important and deserve to be asked. Timothée Chalamet lands this plane beautifully. His performance as Paul is nuanced. His emotions are deep and vast. His rage is ferocious. His calmness is reassuring. His desire to do right by the people who have taken him in is dripping with sincerity.
At the end of the day I was hoping that Dune: Part Two would bring some closure to the story set up in Dune, but instead it just felt like an additional runway for the inevitable Dune Messiah sequel. I am still excited about that idea, but I am very wary of continuous franchise films.
I give Dune: Part Two (Legendary Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment; PG-13; 2 hours 46 minutes) a 4 out of 5.
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