CONTROL THE SPICE
'Dune: Part Two' Reviews: It's Better Than The First, And A Real Service To The Novel
The sequel to "Dune: Part One" is here, and "Part Two" is being heralded as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time, and a possible game-changer when it comes to sequels and novel adaptations. The film is out on March 1, 2024, but Warner Bros. had so much confidence in it that they let critics post their reviews early. And the overwhelming majority say it's a masterpiece.
The movie stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Tim Blake Nelson and Anya Taylor-Joy. We'll let the reviews do the talking, because with over 100 reviews out, there's a lot to talk about.
What it's about
It's been two and a half years since the first "Dune" film brought us to a faraway future on the desert planet Arrakis. That's the world where, as you might remember (two and a half years is a long time!), a young man named Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) survived a devastating attack on their family, thanks to a power grab orchestrated by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and his family. Escaping into the desert, Paul and Jessica were able to form an alliance with a tribe of Fremen (the natives of Arrakis), an alliance seemingly foretold by Paul's visions of a young Fremen warrior named Chani (Zendaya). "Dune: Part Two" picks up right after the events of the first film, as Paul learns the ways of the Fremen and grows closer with Chani.
War is the name of the game, and it is glorious
"Dune: Part Two's" most rousing action sequences are those that understand "Dune" is at its most exciting when it embraces the epic as well as the weird. Here, that takes the shape of an extended stay on the Harkonnens' home planet of Giedi Prime, where a dark sun renders everything in stark black and white, and where architecture bulges and bends in ways that recall insects and bodily organs alike.
[Mashable]
"Dune: Part One" had a few great battle scenes, but "Dune: Part Two" goes above and beyond with the thrills. From sandworm-riding to strategic military operations to brutal knife fights, there's never a long wait for the next big and beautiful action set piece. A strikingly photographed black and white gladiatorial match introducing the sadistic Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler, no longer talking like Elvis) and one particular explosion that's even scarier than the one in "Oppenheimer" are among the highlights of Greig Fraser's masterful shooting of the action. Though my advanced screening wasn't in IMAX (I plan to see the film again in the larger format), I did get to experience the Dolby Atmos sound mix, which offers its own sense of incredible immersion as you feel the vibrations of each ornithopter flying across the screen.
[Looper]
It's an impressive amount of storylines for Villeneuve to juggle, even within the film's mammoth 165-minute runtime. But despite the sheer volume of plot, not once does "Part Two" buckle under the weight, moving at a brisk pace that rivals the most audacious action flicks. By virtue of its foundational nature in sci-fi, there's a sheen of familiarity to Dune (it's space "Lawrence of Arabia," on drugs!), but Villeneuve manages to streamline its more esoteric elements into a saga that's part Hamlet, part Greek tragedy, and part "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." That's because in between all its moving parts and apocalyptic visions, Villeneuve stages some of the most impressive battle sequences since Peter Jackson's fantasy epic — bloody battles through which you can chart every character arc and subplot, and white-knuckle fight scenes that knock the wind out of you. Part Two is a new achievement in tactile action cinema, from its vision of brutalist, inky planets and Metropolis-meets-Atlantis ancient civilizations to its breathtaking sound design and production. On a technical level, it's the kind of total escapism few films achieve.
[Inverse]
The cast is exceptional
Everyone in the cast is all-in here, which is crucial. They have to say some fairly silly things, but if they didn't take it seriously, the cards would all crumble. The commitment they display not only fits with the characters, but it serves the movie well. Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are best in show, really growing into far more complex roles this time around, though Javier Bardem and Austin Butler are memorable, to say the least. Returning players like Dave Bautista, Rebecca Ferguson, and Stellan Skarsgård are solid, while newcomer to the story Christopher Walken brings added gravitas. Florence Pugh is a bit underutilized but she provides a form of a framing device, while also becoming important to the third act denouement. Josh Brolin and Charlotte Rampling return in small but crucial roles, while the huge supporting cast also includes Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub and more.
Among an outrageously well-appointed cast, Ferguson remains a potent presence as Jessica's mystique grows. Christopher Walken and Florence Pugh suggest complex histories despite limited screen time as, respectively, the Padishah Emperor and his daughter Princess Irulan. Should all that sound too subtle, Dave Bautista is a brusque riot as the Harkonnen Beast, smashing lackeys' skulls in like Drax with a cob on. But the lead trio shine brightest. Zendaya invests feeling in a character smartly built up from Herbert’s vision. Exchanging hoverchocs for hallucinogenic worm bile, Chalamet blossoms in tandem with Paul, showing previously untapped reserves of command. And post-Presley, Butler oozes toxic trouble as the smirking Feyd-Rautha, a soul-blackened villain for the ages who enjoys killing on his birthday like most people enjoy cake. Even if his voice sounds a bit like Kevin from The (US) "Office."
After a brief preamble that introduces us to Christopher Walken's reptilian Emperor and his moody daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), we’re right back in the desert, watching Paul (Chalamet) and his Fremen cohorts attack a Harkonnen platoon. The young man has somewhat adapted to the ways of his indigenous hosts, yet he's still an outworlder. Fighting alongside Chani (Zendaya), however, you can sense their bond. Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is on her way to becoming a Bene Gesserit high priestess; she's also pregnant with Paul's sister, who carries on telepathic conversations with Mom while in utero. The Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem, once again spicing up his dialogue with slices of Spanish ham) has taken the young man under his wing, and is starting to show signs that he believes this former aristocrat may be The One. Over in Arrakeen, the planet's Giger-esque capital city — the ghost of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s abandoned adaptation haunts the set design here — Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) is demanding to know why his soldiers are being attacked. His uncle (Stellan Skarsgård) throws down an ultimatum. Love and war is in the air. He who controls the spice, etc.
This could clean up at next year's Oscars in the production and arts categories, again
Every single craft working in the movie (otherworldly costumes, hair and make-up, as well as gorgeous photography and haunting sound) is at the top of the game, creating an almost immersive and believable experience for the story to come alive.
That's not to say that "Dune: Part Two" dispenses with imaginative designs. The costumes are memorable for their mix of styles and how they draw on the ancient past, as in the Fremen's desert shawls and the burqa coverings of the Bene Gesserit witches. Elsewhere, the dragonfly-shaped ornithopters and skittering spice-mining vehicles almost suggest they've evolved into being, recalling the massive millipede-like creatures from Miyazaki Hayao’s "Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind." The film also conveys the vastness of the novel's setting through precision craftsmanship on a gargantuan scale, as in the way locations and vehicles dwarf the characters.
[Slant]
The film is dense and complex but also majestic and engaging on a level the first film merely touched upon. That's saying something too because "Dune: Part One" — which won six well-deserved Oscars for technical achievement — was itself a remarkable accomplishment. This time, that level of skill is not just back, it might be better. "Dune: Part Two" looks stunning, filled with shots you'd be glad to hang on your wall. The attention to detail in every frame is masterful, with costumes and props that could be works of art on their own. You feel every sound and note of music in your bones as well as your heart. It's also quite weird, fully embracing author Frank Herbert's voice and originality. Much like the first film, the script by Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts is crafted in such a way that while every name or concept may not stick, the most crucial parts of the story are easy enough to understand. So even if you don't know your Kwisatz Haderach from your Sietch Tabr, you get enough to enjoy it.
[Gizmodo]
TL;DR
... gets in your nostrils...
An instant landmark of its genre.
[LA Times]
One of the best blockbusters of the century so far, and an instant sci-fi classic.
[Polygon]
Our blockbuster drought is over, thanks to a brilliant sequel set on a sweltering desert planet.
What Villeneuve and company achieve in "Dune: Part Two" is every bit as impressive and, in its peak imagery, hypnotic as part one.
