DUNE: PART TWO (2024) - Movie Review

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Florence Pugh
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Writer: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve
Runtime: 2h 46 min
Rated: PG-13
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

This blog is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on my blog, I may earn an affiliate commission.

Synopsis:

"Dune: Part Two" will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

Review:

Denis Villeneuve returns for the epic finale to his acclaimed sci-fi epic "Dune: Part One" (read the review here). If you found the pacing of the first film to be too slow, the final chapter hits the ground running and doesn't let up. While the first film was decently paced in its own right, it did have to deal with a ton of introductory exposition and set up, and lacked a proper third act, ending on an anticlimactic note. With all that out of the way "Dune: Part Two" gets straight to the good stuff.

Picking up immediately after the end of "Part One", it moves at a brisker pace, following Paul Atreides' path to vengeance against the brutal Harkonnen which will ultimately determine the fate of universe. From desert guerilla warfare to tightly choreographed fights, fremen riding sandworms and an explosive third act battle, "Part Two" offers the eye-popping, glorious spectacle that the first film lacked, and wraps up the story in a satisfying manner. Fans of the book, however, might dislike some of the divergence from the source material.

Once again, nothing but praises for the cast. Timothee Chalamet comes into his own as a commanding leading man, and his transformation from a sympathetic young man to a strong leader and potential tyrant is fascinating to watch. Zendaya didn't feel like the best choice for Chani, but she does turn in an engaging performance. However, she doesn't share much chemistry with Chalamet, which results in a flat romantic subplot. The real standouts are Javier Bardem as the sage mentor archetype Stilgar, and Austin Butler as the psychotic Feyd-Rautha, Baron Harkonnen's nephew and Paul's nemesis. No kidding, Butler is fantastic, a chilling departure from his Elvis persona.

On a technical level, this movie, like its predecessor, is superb. The cinematography and art direction are brilliant, and the visual effects have improved compared to the first film, although the CGI is still not 100% convincing. It's a real shame that they never used any miniatures in the making of these movies. Just think how great "Blade Runner 2049" looked because of miniatures, not to mention the "Lord of the Rings" movies. "Dune" would have looked amazing with CGI enhanced physical models.

Hans Zimmer's score also sounds slightly better this time around. He's toned down some grating motifs from the first film and finally delivered a memorable theme, a love theme for Paul and Chani. That doesn't mean the soundtrack isn't still annoying in parts, while the rest is mostly generic ambient electronica. In my humble opinion, Brian Tyler's "Children of Dune" is the best "Dune" soundtrack ever composed, with Toto's 1984 soundtrack a close second.

"Dune: Chapter Two" is a solid sci-fi epic, a good adaptation and an entertaining visual spectacle. Villeneuve's passion for "Dune" is obvious, and his version is vivd and grand, although purists of Frank Herbert's seminal classic might still prefer the miniseries for its faithfulness to the author's vision. Regardless, Villeneuve's Dune: Part One" and "Dune: Part Two" are a great introduction for a new generation into an amazing sci-fi world that is still incredibly resonant almost 60 years after its inception.

SCORE: 8.5/10