Dune 2 is a big screen action/adventure spectacle the likes of which hasn't been seen since, well, maybe the first Dune in 2021. But when it comes to paying off what the original effort set up so perfectly, this sophomore sequel doesn't quite hit it out of the park.
For a very basic overview, Dune 2 picks up with Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) living amongst the Fremen after House Atreides being all but wiped out in the House Harkonnen collaboration with the Emperor's army to re-take Arrakis. Though Jessica and Stilgar (Javier Bardem) continue to tout Paul as the mythical prophesized messiah per the Bene Gesserit religious sect, Paul isn't yet convinced-nor are other Fremen like Chani (Zendaya). Will Paul accept the mantle and risk all-out religious war-or choose to remain embedded "locally" with the Fremen? Meanwhile, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) is struggling to control spice production on Arrakis, so unhinged nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) is called in for assistance. Finally, the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) scheme to keep themselves in power over all of the machinations.
There is absolutely no doubt that Dune 2 is cinema spectacle of the highest order. Director Denis Villeneuve composes a film that should be seen in the biggest format possible (to truly appreciate the scale) and within the best sound structure (Dolby Atmos for me and it was theater-rumbling!). There is never a dull moment from beginning to end-always something interesting to look at or immerse yourself in on screen.
Here's the issue with Dune 2: the first film was one of the best world-building setups I've ever seen in a flick. It expertly dropped viewers into the planetary conflict, gradually built up the key characters, and imbued it all with a sense of great mystery and intrigue. While this sequel technically pays off all those setups, it doesn't always do so in the most satisfying or understandable of ways. I won't go into every nook and cranny here, but a few examples:
-Paul resists his messianic calling the entire film-until the end when he just "gives in"?
-The fetus within Jessica is talking to her and will someday grow up to be Anya Taylor-Joy's brief cameo character?
-Even after Paul accepts his mantle-the Houses won't acknowledge him?
-The bombshell of Paul's more-diverse-than-we-realized bloodline came off as anticlimactic, especially considering how it immediately becomes the driving force of the film's endgame.
I know that there is an answer to every question posed above-but none of it felt all that satisfactory or revelatory to me. Part of the problem could be that I was expecting more of a definitive ending and received a "setting up a franchise" denouement instead. A particularly telling observation was how my favorite character in the entire movie was Butler's Feyd-Rautha. Why? Because-like in Dune 1-it was something completely different/new and shrouded in mystery that Villeneuve was able to unwind.
So, in my final reckoning of Dune 2, the visual spectacle and star-studded cast do most of the heavy-lifting. If you don't see this one from a theater seat at least once, you are doing yourself a disservice. But if you are looking for a plot-tight, perfectly character-fulfilling narrative, you may walk away a little disappointed (at least compared to the first Villeneuve Dune).
For a very basic overview, Dune 2 picks up with Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) living amongst the Fremen after House Atreides being all but wiped out in the House Harkonnen collaboration with the Emperor's army to re-take Arrakis. Though Jessica and Stilgar (Javier Bardem) continue to tout Paul as the mythical prophesized messiah per the Bene Gesserit religious sect, Paul isn't yet convinced-nor are other Fremen like Chani (Zendaya). Will Paul accept the mantle and risk all-out religious war-or choose to remain embedded "locally" with the Fremen? Meanwhile, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) is struggling to control spice production on Arrakis, so unhinged nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) is called in for assistance. Finally, the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) scheme to keep themselves in power over all of the machinations.
There is absolutely no doubt that Dune 2 is cinema spectacle of the highest order. Director Denis Villeneuve composes a film that should be seen in the biggest format possible (to truly appreciate the scale) and within the best sound structure (Dolby Atmos for me and it was theater-rumbling!). There is never a dull moment from beginning to end-always something interesting to look at or immerse yourself in on screen.
Here's the issue with Dune 2: the first film was one of the best world-building setups I've ever seen in a flick. It expertly dropped viewers into the planetary conflict, gradually built up the key characters, and imbued it all with a sense of great mystery and intrigue. While this sequel technically pays off all those setups, it doesn't always do so in the most satisfying or understandable of ways. I won't go into every nook and cranny here, but a few examples:
-Paul resists his messianic calling the entire film-until the end when he just "gives in"?
-The fetus within Jessica is talking to her and will someday grow up to be Anya Taylor-Joy's brief cameo character?
-Even after Paul accepts his mantle-the Houses won't acknowledge him?
-The bombshell of Paul's more-diverse-than-we-realized bloodline came off as anticlimactic, especially considering how it immediately becomes the driving force of the film's endgame.
I know that there is an answer to every question posed above-but none of it felt all that satisfactory or revelatory to me. Part of the problem could be that I was expecting more of a definitive ending and received a "setting up a franchise" denouement instead. A particularly telling observation was how my favorite character in the entire movie was Butler's Feyd-Rautha. Why? Because-like in Dune 1-it was something completely different/new and shrouded in mystery that Villeneuve was able to unwind.
So, in my final reckoning of Dune 2, the visual spectacle and star-studded cast do most of the heavy-lifting. If you don't see this one from a theater seat at least once, you are doing yourself a disservice. But if you are looking for a plot-tight, perfectly character-fulfilling narrative, you may walk away a little disappointed (at least compared to the first Villeneuve Dune).