The review embargo is up. I can now talk about Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part II” which is a much more entertaining film than the first one. The scores, so far, are 79 on Metacritic and 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I was told by Warner Bros not to mention too much of the plot, so I won’t really discuss the story at length here. All of this to say that ‘Dune 2’ is pure spectacle filmmaking. It’s as ambitious a studio film as I’ve seen in quite a bit of time.
If the first one was all about building character and worlds, this one just goes straight for the jugular. It’s partly a road movie as Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) hide in the mountains of Arakkis with the Fremen. Paul is starting to be seen as this messianic figure, and word is quickly spreading, that he might be “The One.”
Meanwhile, Villeneuve manages to tackle multiple storylines in the process. The Harkonnen, who mass murdered Paul’s family and the Atreides, have retaken hold of the spice fields. The scenes that take place in House of Harkonnen are shot in color, but photographed in this nightmaresque grey and black.
The third storyline involves the Bene Gesserit Order and the Emperor (Christopher Walken) who purposely set up House of Atreides’ fall at the hands of the Harkonnen. Florence Pugh plays Princess Irulan, the only person wise enough to realize that her people’s demise might be near.
What we have here is a revenge story. Paul wants to seek revenge on the Harkonnen and the Bene Gesserit, and to do so he’ll have to convince the millions of Fremen that he is their messiah. It’s a meaty and involving story that involves 166 minutes of tactical planning and constant chess pieces being moved left, right and center.
The cast assembled here helps hide some of the flaws — particularly the overlength. Chalamet is great. Zendaya expertly nails Chani’s inner demons. There are also these muscular effective performances from Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin and, best of all, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen.
Herbert’s novel, and the movies, tackle religion, war, revenge, and romance. These topics are ageless. Paul’s reluctance to accept his fate comes from the fact that he knows that the only way to “win” and get the revenge he seeks is to also fully inhabit fascist tendencies. The only way to conquer evil is to be evil. How’s that for topical relevance?
Technically speaking, ‘Dune 2’ is a marvel, the sand worm sequences have never been more visceral, and the breathless scope of the sets are mesmerizingly realized. And yet, Villeneuve doesn’t lose sight of the the intimacy of his characters. Amidst the chaos, Paul and Chani are falling in love, but it’s always tackled in subdued fashion. Never overbearing to the story at hand.
The result is a staggering statement of near biblical approach — a risk-taking endeavor to storytelling that threatens to derail at any minute, but is kept whole by Villeneuve’s smartly conceived narrative. The ending is a bit of a mess, but by that point you really don’t care as you’re fully invested in the stakes at hand.
Yes, there are some dated tropes in “Dune.” The book, first published in 1965, was one of the blueprints that George Lucas used to make “Star Wars,” and the fact that Lucas’ films have been copied to death by other sci-fi films doesn’t help Dune’s case for 2024 freshness.
And yet, it helps that the storytelling is second to none, and Villeneuve has a keen eye for transportive visuals and staggering attention to detail. I don’t believe you could have made as good of a ‘Dune’ movie without Villeneuve being the head master. You can tell he just knows this source material top to bottom. [B+]
In case you’re too curious to wait, here’s the leaked teaser for Jeremy Saulnier’s “Slayground” that’s currently being shown in theaters, and it plays hard.