REVIEW: Dune Part Two
Very few sci-fi blockbusters are this engaging without being hampered by its own scale and vision. While there is nothing groundbreaking here, Part Two perfected the simplistic approach to narrative a
You know a science fiction medium is successful in being science fiction when you feel like you have just been transported to a world that feels lived-in (inclusive of beauty and terror) just by consuming it. Frank Herbert’s seminal work on ‘Dune’ in 1965 stands as a great example of this one. Herbert’s classic was influential and although several have tried a stab in adapting it, nothing seemed to really work. Until 2021, when Denis Villeneuve gave us the miracle that is ‘Dune’.
Although feeling like a half of a whole—as it is indeed—Dune managed to pull off what previous iterations have failed at: being faithful and immersive. Villeneuve have crafted a world that is not only true to the essence of the source material, but one that is also heedful of our modern sensibilities. In ‘Dune: Part Two’, Villeneuve continues this magic and improves on it.
Herbert’s Dune contains inner-monologue-heavy prose and nuanced nonverbal communication that for a long time it has been deemed unfilmable, but Villeneuve found a way to translate this to film without needing to rely on lengthy expositions. His partiality for visual storytelling and conscious framing easily bled into both Part One and Two that the transcription from text to screen felt seamless. In Part Two, he directs the audience’s eyes with careful confidence, making the characters be stand-ins for the moviegoers as we pick up right were we left off Part One. Here goes the Fremen, one body to another, reclaiming water from the dead with cool equipment of Fremen make. Here goes a vision of Fremen fundamentalists honoring an image of Duke Leto Atreides. And perhaps the most effective of them all, the frequent close-up shots of faces conveying well more than words could ever. Wed these with Hans Zimmer’s otherworldly score, Greig Fraser’s career-best cinematography, and Jaqueline West’s tactile costume design and you got yourself a grand feast for the senses.
All of these would have been put to waste without the ensemble cast putting on a good show. Lèa Seydoux was enchanting as Lady Margot Fenring, Austin Butler turns in a menacing performance as Feyd-Rautha, Javier Bardem was fun and refreshing as Stilgar, and Rebecca Ferguson was transcendental as Lady Jessica. The key players are of course Timothèe Chalamet and Zendaya as Paul Atreides and Chani respectively. Chalamet is so attuned with himself that when the film’s most pivotal moment unfolded, it was hard not to be convinced that you’re watching his best work since ‘Call Me By Your Name’. But the real standout here is Zendaya who, through her eyes, carried the third act with such brilliance. Not only was she meant to be a representation of the audience’s point of view in this sand-covered world, but she was also the whole film’s emotional heart. She wasn’t given much to work with in the first movie, but in here, Villeneuve has expanded and improved Chani’s character from the book and has given her a much-needed agency that no other Dune adaptation have truly considered. Zendaya’s portrayal of a person in conflict with love, responsibilities, and moral purpose hits close to home and is utterly heartbreaking.
Villeneuve took further liberties in this second instalment, but carefully so that he does not lose much of the book’s major themes. A lot was condensed and some parts that were left out I wish was here. But I’m guessing it’s for the better. Much like its predecessor, Dune Part Two has its weaknesses. The writing could’ve used some tightness and not much of the Arrakis’ ecology and inner workings were explored to at least put more weight on the film’s constant allusion to paradise and on the Fremen’s general purpose. Nevertheless, Villeneuve gets the point across: Dune Parts 1 and 2 are a deconstruction of the white savior narrative—a timely critique against charismatic leaders exhibiting messianic tendencies and encouraging religious fervor as machinery to rise to power.
Undoubtedly, Dune Part Two is a captivating epic that is monumental in scope and grand in its ambitions. An astounding cinematic achievement that fires on all cylinders and never lets on. Very few sci-fi blockbusters are this engaging without being hampered by its own scale and vision. While there is nothing groundbreaking here, Part Two perfected the simplistic approach to narrative and that is what makes it, alongside Part One, the best Dune adaptation thus far.
RATING: 10/10