I can guess what you are thinking: “We are barely into the third month of 2024, and this dude is already tossing around the almighty tag that Oppenheimer just took home. Didn't Dune: Part Two make its theatrical debut some two weeks ago? I want a glass of whatever he’s having.”
Don’t be so hasty to dismiss me, though. I am not easily impressed by movies so if I'm making such a claim, best believe it has some merit to it. Dune: Part Two is a spectacular movie in many ways and I'm convinced it will, at the very least, be in contention for the best movie of 2024.
It is so good that I think, and I mean no disrespect (okay, I might mean a little), Snyder can learn a little about creating spectacles from Denis Villeneuve’s work on this movie, given the clusterfuck that Rebel Moon was. Everything, from the music to the cinematography to the costumes, fit together perfectly like Sashimono—that Japanese woodwork technique of building furniture without nails.
Despite its superb quality, Dune: Part Two could have been better - and in this review, we will explore its good, its bad, and its ugly. Let's get started!
Dune: Part Two is nothing if not a spectacle, with the cinematography one of the best I have seen in a while. The pictures were clear, sharp, and incredibly detailed.
More importantly, though, is how incredibly creative it was. Greig Fraser, who won an Oscar for Best Cinematography for the first film, once again shows why he was deserving of that award. His angles – especially in the scenes where Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha features – were a work of art and elevated the movie from just another epic blockbuster to a masterful craft.
In the past decade or so, Villeneuve has gained a reputation for being an incredible director of science fiction movies. You only need to look at his work in the genre – Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and the first Dune movie – for proof of his mettle.
In Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve proves he is on the path to auteur status. The movie has so many recognizable A-list actors that it would have been easy for their performances to merge into each other, making it hard to distinguish each performer. However, that isn't what happens. Each actor is distinctly himself and most of them gave fabulous accounts of their characters.
What's more? Successfully adapting Frank Herbert's novels for the big screen is something many directors have tried to do in the past but none none succeeded at. Villeneuve makes it work, though, further cementing his status as one of Hollywood’s top directors.
What is an epic movie without a Hans Zimmer score? Undeserving of the "epic" tag would be my answer. Zimmer's scores accompany the very best epic movies of the recent past from the late 1900s until the present. His work evokes the strongest emotions and bring a wave of nostalgia so powerful they transport us back to the worlds we inhabited as children.
In Dune: Part Two, Zimmer once again proves why The Daily Telegraph him in a list of Top 100 Living Geniuses in 2007. His scores for the movie were right on the money and communicated what viewers see on screen on a primordial level, thereby ensuring viewers were immersed in the world Villeneuve built.
There is one scene in particular – Feyd Rautha’s dance of death in a coliseum during his birthday celebrations – where the scale of his work hits you. Zimmer’s thick strings and heavy percussion in that scene add an extra layer of tension to the atmosphere, making Butler’s performance more powerful.
Dune: Part Two is a movie brimming with talent across both cast and crew, and the visual effects team is not exempt. From Chalamet’s Paul Atreides riding on the back of a humongous sandworm to the Fremen's blue eyes and the depiction of Geidi Prime, the homeworld of the Harkonnens, you can tell that the team brought its A-game to this production.
Without them and the excellence with which they discharged their duties, I doubt Villeneuve would have had this much success with adapting the Frank Herbert book.
If you were to ask anybody who has seen Dune: Part Two what their favorite part of the movie is, I'm fairly certain that 8 out of 10 people, at the very least, would mention its action sequences.
While they aren't exactly what you would expect from, say, John Wick or Mission: Impossible, Dune: Part Two featured well choreographed action scenes. The hand-to-hand combat was exciting as is the guerilla war that the Fremens waged on the Harkonnens. Boy, oh boy, was that cool? It involved gun battles, cannon shooting, and sudden ejection from sanddunes that all made for pretty interesting scenes.
With Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve was on a mission to immerse viewers further in Frank Herbert’s world, and he succeeded, maddeningly!
Aside from everything I have talked about, the movie has some pretty impressive costumes, too. From Princess Irulan’s headgear to the Fremens’ sleek outfit and Lady Jessica’s veils, you can tell that members of Dune: Part Two’s costume team were divinely inspired. And the result? An elevated, cohesive, and immersive spectacle.
Villeneuve and Dune’s producers got many things right with the film’s casting but I think they could have done some things better. I loved Javier Bardem as Stilgar and thought Rebecca Ferguson brought the detachment I would expect from her character. Austin Butler was also sufficiently psychotic for his role, although there were moments where I thought he was doing too much.
On the other hand, I think Christopher Walken's casting as Emperor was a mistake. I also think Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya were not the best actors for Paul Atreides and Chani.
Walken is an incredible actor – You don’t get to have the kind of career he’s had in Hollywood otherwise. Nevertheless, he feels out of place in this movie. His energy and aura simply doesn’t fit into the world of Dune, especially not as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. For what it's worth, I think Robert Patrick would have fit better.
On Chalamet and Zendaya, I’ll talk more about my misgivings in other sections.
Dune: Part Two also has problems with pacing and it persisted throughout the movie. For one, the movie’s events all take place within nine months - Paul Atreides’s mother is pregnant when it starts and even though she is heavy by the time it ends, she still hasn't given birth.
Given the scale of events that happen within that period – Paul and his mum escape their would-be killers, Paul and his mother meet the Fremens, who take them in, Paul fights alongside the Fremens, Paul learns about the Fremens, Paul wins the Fremens' trust enough to be appointed leader, Paul is declared Mua’Dib and, eventually, the Lisan al Gaib, etc. – I can’t help but shake the feeling that everything happens too fast.
There is also the part where Paul and the Fremens take down the emperor’s Sardaukar army alongside the Harkonnen’s force. Even though Paul’s clairvoyance lends him an advantage, the movie's narrative would have been better if their foes put up a fight. The reverse happens, though, and the Fremens decimate and swat them aside like pesky flies.
I also find that Dune: Part Two’s story is underwhelming in some places. For instance, Paul doesn’t seem interested in revenge when the movie starts. If my memory serves me correctly, there was a scene where he promised Chani he was not trying to use her people to fight some war.
So, for this same person to embark on a war against the empire in revenge is somewhat drastic and jarring.
Do you know what’s worse?
When he gets this revenge that he didn’t want until three-fourths through the movie, it is in such an anticlimactic manner that we are better off without it. Baron Harkonnen is responsible for the near extermination of your family, and you strut in, slice his neck, engage in some duel, and strut out again.
No show of emotion, no catharsis, no relief..… nothing!
Just do the job like a robot and leave.
It was beyond disappointing; I found myself wondering if the movie would have been better with another actor portraying Atreides.
Don't get me wrong, Chalamet got the character right on certain occasions. However, the scenes where he didn’t were jarring and this negatively impacted the experience for me. Chalamet is a top actor, which is why I think his acting in the movie is not entirely his fault but that of the production team which should have done better with casting.
Beyond Chalamet’s acting, I also found the on-screen chemistry between him and Zendaya lacking. Zendaya delivered a riveting, award-winning performance but struggled to sell her supposed love for Chalamet’s Paul. Chani and Paul made great friends, but there was no spark as you would expect from two people who are madly in love, especially since one had dreamt about the other when he didn’t even know she existed.
"For a potential contender for Movie of the Year, you sure have a lot of complaints about Dune: Part Two." Those were my friends words when he read this review for the first time. If you are thinking the same, I will tell you what I told him: "The fact I like the movie doesn't mean it is perfect. It means that, despite its imperfections, it still made an impression."
Dune: Part Two could have been better, yes. Despite this, its merits still surpasses its demerits and that is why I have such a high opinion of it. It is also why I recommend you visit the closest and most comfortable theater in your vicinity and experience it.
Don’t take my word for it. Instead, consider the case of my very good friend Muyiwa, who wouldn’t stop oohing and ahhing in the cinema. Brother absolutely lost himself in the world of Dune that he almost didn't want to leave the theater.
Have you seen Dune? If yes, what did you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.
