Frank Herbert’s novels from the Dune series are classics of science fiction, which, in many respects, remain unsurpassed even today. The series is based on many complex elements that are closely related to each other. Translating something like this into film format is an almost impossible task. But the first part of “Dune” from Denis Villeneuve showed that you can still find your own cinematic approach to the source material. And now Dune: Part Two has arrived in theaters. We’ll tell you in our review how this movie turned out.
Pros:
the spirit of epic fantasy in every scene; a good script adaptation that will allow almost all viewers to enjoy the film; Villeneuve’s incredible directing style, which fits perfectly with the Dune setting; interesting ideas from the original source
Minuses:
there are questions about the choreography and general staging of battles; not all worthy moments from the original made it into the adaptation; someone will definitely be bored while watching
Dune: Part Two
Genre space science fiction
director Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh
Premiere cinemas
Release year 2024
IMDb website
The majestic House of Atrid fell in the first part of Dune, but Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) managed to escape. They now survive among the Fremen, who have learned to use the harsh deserts of Arakis to their advantage. For some Fremen, Paul has already become a sacred figure, Muad’Dib, who must make the planet a “Green Paradise” again. The guy is afraid of uncontrolled power, because he has seen what cruel actions the desire for it leads to. But circumstances are such that only the fanaticism of the people around the surviving Atrids can help them achieve their goals and take revenge on their offenders.
Denis Villeneuve as a director is known precisely for his cinematic language, which speaks to the audience not with dialogues, but with visual images. This is best seen in Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, in which the aesthetics of all scenes are the most significant plus and lever of influence on the tone of the story. At the same time, Villeneuve also tries to be a good storyteller, but it is in traditional stories that he gives up some slack.
“Dune: Part Two” is a typical Villeneuve and an ideological development of the first part in all directions, but this film does not offer anything radically new.
It seems that the entire management, film crew and audience with critics believed in the director. So he just did what he does best. Namely, an incredibly beautiful, large-scale, pathetic movie, which still feels a little excessive.
This is partly the fault of the source material, because Dune is the most complex work possible. It operates on many themes and storylines that cannot be fully reproduced in the format of films or even TV series (and there have been such attempts, as we remember). Therefore, fans of the books should be prepared for some creative expressions of freedom that the creators of the film adaptation allowed themselves. There were some things that didn’t make it into the film at all, some things were changed. This doesn’t particularly affect general emotions, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Script changes had a greater impact on the morality and ideological component of the plot. Dune, as a work of fiction, has always placed great emphasis on environmental issues. The film barely focuses on them. Instead, Villeneuve and screenwriter Jon Speights bring to the fore issues of feminism, matriarchy and religious influence on people’s consciousness. And they do it exactly in Villeneuve’s style.
This means that the characters’ actions and Arakisu’s breathtaking beauty speak louder than words here. For film buffs, watching Dune: Part Two will be a real treat, because the film looks incredibly attractive. Villeneuve combines aesthetic minimalism, where there may be only a few objects and silhouettes in the frame, with pathos worthy of the level of the Lord of the Rings film adaptation (perhaps even surpassing it in some moments).
The overall color palette and camera techniques here are very restrained, but they are always on point and go straight to the heart. The film can be reviewed and rewatched only for the sake of the visual component; it will definitely be analyzed and stretched into good art and wallpaper for devices.
Dune: Part Two is at its most beautiful in its quiet, panoramic moments. When it comes to the battle scenes, the film has some questions. The movie leads up to them well, but the actual fights turned out to be too fussy. And some duels can be criticized for problematic and clumsy choreography.
It is clear that the film is not about battles at all. It is built on the conversations and emotions of the characters (with a bias towards the latter). Religious motives are present in almost all dialogues here, and the characters themselves do not hesitate to actively use the terminology of their fictional world. Because of this, people who are completely new to Dune may have a bit of a difficult time understanding the story. However, the film crew did everything so that even without knowledge of the first part of the movie, you still get your decent level of pleasure.
This pleasure is sublime, almost pompous, so it is not suitable for everyone. If you were bored while watching the first part of “Dune” (and there were plenty of such viewers, believe me), then the new movie will not change anything here. Perhaps the boredom will even increase, because watching Arakisu’s almost sterile locations throughout the film is definitely not a pleasure for everyone.
However, boredom can be attributed to the spirit of epic fantasy that permeates the entire film. It combines perfectly with Villeneuve’s directing style to create a film worth watching. The space opera genre doesn’t often give us anything outstanding these days, but “Dune” as a work of art definitely deserves a worthy adaptation. Dune: Part Two is that worthy adaptation.
Now all that remains is to wait for Dune: Messiah, in which Villeneuve will adapt Herbert’s second novel. Considering the events of the source material, there will definitely be many moments worth enjoying on the big IMAX screen.
Conclusion:
If you liked the first part of Dune, then you will go to the second without any extra prayers. If not, then it’s still worth giving Villeneuve’s work a chance. This is a unique movie in many aspects, almost all of whose shortcomings are instantly forgotten when the next stunning appearance of Arakis appears on the screen.
