Immense, remarkably captivating, imposing, and right on the edge of overblown, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” is a spectacular blockbuster epic in the grandest sense of the tradition. Picking up where ‘Part One’ left off, this darker, bleaker, moodier sequel is a grand war movie but also a devastating cautionary tale about messiahs, idolatry, and the dangers of false gods. Likened to “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” with apologies to George Lucas, his film is a simple defeat and setback to the valiant heroes. And ‘Part Two’ is much more complex; a tragedy that is much more brutalist and morally complex, making the audience squirm in the way they’re faced with reexamining their sympathies for the protagonists, their questionable purpose, and dubious beliefs.
Villeneuve’s escalating sense of scale and emotional stakes are enormous, his craft impeccable, and the film’s visceral intensity radiates and growls like a raging supernova star about to implode; imagine if one were to mash “Lawrence Of Arabia” and ‘LOTR’s The Two Towers’ together into an unholy mystical sci-fi alliance. Verging on overwrought at times, Villeneuve manages to ride the sandworm lightning beyond the thundering abyss that always seems to be on each side of his stunning creations (and those sandworm scenes are jaw-dropping and gargantuan). Reminiscent of the way Zack Snyder always goes maximum-effort operatic, but with a sense of discerning taste, Villeneuve’s film is ultimately awe-inspiring and an immersive cinematic spectacle that is often breathtaking.
READ MORE: ‘Dune’: Denis Villeneuve Talks Dreams, Sequels & How ‘Star Wars’ Left Him [Interview]
Villeneuve’s inaugural film began with the enigmatic quote, “Dreams are messages from the deep,” an allusion to the prophetic and sometimes nightmarish hallucinatory visions that young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) begins to experience once he’s subjected to the mystical spice of the desert planet of Arrakis. ‘Part Two’ launches with “Power over spice is power over all,” an ominous admonition about subjugation and where misguided paths to revenge and power can lead.
And this is where it gets complicated for the conflicted and troubled Atreides, who grapples with internal struggles about duty, vengeance, and cataclysmic prophecies throughout. “Dune” ended in catastrophe for House Atreides; a sneak attack from the Harkkonen and the Emperor laid waste to their empire. The film was essentially an impressive palace intrigue drama, a noble family and leader whose blind loyalty to the call of duty—even when they sensed something underhanded and amiss—was their undoing. In ‘Part Two,’ having witnessed this terror, facing some of his initial fears, and becoming integrated with the indigenous guerilla warfare warriors of the Fremen, Atreides is now looking to avenge his father and family name. But heavy is the head that wears the would-be crown of thorns, and Paul’s journey in chapter two is the burden of prescience, regnant control, and the price of playing God.
But the lengths he’ll go to foresee the future in his quest and the costs encumbered along this odyssey are laced with dangerous precedent that could unleash the jihad holy war that has haunted his dreams. Jeopardy and peril lie on all sides of his venture, and Atreides—seen as a potentially chosen one the people of Arrakis have been waiting on for centuries—must thread a very small needle for any chance of hope or success.
Exacerbating issues are his tenuous relationship with the Fremen and his outsider status. Half of the Fremen believe Atreidis to be the messiah their prophecies foretold, while others view him with disdainful skepticism. And his mother, the now-pregnant Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), fearing for Paul and the safety of her unborn child, schemes far more than ever, stoking the fires of religious fervor in the devout sections of the Fremen population in order to secure their foothold of safety Atreidis takes on the adopted moniker of Muad’Dib, the Fremen name for the desert mouse found on Arrakis. It’s an appellation that evokes something humble but belies his growing confidence and his need for retribution.
Duplicity, hidden agendas, and treachery were already a vast component of the political machinations of “Dune”—Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) and the Padishah Emperor both conspired with the Harkonnen Imperium to thwart and undermine the House of Atreides rule on Arrakis in the first chapter— but trying to chart them all here would be a fool’s errand. Suffice it to say, the jealous and insecure emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) and his ambassadorial daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), finally come out of the shadows and onto the chess board, and the wicked Harkonnens, Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård), Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista), and newcomer Feyd-Rautha (a menacing Austin Butler), are as merciless and cruel as ever.
Allies are far, few and between, but the once-unconvinced Stilgar (Javier Bardem), leader of the Fremen tribe at Sietch Tabr, finally becomes a full-blown believer in Paul, and Atreides loyalist Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) returns to the fold, after a brief turn as spice smuggler (newcomers fit into the ensemble perfectly, and “Dune: Part Two” features one of the most stellar casts on screen in recent memory, but newcomers like Pugh and Butler are arguably the standouts).
But the true enemy is within: the ill-advised lust for vengeance, the desperation for control, the hubristic desire to fathom the uncertain future, and the blinding arrogance of believing your own hype. If the moral clarity in “Dune” seemed faultless, “Part Two” perhaps casts all interlopers of Arrakis as potential would-be oppressors, the indigenous Fremen perhaps the only truly empathetic people worth a damn at the heart of its story. It’s what Herbert would have wanted (and intended), but it’s a bold choice for mainstream audiences to experience— these road-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions thematics at its center.
On top of it all, “Dune: Part Two” is a love story; Chani (Zendaya) and Paul’s ardor grows deeper and stronger, but when ideologies and allegiances become strained, their bond will face the ultimate test.
And maybe this sprawl of big concepts—love, survival, inner conflict, retribution, holy wars, political conspiracy, messianic complexes, and prophetic divinations— is where ‘Part Two’ starts to buckle and perhaps get a bit unwieldy. Co-written by Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, if ‘Part Two’ falters anywhere, it’s perhaps just in the sheer colossal scale and scope of the film. At two hours and 45 minutes, you feel the runtime, and the theatrical drama begins to sag a little in the back half, especially when your empathy towards the heroes is weathered. Additionally, the faction of critics who often charge Villeneuve with a humorless and self-serious approach will have even more ammo in this regard. ‘Part Two’ is grim, bleak, and arguably joyless. But what Villeneuve lacks in humor, he more than makes up with muscular craft, visceral intensity, and dynamic visual rapture.
Shot again by cinematographer Greig Fraser with tactile chiaroscuro-soaked beauty and scored once more by Hans Zimmer—who isn’t exactly subtle but creates thundering symphonies of dread nonetheless—‘Dune’ is easier to laud for the cinematic magnificence artists like this bring to it, than its cumbersome shape or story. ‘Part Two’ is arguably the (mildly) lesser of the two films and feels cliffhanger incomplete in a way that “Dune” did not. And yet, still, it is undeniably an extraordinary piece of work, a towering, opulent, melodramatic marvel that will provoke wonder, admiration, and respect from critics and audiences alike. More importantly, it will likely enchant the devoted fans, seemingly already willing to ride of die for all things Arrakis. And the sooner we get to “Dune: Messiah,” the better. [B+]