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Dune: Part Two Spoiler-Free Review

This past Sunday, I was one of the lucky people who got a ticket to AMC’s fan preview for Dune: Part Two. The theater was nearly full, and I had a seat close to the front row. While I wasn’t one of them (yet), plenty of people had bought that Dune popcorn bucket that had become a meme. Having gone to see the first part opening weekend three years ago, you can imagine my expectations were high. Part One was the prologue, with Part Two containing the main event. Having sat through the nearly three-hour movie, Denis Villeneuve didn’t meet expectations. He surpassed them. Dune: Part Two is the best film of 2024, even the best sci-fi film of the decade.

Now, the Real Story of Dune Begins

Picking up where Part One left off, Dune: Part Two begins with the fall of House Atreides. Its last survivors, Paul, his mother Jessica, and her unborn child, are forced to take refuge with the Fremen of Arrakis. Driven to avenge his father and make the evil Harkonnen and the Emperor pay for betraying them, Paul joins the Fremen in their fight to free their world. On the surface, it seems like a classic good vs evil story, with Paul the destined savior of Arrakis that the Fremen have waited for. But this isn’t Star Wars; it’s Dune. And in Dune, good and evil can blur quickly. 

In the three years since seeing the first film, I’ve learned more about the universe that Frank Herbert created. And calling it like Game of Thrones was an understatement. Dune was subverting and deconstructing the idea of good vs. evil, prophecies, and chosen ones decades before Game of Thrones did! And while Part One did play with those concepts, things were largely vanilla. Atreides are the good guys, the Harkonnen and the Emperor are the bad guys, and Paul is set up to be this big hero of legend and prophecy. 

Part Two is when the story starts deconstructing this and shows us how bad that could be. 

Frank Herbert’s Warning about Messiahs Feels Clearer than Ever

The central theme behind the Dune saga is Frank Herbert’s beliefs surrounding heroes and messianic figures. People tend to gravitate towards them, even when we don’t mean to do so. Eventually, we stop questioning them entirely and do whatever they want, or worse, do what they don’t want but believe they do. That’s the trap that Herbert believed heroes and messiahs to be. And this film shows that Villeneuve understands Herbert’s message and works to ensure the audience understands it.

We naturally want to cheer for Paul as we see him fight the Harkonnens and ride a giant sandworm. It’s fantastic, and the Harkonnen’s are pretty easy to hate. At the same time, Paul keeps seeing visions telling him that if he continues on this path, he’ll let the Fremen loose on the Galaxy, and they’ll kill untold billions. That’s not something we should be okay with, and neither is Paul. Yet, thanks to his mother (who’s a lot more sinister here) using the prophecies her order gave the Fremen, he keeps getting pushed onto this path. It’s heartbreaking on several levels to see him slowly surrender to this fate. However, this is best shown by how it affects his relationship with Chani.

Zendaya more than makes up for her lack of screen time in Part One by making Part Two as much Chani’s film as it is Paul’s. Unlike other versions, who become one of Paul’s most prominent supporters and love interest, this Chani is more skeptical. The more she sees the Fremen fall under Paul’s thrall, the more she openly calls him out for it. It’s a noticeable departure from her characterization in previous adaptations. But if Villeneuve intended to make Chani the means to remind the audience of the deadly consequences Paul’s actions have, then it works. I loved it!

A Film Meant for the Biggest Screen Possible

Storytelling and characters were only one part of what made Dune: Part Two a must-see on the most giant Imax screen possible. The costumes, the settings, the special effects. Everything about Dune: Part Two was a visual and auditory feast! Even from the poor choice of seating that I had to endure, I could tell how well this movie cooked.

With most of the film now taking place in the wild, we got a much better look at Arrakis in all its savage beauty. From the rolling dunes that give the franchise its name to the hidden villages of the Fremen, it’s clear that Villeneuve and his team put a lot of care into making Arrakis as natural as possible. After seeing this film, Tatooine pales in comparison to Dune.

As for the Sandworms, they are a far more present entity in this part. As awe-inspiring as they are by nature, the Sandworms become even more impressive when used by the Fremen. From the sight of the Fremen riding them into battle to moving entire communities on their backs, the Sandworms remain one of the best parts of the franchise.

If I had to pick a part of the most visually stunning film, though, it would be the section spent on Giedi Prime, the homeworld of the Harkonnen—the entire world’s entirely in monochrome and without color. Even the sun in the sky is black and white, illustrating how messed up life is under House Harkonnen. Everything about the Harkonnen was terrific. Their soldiers barely looked human, and with his black teeth and pale white skin, Feyd-Rautha looked like a demon. 

Dune is THE Movie to See in 2024

To summarize, if you choose to see only one film in theaters this year, I highly recommend Dune: Part Two because this may only be the start of what’s to come. Especially since the ending of the film deviates a bit from what’s found in the book. I won’t say how, but if you’ve seen my post about it on Twitter, then you’ll know how surprised I was by what happens, and wonder what it means for the future. 

The ending of the film makes it clear that the story of Paul Atreides is far from over. His story continues into the sequel, Dune: Messiah. If Villeneuve wanted to, he could easily adapt Messiah into a third film, rounding out the story of Paul with a neat trilogy. But why stop there? The Dune Saga has eight books in the main story. Villeneuve or another ambitious director could try to adapt all of them. It depends on how badly the public wants to see them. 

In the meantime, though, Dune: Part Two might be the best sci-fi film of the 2020s. It’s a must-see on the big screen, and I’m considering seeing it again. At least to get that popcorn bucket!

I Give “Dune: Part Two” a 5/5

Dune: Part One Review

Fifty Six years ago, a man named Frank Herbert published a book called Dune. That book ended up becoming one of the most important novels in the history of science fiction. It inspired Star Wars and showed just what sci-fi is capable of. However, for all its importance to the genre, Dune lacked the recognition of other franchises. It didn’t even get a decent movie. David Lynch disowned his 1984 film, after all.

After all these years, though, Dune finally gets a proper film adaptation. And it lives up to the epic scope of its source material. Sadly, it’s also only half of the original source material.

Think Game of Thrones Meets Star Wars

For the uninitiated, here’s the basic rundown to Dune. It takes place tens of thousands of years into a future where mankind’s spread out amongst the stars into a massive, feudal empire. One day, the Emperor orders the noble House Atreides to become the new stewards of Arrakis, AKA Dune, a desert world and the most important planet in the universe. It’s here that one finds the precious Spice Melange needed to travel throughout the cosmos. He who controls the Spice controls the universe. Thus, Duke Atreides and his young son, Paul, journey to Arrakis to become its leaders.

However, the whole thing is a trap. The Emperor and Atreides ancient enemies wish to wipe them all out. Their scheming leads to the Atreides almost losing everything, and Paul and his mother fleeing into the deserts of Dune to survive. There, they are pushed to their limits as they seek to survive long enough to take back what they have lost.

In other words, Dune is like a fusion of Star Wars and the political intrigue of Game of Thrones. Though, considering how Dune came out years before the former were thought up, it would be fairer to say this was doing what Star Wars and GoT did before it was cool.

A Story Not Big Enough For One Film…

Dune is rightfully considered one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever told. In the span of a single novel, Frank Herbert created a world so vast, so detailed, that he he had to include an index at the end of the book explaining the terms and technology. While this created a very believable world, the sheer depth made making any movie about it a monster of a task. David Lynch tried, and failed. Other directors either abandoned the project or failed to even start. The best adaptation we got before this film was a mini-series by SyFy. So, how did Denis Villeneuve manage to cram the entire story into 2.5 hours of runtime?

He didn’t. Denis knew that this was impossible, as this would ruin any attempts at telling the epic story of Dune. Thus, he didn’t bother. Instead, he decided this movie would only adapt the first half of the book, leaving the second half for the sequel that Warner Bros will have to make. As a result, this film (which Warner neglected to advertise as “Part One”) feels like a movie without a climax. It’s a consequence of the decision to split the movie up.

Much like the Fremen in the film, though, Dune does the best with what it’s got. And what it does with that is still fairly impressive.

A Visual and Auditory Masterpiece

Movie technology’s come a long way since the days of David Lynch. Heck, it’s come a long way since SyFy made their miniseries. And the 2021 Dune takes full advantage of this fact to give us the Dune that people imagined as they were reading the books. The ships and technology are faithful to what Frank Herbert created, and are very impressive to look at. When I saw the Orthnopter’s, I thought they looked less like vehicles and more like mechanical animals, with their stubby legs and buzzing wings.

In addition, despite being largely a setup for the sequel, when fighting does occur, it’s on par with anything the best sci-fi films can give us. At one point in the film, the Atreides army goes into battle at night to the sound of bagpipes playing in the background. It’s so strange, yet so amazing.

Then, we have the sandworms. They are the most famous part of Dune. Big enough to swallow a dragon whole, if one existed in the real world. In the past, creating them onscreen has proven difficult to pull off. Yet Villeneuve manages to do it perfectly. Rather than show them off all at once, we only get glimpses of what the Sandworms are like. The great maws of their razor-sharp teeth peeking out of the sand is like a sci-fi version of jaws. It builds up the tension so that when we get a good look at the Sandworms, we’re both awe-struck and terrified. It’s like looking into the jaws of death!

The combat is also top-notch. It’s clear Jason Momoa and everyone else has practiced for this movie, making it very fun to watch.

A Good Start to A Long-Overdue Film Series

Warner Bros has said that the future of Dune rests on how well it does on HBO Max, not on the profits it rakes in in theaters. That’s a first for a movie, as far as I know. However, if it does do well, we will likely get a sequel to the second half of the book. The real question, though, is what then?

In an ideal world, the entire series of books would be adapted into film. The process would take years, and considering how several of the cast members are around for a very long time (cough*Duncan Idaho*cough), the clock’s ticking. Warner Bros needs to invest in Dune, and they need to do it now.

I honestly hope that Dune does get fully adapted. It deserves to be successful after all these years. Until then, though, I will be streaming it on HBO Max as much as possible.

I Give “Dune: Part One” a 3.8/5. A slow start, but a good start.

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