“Dune: Part Two” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #DuneMovie
“Dune: Part Two” will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
I have to admit that I wasn’t really looking forward to covering this film. I did not like Part 1, and I did not want to go through the trouble of writing another bad review detailing how I just wasted 3 hours of my life sitting in a theater for a pointless movie that is in great part a huge ass trailer for the second part, or in this case a huge ass trailer for the third part. With that being said, I also have to admit that Dune Part 2 was easily up there with one of the best SciFi theatrles experiences since Spider-Man No Way Home. Dune Part 2 is a movie that demands to be seen in the biggest screen possible with a movie theater packed full of Dune fans.
What worked:
When I compare Part One with Part Two, the second part clearly fixes all of the issues that plagued Part One, regarding the pacing and overall premises of the story. While I do understand that Part One was all a setup for Part Two, I still feel that Part One and Part Two would and should have been easily combined into one feature film since Part One mostly focus on developing Paul Atreides as the lead character of the story. Yes, I understand we also dive into explaining the natures of the spices and the importance behind it, but Part One is just that developing Paul Atreides as the chosen one.
Part Two story-wise goes far beyond just continuing to develop Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet, as the chosen one, or the direction his character is going by the third act, without entering into spoilers territory for people who have not read the books. Part Two also dives into giving us more from Jessica, played by Rebecca Ferguson, as she is forced into embracing her new Reverend Mother role, which down the line by the third act more details are revealed for the future of the character within the story much like with Paul, which I will not enter into spoilers. We are given a little more of an inside into Chani, played by Zendaya. as we dive into her beliefs and what she wants for her people. But we also get a lot from Stilgar, played by Javier Bardem, as we see him lean into his restless beliefs and help guide Paul Atreides into the chosen one. Finally, we get introduced to Feyd-Rautha, played by Austin Butler, who in my opinion looks badass as the main antagonist, and the twist and turns the story takes with his character by the last act will have many with the jaw on the floor.
Performance-wise, I have to praise the work of Javier Bardem, and Austin Butler. We dive so much into Stilger’s beliefs, that by the final act Stilger who is occasionally sarcastically funny, is so wrapped in his beliefs and trusts for Paul Atreides. Bardem’s performance is a mirroring image of someone who is so caught up in their beliefs that is blinded by what truly lies behind a personal real endgame. With Austin Butler as the deadly Feyd-Rautha we saw how much of a threat is to Paul’s throne, as Butler did one hell of a job portraying that menacing look and feel of a main antagonist that truly is not till the final act that we see the reasoning behind why Paul and Feyd-Rautha match up so well together as their rage come head to head in this “finally” battle.
From a technical side, much like in Part One, the world-building aspect of the movie just shines. I love Part Two better from a technical aspect just because we are more out and about this time, and with this, the producers of the movie are forced to show us more of the land, and the sandworms. The visuals are just stunning as well worth it when award season comes about next year. The production design and the wardrobe and hairstyling department did the job as we already seen in Part One. And Hans Zimmer continues to score masterpieces from masterpieces.
What did not work:
This is one that is difficult to quantify. Dune Part 2 had so much to offer that I find very difficult to find something in particular that I didn’t like. Maybe if anything as mentioned before in this review, I would have loved to see a version where an abridged version of Part One was combined with Part Two since Part One felt like an incomplete story if Part Two was not greenlighted by Warner Bros. Part Two manages to hit all the notes where Part One, and it horrible pacing issues left you with more questions that answer. Part Two just feels like a complete movie, maybe that is the main issue I am having trying to pinpoint something that did not work for me.
In conclusion:
Dune Part Two is a masterpiece in storytelling, world-building, and character development. A masterclass in cinema. A movie that shines not only in its visuals, score, and technical aspects but also performance-wise, by its leads and the supporting cast. A movie that manages to take all the right twists and turns story-wise, and it keeps you entertained and intrigued as the story develops. One that will surely have you wanting to see more by the final act.
