Dune: Part Two

Building on the foundations laid in his critically acclaimed first instalment, in Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve ups the ante, delivering not only more epic action and stunning visuals, but also more character drama and unexpected, cliché-subverting developments.  Taken together, the two Dune films are a milestone in recent film history.

Premise:  Fleeing into the deep desert of Arrakis with Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya), Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) must fight for acceptance among the Fremen.  Meanwhile, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), and his nephews Rabban (Dave Bautista) and Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), seek to cement their hold on Arrakis, while Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) and his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) fear what would happen if their role in the extermination of House Atreides became known.

Review:

As I confessed in my review of Dune: Part One, I’ve not read Frank Herbert’s Dune novels, and I barely remember watching David Lynch’s 1984 movie adaptation – so I can review Dune: Part Two entirely on its own merits as a movie-going experience.  And judged on that basis, it’s an absolute triumph.  Yes, it may not appeal to everyone (this is a sci-fi epic, so it you’re not a fan of the genre, you may feel alienated by the movie) – but there’s truth to the saying that if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.  If you have any interest in sci-fi/fantasy, Dune: Part Two is one of the finest examples of the genre in recent years – and in fact, you don’t have to be a fan of the genre to enjoy and understand these two films, as Denis Villeneuve (director, and co-writer of the adapted screenplay) does a masterful job across the two films of explaining everything that new viewers (like myself) need to know, even if they’ve never read the books.

If there was one criticism to be made of Dune: Part One, it’s that it’s really just half a story, and it’s mostly set-up.  I didn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an example of an excellent film that also only tells part of a larger story and which is mainly concerned with world-building), but if you did feel that way about Part One, you’ll be very happy to hear that Part Two is all about paying off everything that was set up in the first instalment.

“…Austin Butler is practically unrecognisable as the almost shark-like Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen…”

For example, the Emperor – much talked about in Part One, but never seen – is now played by screen legend Christopher Walken, while Florence Pugh also joins the cast as the Emperor’s daughter, Princess Irulan, and together, they flesh out a lot of the political backstory that was only referred to in the first film.  The other major new addition to the cast is Austin Butler, who is practically unrecognisable as the almost shark-like Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, ruthless younger nephew of the Baron Stellan Skarsgård.  If Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista) is a hammer, Feyd-Rautha is a scalpel, but both Butler and Bautista get plenty of opportunities to make their presence felt on screen.

But the biggest payoff in Part Two is arguably in relation to the Fremen – whereas in the first film, the events on Arrakis were primarily viewed from the “outside” perspective of House Atreides, Part Two delves deeply into the Fremen society, giving Javier Bardem and (especially) Zendaya a lot more to do in their roles as Fremen fighters.

“…explores the dangers of having unwavering faith in charismatic leaders…”

Without wishing to stray into spoiler territory, Part Two also digs deeper into one of the most interesting plot threads from the first film, namely the role that the sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit play in manipulating events from behind the scenes, and in controlling the development of societies through their religions.  Charlotte Rampling returns as the Bene Gesserit advisor to the Emperor, and this time she’s joined by Léa Seydoux in a brief but memorable subplot.  Interestingly, the film makes it very clear that despite being one of the main protagonists, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is by no means above getting her hands dirty in terms of manipulating the religious beliefs of others to her own ends.

This all ties into one of the most interesting themes of these two films, which is the dangers of having unwavering faith in charismatic leaders, no matter how good their intentions.  Even in Part One, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) was adamant that he did not want to embrace his alleged destiny as either the Lisan al Gaib (“The Voice from the Outer World” in the Fremen religion) or the Kwisath Haderach (the Bene Gesserit’s prophesised higher being) for fear of sparking a galactic-wide religious war, and in Part Two, his reluctance to follow the path that others lay out for him becomes even stronger.

“…Timothée Chalamet has one hell of a character arc…”

Timothée Chalamet is superb in this role, not only commanding the screen whenever he’s alongside the acting legends that make up much of the rest of the cast, but also displaying an incredible range compared, for example, to his last big screen appearance as the title character in the delightful Wonka.  Watching the way his character of Paul Atreides develops from where he starts – afraid of disappointing his father during their heart-to-heart at the clifftop family cemetery in the first film – to where he goes in this second instalment, is one hell of a character arc.

Like its predecessor, Dune: Part Two is visually unlike anything else out there.  Not only does the location shooting in the deserts of Jordan and Abu Dhabi give the film an epic, tangible quality that you could never get on a soundstage, but Denis Villeneuve brings a distinctive visual flair to each of the different locations and scenes – a scene set under the “black sun” of the Harkonnen homeworld was shot with specially designed black-and-white infrared cameras to give it a truly otherworldly appearance.  Greig Fraser’s cinematography in this film should definitely put him at the forefront of next year’s Oscar conversations.

“…a truly cinematic experience…”

Dune: Part Two is the kind of epic blockbuster that deserves to be seen on the big screen, as it’s a truly cinematic experience.  And as someone who hadn’t read the books, I have to confess that I did not see that ending coming…