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| Lead them to Paradise |
ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ Part Two is the most anticipated film of 2024. It serves as the second installment of the two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic science fiction novel, and fans of both the source material and the first movie (mostly men) have been eagerly awaiting its release. With its intriguing storyline and impressive visuals, this film is sure to captivate audiences and leave them on the edge of their seats.
Disclaimer: I have not read any of the books, but I have friends that have and helped me with this review.
Now before we get in to the review, let's ask the most important questions are: Is the story woke? Does it have any ESG/DIE bullshit in it?
Thankfully, the story isn't woke and unlike Part One, there's barely any ESG/DIE content (maybe the Legendary's Chinese investors got concerned).
I don't mean to be picky, though the Freemen is inspired by the middle eastern tribes (dark-skinned Caucasians), there are a few African actors in it. The film makers probably took influence from the other desert peoples of east and north Africa and included them in the film version's story. It's nothing intrusive that will fall out of place, and it felt natural.
For the Imperium (based on the Monarchies of Europe) it's thankfully all European actors, except for one character (from the first film) who's from the House of Atreides in Feyd-Rautha's gladiator sequence. (No one will notice anyway)
But yeah, you shouldn't worry about it, now let's get on with the review.
Part Two's story takes place where Part One left off, following the destruction of House Atreides by House Harkonnen, Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his pregnant mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), travel with Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and the Fremen to their home of Sietch Tabr. Over six months (three years in the novel) he tries to learn the ways of the Fremen and befriends a Fremen girl named, Chani (Zendaya). Stilgar and others see signs of a prophecy that a mother and son from the "Outer World" will bring prosperity to Arrakis and Paul is their "Messiah". Some Fremen disagree with the prophecy and suspect they are spies. Over time, Paul tries to unite the Fremen people of the desert planet Arrakis to wage war against House Harkonnen.
Its epic sci-fi story is addictive and engaging, making you hungry for more and what happens next. It's also darker and more complex, which may turn some normies off, not sci-fi fans. There is no "black vs. white" but more like black vs. grey, which is pretty refreshing as some characters, like Paul, make complicated "grey" decisions and think about the consequences that will impact him and everyone. In real life, depending on the situation, making complex decisions isn't easy. Lady Jessica doesn't hesitate to make grey decisions for the benefit of their survival, making some people have less empathy with her.
Religion and politics play a huge role in the story, similar to Battlestar: Galactica, but a little different; instead of a modern democratic political system and Western Greco-Roman mythology, Dune centers around the imperial monarchy and the Abrahamic religious prophecy. As a Christian or Muslim, will you be offended by this? No, I don't believe so. The Freemen's religion references Christianity and Islam in a mystical way that stands on its own.
The story structure is very stable and well-balanced, like the original Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films, so you shouldn't be easily lost. At a long runtime of 165 minutes, it doesn't compress the core of Herbert's second half of his original story too much and never wastes a second of your precious time. However, some major subplots were removed for faster pacing.
Just like Part One, you'll see some stuff that Star Wars heavily borrowed (particularly, Return of the Jedi borrowed alot from the second half of the novel). But Part Two, like Part One, tries its best to distinguish itself and not to show people that it's not a Star Wars rip-off (remember, Dune was published in 1965, and Star Wars came out in 1977)
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| Paul & Feyd-Rautha: Duel of the Fates |
All the characters are well-developed, and most of the actors' performances were excellent - they all made Herbert's characters believable and come alive. Honestly, Javier Bardem's performance of Stilgar was awesome (and my personal favorite) and every time he's on screen, he steals the show, especially with his character's funny moments (The funny moments don't take too much away from the serious story). Christoper Walken's portrayal of the Emperor was excellent, but I wish he had more screen time.
The only criticism I have when it comes to acting is Zendaya, who plays as Chani, a female Fremen warrior and Pual's love interest. Respectively, her acting style is stale compared to the other actors, and she always acts the same in her other films (Basically, Zendaya is playing Zendaya). Fans of the novel have told me that they never liked her portrayal of Chani and doubted that she'd read the book or cared about her character.
While I believe the intelligent script was well done and the dialogue was great, I and a few other people in the theater (both young and old) had trouble understanding what they said a few times - especially when Paul and Jessica spoke quietly. As a young person with auditory problems, I mostly heard and understood what the characters said "most" of the time. When the Fremen are speaking their language, subtitles are provided and gives you plenty of time to read them.
How are the visual and sound effects?
The visual effects are impressive with a mix of digital and practical effects that doesn't make the visuals look fake. It's not a CGI crap fest that you'll see in typical Hollywood movies.
Unfortunately, I never got to see the "taller" IMAX version of Dune, because inflation in Virginia is pretty high (over $50 per person + state tax) and it was three ours away. So, I seen the standard "ultra-wide" version of the film. This version didn't ruin my visual experience (it was standard 2K). I did enjoy the surround sound, but I didn't think it was great as Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which I thought it was more immersive (sound-wise) than Dune. I'm not sure if it was the studio or the theater, who knows. For the sound effects, they were good and the sounds are very unique in its own sci-fi way, but I didn't think it was iconic as Star Wars.
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| "Alaskan Bull Worms!!!" |
Greig Fraser's cinematography is visual eye-candy that really captures the world of Arrakis (and the other worlds). The black-and-white sequences of the arena in the Harkonnen homeworld were my personal favorite. Despite being shot digitally with an Arri Alexa LF camera, it still looks filmic and natural, not pixelated and artificial.
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| "I'm White and I'm angry!" - Wojak |
What about the score?
Hans Zimmer's score uses the same iconic themes from Part One, but the new music was a bit overdone, and I didn't think it added anything new to the table. Is it a bad score? No, but I think it's a great score, and worth listening to.
Entertainment Value
I enjoyed Part Two, and it's now one of my favorite sci-fi films, along with Part One. It has a high re-watch value because it's one of those films you can never get tired of watching (I've watched Part One over a dozen times), and the runtime didn't bother me because I'm the kind of guy who enjoys long movies. I don't think an Average Joe will enjoy it or be patient with its complex storytelling and long runtime, but for die-hard sci-fi fans and cinephiles - this is a must-watch. Is it better than Part One? That's a difficult question to answer; both movies have their own strengths and weaknesses. I equally like them both.
Conclusion
ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ Part Two is one of the best science fiction films I've ever seen in a long time. In this day and age, with woke propaganda everywhere, we need some escapism, and this movie is escapism. Do you believe this movie is getting higher praise than it's getting because of the lack of good movies? Yes. Because, we the audience, are desperate for new good movies. This movie is a masterpiece compared to the other garbage that has come out this year. However, if there was competition I would have to say no, because I'm sure it would still stand up against other good movies.
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| Ocean and Sand = ?.... |
Overall, some purist fans of the book might gripe at the changes to the story, Zendaya's stale performance of Chani, and removing some subplots. No film adaptation of a book is going to be 100% perfect. My friends who have read the novel said it's a faithful adaptation.
Now, as someone who's never read the book, I say it's a pretty good film, and those who haven't read the book should give it a watch. - Æ
This is 100% certified kino. I give it 9 out of 10 sandworms.
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