Tuesday Special Edition: DUNE 2 Movie Review (2024)
Free advance screening means a special newsletter for you all. I think you'll appreciate this one.
Sorry to send out so many emails so close together (the Out of Darkness movie review, this one, and a normal email slated for 3/2), but I was able to get an advance pass to see Dune 2 Monday evening. With the movie’s general release coming soon, I figured you all would want this sooner rather than later.
So here we go…my review of Dune 2. Enjoy!
The Plot
In the distant future, the noble House Atreides is defeated and the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) once more rules Arrakis, backed by Emperor Shaddam IV Corrino (Christopher Walken). However, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), son of the murdered previous duke, and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) survived the Harkonnen takeover.
Hiding out among the native Fremen people, Paul falls for the warrior Chani (Zendaya), but finds more and more of the Fremen, led by the chieftain Stilgar (Javier Bardem), are coming to believe he is their prophesied Madhi. Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter Irulan (Florence Pugh) and Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) of the mysterious Bene Gesserit order make their plans and a new threat emerges in the form of Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), the baron’s younger nephew who may be much more dangerous than the bestial Rabban (Dave Bautista).
The Good
*I liked how they delved more into Fremen politics. Whenever there’s a new charismatic leader or new movement, there are always skeptics. A people who’ve been oppressed by outsiders for centuries are not going to just fall for a much nicer one, particularly one who needs them more than they need him.
*I also liked how they beefed up Chani’s role. Per the above, she recognizes the dangers of charismatic leaders and how prophecies can control people, and she can see right through nonsense. Given how she is supposed to be Paul’s soulmate despite the requirements of politics making their lives more difficult, the film spending time building up their relationship is a good thing. They also gave Chani a friend Shishakli (Souheila Yacoub), and their interactions are amusing.
*The acting is generally good. With the exception of one part I’ll get to later, Zendaya impresses as Chani, and has a marvelous “do you really expect me to believe that?” face. Bardem amuses as Stilgar, who sees proof of Paul’s divine purpose in everything. Ferguson plays up the more sinister and manipulative aspect of Jessica — whom I must mention is a Bene Gesserit herself. And when Paul starts to rise towards his destiny, Chalamet conveys his growing power and intensity well. Butler does a good job as the intense Feyd-Rautha, particularly when he’s channeling his uncle.
*There are some really impressive visuals in this film, including the desert landscapes of Arrakis and the fascist brutalism of the Harkonnen world of Giedi Prime.
*One area where the 2000 miniseries improved on the book and the 1984 film is giving Irulan more to do. This adaptation continues that tradition, in a way that makes Irulan’s intentions much less obvious in-universe.
*Although I disliked a big part of the ending (more later), the ending sequence does a much better job than any previous adaptation in explaining why the galaxy-wide holy war of Paul’s visions takes place.
*There’s some good worldbuilding, like giving the Harkonnens a very Black Speech-like language and explaining just how the “family atomics” operate.
The Bad
*Although they tighten up events that, in the book, take place over many years into a few months at most, the movie still drags.
*Stilgar as comic relief is not something I overly liked even if he is funny. In the book his arc is more tragic — Paul loses a friend and gains a creature as the religious fervor around him grows. Instead it’s “laugh at this credulous dork.”
*Paul’s visions of a future jihad (a word they are too careful to avoid using) that terrify him in the first film are much vaguer and less scary in this one.
*Some of Paul’s arc is rushed in this one, especially toward the end.
*The movie could do without the final scene. Not going into detail for spoiler reasons, but it really disrespects a key character. If they had ended with the scene right before that (and nixed something that character did in the prior scene they’re in), it would have been much better.
(The 2000 Dune miniseries handled the final battle and overall ending better than this one did, and it handled a bunch of related matters better too.)
The Verdict
I liked the first one better. Let’s hope director Denis Villeneuve has something truly epic planned for the third film — based on how they’re tightening up the books’ timeline, I suspect what takes place between Dune and the second book Dune Messiah and the events of Messiah itself are going to be consolidated into a third film.
7.0 out of 10.
(Also, check out this episode of the film podcast Myopia Movies about the 1984 Dune film. I’m in it.)