sand dune : Part Two ismore than a mere subsequence . It ’s a continuation , culmination , and at last a fantastic aggrandisement of everything you already loved about director Denis Villeneuve’s2021 film Dune : Part One . That film terminate with Paul Atreides ( Timothée Chalamet ) comprehend a fresh way of life after almost everyone he be intimate was massacred . Here , after a brief interlude , thing pick upright where they left offand wind a sweeping , cautionary tale of a vernal adult male weight down by destiny and how he ’ll act to fulfill it . The motion-picture show is dense and complex but also majestic and engaging on a layer the first film merely touch upon .
That ’s enounce something too because Dune : Part One — which won six well - deserved Oscars for technical accomplishment — was itself a singular accomplishment . This clock time , that stratum of acquirement is not just back , it might be good . Dune : Part Two look sensational , make full with shots you ’d be happy to hang on your wall . The attention to contingent in every frame is masterly , with costumes and airplane propeller that could be work of art on their own . You experience every sound and note of euphony in your clappers as well as your warmheartedness . It ’s also quite unearthly , fully embracing author Frank Herbert ’s voice and originality . Much like the first motion picture , the book by Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts is crafted in such a way that while every name or construct may not stick , the most all-important parts of the story are easy enough to understand . So even if you do n’t know your Kwisatz Haderach from your Sietch Tabr , you get enough to enjoy it .
But , again , you could say most of that about the first picture show . What distinguishes Dune : Part Two from its predecessor are the more complete and layered functioning and word picture , the escalation of tension via redaction , and new additions to the cast lift already exciting material . All of which starts with Paul Atreides .
Chalamet as Paul.Image: Warner Bros.
This is Paul ’s story . The first film was his report too — but now that he ’s broken , lost , and in a whole new civilization , Villeneuve fully focuses on the character ’s growth , humbleness , and burgeoning purpose . Take a snapshot of Chalamet in the film ’s first picture versus its last and it would attend like two different citizenry . To clear that , Part Two traces Paul ’s accomplishments , decisions , and ever - shift mental state attractively , anchored by an honor - worthy lead performance by the actor . Anyone who thinks of Chalamet as a generally precious and well-meaning on - screen presence will have those preconceptions swash up in a big , big way with Dune : Part Two . He buy the farm dark , and it ’s terrific .
As Paul tardily starts to realize he may be this messiah the Fremen of Arrakis have been wait for , he ’s constantly checked by the lift love story he has with Chani , played by Zendaya . Dune : Part Two considerably beefs up her part , not just from the first movie but the original novel too , open Paul both a desirable partner as well as a formidable vocalisation to gainsay his own . Chani takes no shit , speaks her thinker , and is never frightened to be noncompliant , even in the scarey of consideration . Zendaya ’s intense , positive performance make a character with an as interesting and important arc in the film as Paul ’s . One that incarnate many of the film ’s most noteworthy themes about faith , prognostication , and loyalty .
And while Dune : Part Two focuses mostly on Paul ’s side of the story , the villains are much more prevalent and entertaining this sentence around . Part One see the Harkonnens , led by the Baron ( Stellan Starsgård ) , massacre the intact Atreides family , or so they thought . In the sequel , we spent more metre with not just him , but his nephews Rabban ( Dave Bautista ) and Feyd - Rautha , played by Austin Butler . Butler ’s Feyd - Rautha is a new addition and he gives as cool down a sci - fi performance as we ’ve seen in some time . Rautha is understandably being set up as a military force equal to of dethroning Paul and though we do n’t pass as much metre with him , every clock time we do , it ’s terrifying and intense . Through Rautha , and Butler ’s interpretation of him , we see a whole other perspective on this earth and almost a mirror of what Paul could become .
Butler’s Feyd-Rautha is an all-timer.Image: Warner Bros.
The Harkonnen genocide of the Atreides was done on behalf of the Emperor , a fiber absent from the first film , but brought to aliveness here by the one and only Christopher Walken . He ’s often joined by his girl , Princess Irulan ( Florence Pugh ) , who playact as a go - between for all the quality and partial storyteller . As per Herbert ’s novel , neither get a ton to do in this movie but each role player still has enough front that their characters fit effortlessly into the world , demo presence and authority befitting of royal house . Every time they appear , you want to see more of them .
Villeneuve is able to simultaneously bolster Paul and the Harkonnens by encounter an almost superhuman balance in editing between the two side . Early section of the pic are long and coherent . Then , as the action continues to rise , the parallel editing growth in speed . sand dune : Part Two starts with over an minute of just Paul and the Fremen on the undimmed , sandy control surface of Arrakis . There ’s no gap in the taradiddle . No cutaway model . We get a nice , long , noteworthy chunk that could be an intact movie on its own . Only later does the film totally dislodge gears to the Harkonnens , pass a shorter but still noticeably recollective ( about a half - hour ) continuous section with them . The transition is so jarring it almost find like a sequel within a subsequence . As the movie progresses from there , the handoff between scenes aim shorter and short as the two stories part to blend and , finally , explode in a briskly paced , multi - faceted third number . The measured increase in pacing means that Dune : Part Two , even at almost three hours , is never ever drill .
So we ’ve established Dune : Part Two look great , sound big , has wonderful performances , and an exciting pace . Is that it ? Nope . It ’s playfulness as hell too . sand dune : Part One certainly had its share of thrilling , action - throng set pieces , but they somehow pale in comparison to the ones in Part Two . From the first meter Paul free a sandworm , to an epical showcase for Feyd - Rautha , to a full - fledge war with Lord of the Rings scale , and the personal , poetic , powerful last showdown , the legal action scenes provide a purgative blend of anticipation , excitation , and payoff . You feel like you are on that sandworm , in a close - quarters knife competitiveness , or fly through the air . Villeneuve makes sure , no matter what the scale , that his action has energy but is also easy to abide by , which adds to the use . Scenes of Paul falling through moxie for example are completely chaotic and bleary . And yet , somehow , we can still see and keep up it all perfectly . Plus , the fit pieces are spread out out just enough to impart to the film ’s pacing , keep the ebbing and flow of it absorb throughout .
A crucial showdown.Image: Warner Bros.
That ’s what it all comes down to . To be a great director , you must have a vision , and Denis Villeneuve has vision to save . In deciding to conform Frank Herbert ’s on the face of it unadaptable book Dune , that vision was an challenging gamble to split it into two halves , without a warrant that the second part would ever be made . Many probably thought it would never bechance . But , in Villeneuve we intrust . He turned Part One into an award - winning hit and now Part Two completes , elevates , and integrates that already classic movie into something new and wonderful .
So if you liked the first Dune and were eager to see the story playact out in a way that enhance the original , Dune : Part Two is all that and then some . It ’s an excellent character composition told on a opulent scale leaf with all the action and visuals you ’re craving . Stars like Chalamet and Zendaya shine , while new characters played by the likes of Butler and Pugh elevate everything around them . In preserve the taradiddle nigh to the original novel , Villeneuve does finish the film rather abruptly , once again pass on us wanting more . But even if the flick wrapped up in a bow , Dune : Part Two is so adept , we ’d want more no matter . It ’s the price we pay for the privilege of watching the work of a seminal filmmaker who has just completed a determinate sci - fi saga for the ages .
Dune : Part Two opens March 1 .
Zendaya and Ferguson.Image: Warner Bros.
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