Dune: Part Two

Thankfully, Dune: Part One wasn't a case of tempting fate, for we now have the other half of Denis Villeneuve's cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert's career-defining novel. While I failed to follow through on the plans within plans to watch Part One theatrically, I didn't skip the opportunity for Dune: Part Two. Let's see how it is.

When we last left our hero, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), he and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebeca Ferguson) were exiled from their dukedom on the desert planet of Arrakis and had joined the native Fremen population. A few Fremen believe that Paul is their prophesized messiah, the Lisan al Gaib, though his love interest, Chani (Zendaya) is among the several skeptical. Paul, fully aware that his mother's former sect, the Bene Gesserit, invented the prophesy, is further haunted by visions of a galactic holy war should he embrace his messianic role. Jessica, meanwhile, assumes the role of the Fremens' religious leader with a dangerous ritual. Paul and the Fremen launch guerilla attacks on his family's enemies, the Harkonnens, and their spice-mining operations.

The Fremen attacks get Universal Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) breathing down the neck of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard). The Baron calls for his blood-thirsty nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), to take over for his elder brother, Rabban (Dave Bautista), as the boss on Arrakis. This forces Paul and Jessica to travel further south to recruit the more fundamentalist Fremen living there. That would only hasten the holy war that Paul doesn't want, but Fremen leaders like Stilgar (Javier Bardem) do. That's not going to end well in a later instalment.

Villeneuve and cowriter Jon Spaihts once again weave a strong narrative out of half a novel. Paul's reluctance to take on his messianic role is beyond understandable, while Stilgar's devotion to the prophesy is amusing. One scene that says that much may have you thinking of Life of Brian, of all films. It takes quite a bit of effort for Paul and Jessica to persuade the fundamentalist Fremen of him being the messiah. But they accept him with open arms once he proves himself. This and Part One show us the hows and whys of a society ready to follow their messiah even to galactic war. Hope is a dangerous thing, after all. This film proves it.

Chalamet's deconstructed messiah is still compelling here. Paul and Chani have a compelling relationship, one where their devotion is tempered by her skepticism of his messiahness. She's not wrong for her skepticism, as Rev. Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) makes clear. She still helps him integrate into Fremen culture; it's from her that Paul gets the idea for his tribal name Muad-dib. When he finally, albeit reluctantly, becomes the dark messiah, it's a tragic moment for both of them. I'm even more intrigued to see how Dune Part Three handles their relationship after this film's tweaked ending.

Now for much of the cast. The Baron and Rabban are even viler than they were last time, while Feyd-Rautha's twisted sense of honor makes him a memorable new villain. The Rev. Mother Mohiam's subplot has her desperately try to salvage her sect's collapsing plan to cultivate their preferred messiah. So, her cold treatment of her acolytes, Margot Fenring (Lea Seydoux) and Shaddam's daughter Irulan (Florence Pugh), to secure that plan, is quite unnerving. Shaddam himself is fine, but Mohiam makes a greater impression as a greater scope villain. Josh Brolin is once again great as Paul's mentor, Gurney Halleck. The one-scene wonder has to be Giusi Merli as Jessica's predecessor, Rev. Mother Ramallo.

Villeneuve brings back much of his Oscar-winning (and nominated) crew on his return to Arrakis. The most notable new addition is sound-designer Richard King, whose work gives the Bene Gesserit "Voice" technique a piercing oomph and the monstrous sandworms their thunderous roars. Hans Zimmer's thunderous score is put to good use in an early scene with Paul and Chani. The score overwhelms the dialogue a bit, but it's intentional, as he's clearly distracted by her.

Its visual effects are stunning, but its standouts are when Paul mounts a particularly large sandworm, and when he and the Fremen ride several into the final battle. Cinematographer Greig Fraser's most memorable work is his infrared rendering of daylight on the Harkonnens' home world, Giedi Prime, particularly during Feyd-Rautha's gladiatorial games. Special attention must be given, then, to production designer Patrice Vermitte and costume designer Jaqueline West, for their artistry here. Even the makeup work for Feyd-Rautha is even more disturbing in this literal new light. It's too early to talk Oscars for this film, but hopefully, the Academy will notice later this year.

Dune Part Two is 165 minutes long, which is an astonishing two-hours longer than the corresponding events in David Lynch's 1984 Dune film. The worldbuilding and character development leads to a more thorough ending than even Part One had. As I said, I'm all the more interested to see how they adapt the first sequel novel, Dune Messiah, into Part Three. It would make a satisfying ending to this film series even if there's four other novels (and dozens of spin-offs) left. See it on the largest screen you can find. It's worth the cinematic space journey. That's it for now.