Dune: Part Two

When "Dune" was released in 1984, I actually wasn't incredibly impressed with it. It was visually stunning for the day which looks great on the large screen, but it was a bit choppy and slow in several spots. Well, later when the remake of "Dune" was released in 2021, visually it improved, however otherwise it was slow and jumped around too much. Well, now we have "Dune: Part Two" and it was a visual feast, but, again, too slow. Is there a pattern here?

This story explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen, including Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators headed up by Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Scarsgard) who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. It becomes a balancing act that takes Atreides and stretches him to a breaking point.

Others to round out the cast are Rebecca Ferguson as Jessica, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Dave Bautista as Beast Rabban, Christopher Walken as Emperor, Lea Seydoux as Lady Margot Fenring, Charlotte Rampling as Reverand Mother Mohiam, Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.

This was directed by formidable filmmaker Denis Villeneuva ("Cosmos" '96, "August 32nd on Earth" '98, "Maelstrom" 2000, "Happiness Bound"'07, "Polytechnique" '09, "Incendies" '10, "Prisoners" '13, "Enemy" '13, "Sicario" '15, "Arrival" '16, "Blade Runner 2049" '17, "Dune" '21) plus shorts and music videos. Villeneuva is one of those directors that produces one film after another with steadiness and methodology.He's reliable and dependable to give us a film that all will love and amazed by. He is a perennial favorite and with his "Dune: Part Three" in development, we will only be the victors of that as well. It was creatively executed by writers Denis Villeneuva ("Cosmos" '96, "August 32nd on Earth" '98, "Maelstrom" 2000, "Polytechnique" '09,"Incendies" '10, "Dune" '21) plus shorts, and Jon Spaihts ("The Darkest Hour" '11, "Prometheus" '12, "Doctor Strange" '16, "Passengers" '16, "The Mummy" '17, "Dune" '21) plus videos, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. While the first third of this film was a bit slow and somewhat disjointed, the last two-thirds, especially the last quarter of this moved right along and became the film it was hoping to be. I'm not sure what happened to these seasoned writers--bad days at the laptop? Not sure, but surely it wasn't a wash. The directing was exemplary as was the photography by Greig Fraser asc/acs. And the visual effects predominantly created by DNEG (Double Negative) and Digital Domain were pivotal to the story. But I had to fight nodding off during the very beginning. I primarily went to see this for the directing and acting (Timothee Chalamet) who I feel is quite the actor considering his age. The last half of the film certainly made up for what the first half lacked. 

If you are a sci-fi or more to the point, a "Dune" aficionado, you will love this, but even if not, the film is presented well and a tribute to Herbert's work. By my surprise, there will be a "Dune: Part Three", as mentioned prior which is in development. When? Not sure, but considering post production on films as this takes a while, it may be end of next year of shortly there after. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                           Rated: PG-13                                         165mins.