Dune: Part Two

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I actually wrote this review twice because although I'm a known Dune hater, I didn't want to be a stick in the mud, and didn't want to review it harshly just for the sake of keeping up my hating airs. I definitely think this is an amazing movie, and I would even say a perfect adaptation. I mean just look at what slop he was working with! This certainly wasn't an Oppenheimer situation where I was bamboozled at the praise it was getting, but I was also not on board with people calling it one of the best movies ever. So on to the positive:

I loved all the changes. Where I disliked the book for being, I dunno, basic, I thought all the changes added loads of depth. Chani's whole dynamic was kinda at the centre of this, posing the question of if Paul's ascension is actually a good thing. I guess this is explored in subsequent books, but I didn't feel it was really explored in the first, so this was a welcome change. I thought Jessica was revamped and made super interesting, essentially becoming a villain, and the northern/ southern Freman divide helped clarify all this. I felt this whole conflict was at the centre of what I liked about this movie, and it just wasn't really present in the book.

Also, of course I should mention that this is one of the most impressive movies ever made from a visual/ audio/ musical perspective. Beautiful stuff, brilliantly realized. Denis is for sure the master of sci-fi filmmaking. So many memorable scenes that will make amazing stills for decades.

There were a few things I disliked. The movie, much like the book, gets kinda muddled with where the sci-fi ends and the fantasy begins. Still, I don't really get it, and I haven't heard any satisfying answers to my questions. I think this is a problem because it kinda undermines the message. Should Paul be the leader? Well, he's essentially desert Jesus, so maybe? Yes he fulfils the doctored Freman prophesy, but he also fulfils Bene Gesserit prophecies? And like, I'd love for Paul to have to look inward and make hard decisions, but instead he drinks magic Gatorade and decides he should be emperor? I'd like to see internal growth rather than just gaining new magic abilities. I dunno, maybe there are answers to all of this, but I've read the book and watched both movies (more than once!) and if it's not clear to me, then it's not clear enough.

Anyways, the bigger issue is actually that I simply didn't feel that much. Like, I keep hearing this movie in the same sentence as Return of the King, and while that's heresy, I will then at least expect a Rohirrim scene, or a hobbits bowing scene. Something that takes my breath away, or brings a tear to my eye. This movie is cool for sure, but there is no character that I felt compelled by. It's a cool moment when Paul yells at the hag, but does anything move me? It all felt a little inevitable, like there were no stakes for our demi-god. Was anyone actually holding their breath, wondering if he'd fail to ride the worm, or defeat the cartoon villain in a knife fight? So one point I tried to justify this to myself by being like, hey, it's a Godfather movie, you're not cheering for them! But it's not a Godfather, and there is no "I renounce Satan" scene.

So anyways, after thinking about this movie and writing two reviews, I think I like it. Stilgar was easily the MVP, being the funnest character but also one of the most interesting. I'm very interested to see what the third movie will be, a book I haven't read, and I hope it makes good on the promises I saw here that I'd like to see explored. I also would have liked to have known a third was coming!! But yeah, a great movie, and I wish it wouldn't have carried the weight of expectations for me. Don't ever try to compare this to Return of the King. That's offensive.