The Dune trilogy released its latest installment on the big screen earlier last month to much fanfare. The highly anticipated sequel comes off its blockbuster hit Dune, which grossed over $108 million at the US box office and over $400 million worldwide. As Harry Styles once famously put it, Dune: Part Two “[felt like] a movie like a real, you know go to the theater…movie. [The] kind of… reason why you go to watch something on the big screen.” Hearing this beforehand, this writer made sure to see Dune 2 on IMAX and it was nothing short of a cinematic experience. Very early on, the film introduces us to new characters left and right, including Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), who delivers a solid performance as a constant observer throughout the movie. Austin Butler also makes his Dune debut as a standout villain, playing the role of violent and mentally unstable Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and shedding any doubts critics had about his inability to let go of his former Elvis persona.
Dune 2 creates a fully fledged immersive universe, from the features of each planet, to the character dynamics. If you were looking for the many battle scenes of the first Dune in Dune 2, you will be disappointed. Dune 2, although filled with violence, takes a more story-focused approach, setting up what is yet to come. But the one thing that fully tied this movie together was the amazing acting from Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya’s burgeoning relationship throughout the film. Their mesmerizing on-screen chemistry, ultimate payoff, and surprise betrayal were the red string leading the audience through this space epic.
Dune 2 was an inescapable movie event through its use of viral online marketing. Whether that be the constant barrage over its special edition popcorn bucket, culminating in a SNL sketch led by comedian Ayo Edebiri or the thousands of Paul Atredies x Willy Wonka edits summing up Timothée Chalamet’s career in a unique way.
Unfortunately, the movie had one clear fault: its length. At two hours and 46 minutes, the run time is ridiculous and unendingly long. I observed 45 minutes of long pan dessert shots alone that could have been cut. Matched with dialogue that was often slow to pass, this movie felt more laborious for the viewer than 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Also, not to get too deep during this review, Dune 2, like its predecessor, plays into the ever-present “savior complex” trope. As Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica, played intricately by Rebecca Ferguson, become accustomed to and acquainted with the Fremen people and fall deeper into the “prophecy” supposedly destined to affect all Fremen, we see Lady Jessica wholeheartedly take up her mantle as the messiah of the Fremen, while Paul, reluctant for the majority of the movie, evidently does as well, playing into the “white savior complex” seen in society today.
All in all, this writer rates Dune Part 2 four out of five falcons for its ingenuous revival of a work well visited and its lasting feeling of complexity.
This article also appears in our April 2024 print edition.
