- Starring
- Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh
- Director
- Denis Villeneuve
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genre
- Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
- Release date
- November 3, 2023
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
The Dune novel series, created by Frank Herbert, debuted in 1965 with the publication of Dune. Set in a distant future where noble houses vie for control over the desert planet Arrakis, the series blends elements of science fiction, politics, and religion. Dune quickly became a classic of the genre, spawning numerous sequels written by Herbert and later expanded upon by his son, Brian Herbert, and co-author Kevin J. Anderson. The series has left a lasting impact on literature and popular culture, with its intricate world-building and exploration of themes like power, ecology, and human potential.
Dune: Part 2
Paul Atreides, the last surviving member of the House Atreides, has been taken in by the Fremen of Arrakis. Now, he will have to learn their ways and earn his place among them if he is to lead them to freedom and exact his revenge on those who destroyed his family.
Dune: Part 2 is a worthy continuation of the saga. With a subtle, almost Kubrick-esque attention to detail, it is one of the most beautifully rendered sci-fi spectacles ever put on screen. Arguably, director Villeneuve’s greatest achievement is making the epic-scale special effects in an epic-scale special effects-heavy sci-fi film not feel so special. Instead, every set piece, every digitally enhanced landscape, and every prop and costume is made to seamlessly and organically fit together into an unbelievably believable mosaic.
If only by virtue of being a 2h 46m third act consisting of far more action and far less brooding than Part 1, Dune’s already strong performances are marginally improved in Part 2. Javier Bardem, who spent 2022-23 being horribly miscast in films like Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and The Little Mermaid, gives the film’s best (if also most woefully underutilized) performance as Stilgar, the Naib (leader) of Sietch Tabr, a northern Fremen stronghold and community.
Not to be undone, Stellan Skarsgaard, as Baron Harkonnen, is unrecognizable, not only thanks to a makeup department that needs must win every award this season, but despite this. Working from beneath a reported 88lbs of prosthetics, Skarsgaard, known for playing cerebral men, projects an unmatched sense of loathing and evil. It’s a crime against cinema that his part in the film, when compared to that of the book, was reduced to a mere handful of hasty and perfunctory appearances.
This is actually Dune: Part 2’s chief flaw. Villenuvue and his co-writer, Jon Spaihts (Passengers and Prometheus), inexplicably eat up significant chunks of the film, needlessly expanding on the width and breadth of some of the story’s least important and least interesting characters in some misguided attempt at making them and their arcs far more important than is needed.
In the books, Chani, the Fremen woman played by Zendaya in these films, provides an integral emotional anchor for Paul as he embraces his otherworldly potential and powers. Were it not for her love and grounded support, Paul’s future would likely be that of a near-omnipotent despot. However, in Villenueve’s version of events, she is a petulant child who is more interested in being “equals” with Paul (an impossibility, as he has no equals) than in being a crucial supporting character. In fact, the film often feels at odds with which of the two it wants to be the star, sometimes giving the narrative an unbalanced feel.
Equally perplexing is the additional importance and screen time given to Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan. Given a more significant role in later books, Irulan spends the first novel as little more than a narrator and political chess piece. However, in Dune: Part 2, Irulan’s role is expanded to that of an important confidant and advisor to her aging and withered father, the Emperor, played by Christopher Walken.
Pugh’s additional screen time does absolutely nothing to further the plot or enrich the narrative and instead eats up valuable time that could have been spent on deepening the audience’s emotional connection to Baron Harkonnen so that his arc’s fruition would have been far more viscerally impactful, or to that of Paul and Stilgar’s relationship as Paul’s isolation increases while those once close to him slowly become worshipers instead of friends. The latter is mentioned in this film on more than one occasion, but it is far less effective than actually watching it happen.
Spending time on these unneeded character expansions also robs audiences of one of the novel’s greatest and most disturbing characters, that of Paul’s sister, Alia. While the logistics of portraying a five-year-old child with the mind of an ancient demi-god are such that it’s understandable why Villenuevue didn’t wish to deal with it, his insistence on depicting the entirety of Paul’s growth and ascendency, as well as his relationship with Chani to have happened within 9 or fewer months, not only precluded Alia’s full realization but also removes much of the film’s potential gravitas.
A final criticism is the nigh lip service paid to the Weirding way. Paul’s journey is not one of a boy becoming a man and a leader, but of a born-and-bred leader coming to grips with a potential and future beyond the scope of mortal imaginings. However, this version of Dune reduces Paul’s abilities to the use of the Voice a handful of times and some bad dreams. The near-exclusion of Dune’s inherent mysticism shifts the narrative to a far more mundane political battle.
With all of that said, it is an inescapable fact that a novel adaptation must sacrifice significant subplots and characters in order to fit within the constraints of a film, and those who have never picked up the books (read the books) will find themselves treated to a visually breathtaking film with slow-burning tension, some superior performances, and a hauntingly perfect score that does more to emotionally penetrate audiences than much of the movie.
Despite some liberties taken with the core story that purists will find highly questionable, Dune: Part 2 is an epic conclusion to a grand, well-told story.
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James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
It will be a boring, woke mess, just like part 1.
Absolutely crap is my prediction.
I saw it on Feb 25 . The director eliminated the mentat Thufur Hawat , Alia is not born , nor do you get see Alia kill the Baron Harkonnen with her home Jabar . Chani and Paul love relationship and young baby ison Leto the 1st is eliminated whereby the saudarkar and Harkonnen kill their child. Basically the time line of Dune takes place within a 5-6 month period not 2-3 years timeline. Baron Harkonnen does not confront Feyd for trying to assassinate the Baron with young male concubine with a poison needle implant in his thigh. Then later the Baron demands feyd to kill his female lovers to make amends . Yeah the movie crap!
The first dune was incredibly boring. Too much banter. I didn’t care enough to bother understanding wtf was going on. Just blah….
I think being a fan of the novel is helpful. Kind of like Watchmen.
It’s always difficult adapting such intricate and expansive story to a visual medium. They have to cut some things and modify other. The first Dune was good in my opinion, not much forced wokeness in it and I’m very allergic to it wherever it appears. I hope Dune 2 will be on the same page.
James, have you seen it already? Is it woke or worth it?
Seeing it tonight. I’ll have a Preview Review up by the morning.
It will be a boring, woke mess, just like part 1.
Absolutely crap is my prediction.
The first dune was incredibly boring. Too much banter. I didn’t care enough to bother understanding wtf was going on. Just blah….
I enjoy some banter. Continuous CGI and explosions are boring to the mildly intellectual individual. I’m sick of extraneous action, frequent scene changes, and hollow characters wasting my time and money.
I think being a fan of the novel is helpful. Kind of like Watchmen.
It’s always difficult adapting such intricate and expansive story to a visual medium. They have to cut some things and modify other. The first Dune was good in my opinion, not much forced wokeness in it and I’m very allergic to it wherever it appears. I hope Dune 2 will be on the same page.
James, have you seen it already? Is it woke or worth it?
Seeing it tonight. I’ll have a Preview Review up by the morning.
I must not go woke. Wokeness is the mind killer.
It says so much about modern-day feminism that “a man can go to a place we can’t go” is seen as so outrageous when countless men have died without being able to manage to go to either place, and before him, women were the only one to manage anything.
I read the books as a young girl and loved them; my father read them, too, and I will always remember him clasping me on the shoulder to intone things like “muwadeeb” in a sonorous voice. Not sure I understood all the political and mystical nuances as a girl, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying them. I was hoping they would make a series of it; can’t think of a series of books that deserves a good-quality (read: faithful to the original and non-woke) series than Dune. I saw the first film and enjoyed it, and will see the second despite the wokeness and changes. Perhaps the special effects will make up somewhat for the changes they made from the books.
If memory serves, this series was pretty faithful. I believe that it can be watched on FreeVee
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142032/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
So, I read this book in 1966 while I was in jr. High and was reading all the sci-fi I could get my hands on. After seeing Pt. 1, I listened to it as an audiobook and was impressed, mostly, with the treatment. Somehow I have to think altering Chani and Stilgar’s roles in Pt. 2 is just going to annoy the poop out of me.
It did me. I really tried to divorce the book from the movie and I mostly succeeded thanks to all of the good things that I wrote about in the review.
We enjoyed it. The film is reasonably faithful to the books. The only downside is Zendaya’s character mysteriously turning into an annoying Scrappy Doo clone.
“Dune: Part Two” undoubtedly got the wokish Hollywood treatment.
Part One was true to Villeneuve’s style capturing the book’s mystique just by minimal dialogue and stunning visuals. While characters in Part One were arguably somewhat underdeveloped, they retained their essence. Part Two, however, underwent significant character rewrites, incorporating uninspiring clichés to align with Hollywood’s agenda.
Let’s dig in and find out why…
“Woke” deconstructs and rigidly categorises everything into “good” or “evil”, often fueled by resentment for Western history, resulting in preachy cliché Hollywoodism.
The character’s gender and race swaps don’t even bother me; it’s the complete demystification of Dune’s narrative and the deconstruction of Paul’s messianic path that troubles me. I guess his colonial and patriarchal tint led Hollywood to butcher his character, removing crucial aspects that defined Paul as balanced, human, and respectable in the first book – such as his teaching of the Weirding Way to the Fremen and his inclusive family dynamics. The film skips Paul’s gradual growth, literally opting for a simplistic and wokish “be kind to immigrants” motive, as translated by Chani. These simplifications strip the story of its subtle mystique and believable growth.
The movie format isn’t an excuse, as this deconstruction didn’t occur in Part One.
In Part Two, Paul’s rapid ascension to a leadership role relies on an implausibly short timeframe, socially engineered messiah belief, one fortunate battle action, and awkward, immature, screaming outbursts. These are definitely not believable reasons to follow someone into a galaxy takeover.
Especially Chani’s transformation into a moralizing feminist teenager exemplifies Hollywood’s demystification. In the book, she stands as one of Paul’s trusty pillars, embodying noble family-oriented love and core family values, elements all erased by Hollywood’s liberal writers. The movie reduces her to a mouthpiece for equality and feminism, simplifying Dune deep messages to “religion and power are bad, m’kay.”
This deconstruction extends to other characters, like the reduction of Stilgar’s deep, respectable character and his strong religious beliefs to mere slapstick lines. My impression is that, as the first movie got popular traction, Villeneuve’s original vision for the second part was overridden by liberal, moralizing Hollywood writers to ensure further mainstream success.
Sounds like that’s the only character Zendaya can play, so they change the role to fit the actress because she can’t actually act. Spider-Man did the same thing with her.
Crap
A few great cgi scenes.
My disapointment is my own, for hoping better from Wokeywood.
But I’m sure its a difficult endeavor without some kind of written instructions.
Like lets say…. a best selling book.
Fan edits will put Chani back in her place. Fan edits are the future. Film studios are infested.
As someone who hasn’t read the books, the only thing that came off as woke to me was the “men and women are equal here” line. I didn’t think the characters were super-woke in-and-of themselves. I was really impressed that Chalamet was able to (IMO) pull off “commanding”, and Chani seemed justified in her rebellion against the fervor around her.
Also, I actively thought while watching the film that the detailed shots of the growing baby inside Paul’s mom had very pro-life energy. You see how early on in pregnancy she is contrasted with how developed the baby is. Some pro-choice people might think, “Are babies really that formed so early on?”
I agree. I HATE WOMAN.
I felt they really went out of their way to put down religion. Paul is the kwisatz haderach unless they’re just holding pack half the book for part 3. I don’t think they will do this its standard Hollywood to put down religion.
I really don´t understand all that hatred of Chani. She is a teenager/young adult, of course she is rebellious and emotional. She reacts in a way a young woman would react if her boyfriend was forced into a role of a messiah and nearly died because of that.
Is she supposed to cheer for Paul nearly dying from poison and losing himself to transform into an inhuman being Kwisatz Haderach?
The woke elements are almost non-existent in Villeneuve´s movies. The pointless -swap of Kynes in the first movie was the most annoying, and that was forced by the studio.
The Fremen are a culture of desert-dwelling survivalists, they are based on Middle Easterners, so it makes sense they are mostly brown or tanned. I don´t consider it forced diversity.
There were some “look how badass she is!” moments of Chani killing the enemies in the battle, and when the Haarkonnens captured the other female Fremen they said “she killed 9 of our men”, but these were the only moments which felt like grrrlpower agenda.
Both Dune 1 and 2 are amazing movies, the cinematography is so well-thought, the CGI/VFX looks realistic, the music is unique and fits the scenes perfectly, the INFRARED SCENES on Giedi Prime are brilliant. The actors do great job, especially Austin Butler as Feyd, a psychotic creep , and Timothee Chalamet as Paul. That boy has an acting range many older and more exprienced actors can envy him.
Yeah, putting aside the book (which I know os a big statement), I didn’t feel like Chani’s character seemed unnatural or idealogical. I thought she was an overall wholesome force in Paul’s life and was trying to keep him from corruption and herself from losing her beloved. I certainly felt for her.
I didn’t know about the gender-swapping of Kynes. Revolting, but the actress did a fine job.
What I think is so cool about Austin Butler’s career is that he already has such a wide variety of aesthetics under his belt. Any tribute video to him would be really exciting visually — he’s Elvis, then he’s a pilot, then he’s this hairless, pale psychopath. Definitely living an actor’s dream!
I haven’t read the books and from reading your review I think this really helped me not let the woke elements spoil the movie, because it sounds like it tended to be whenever it wasn’t faithful to the books that they introduced woke ideas. I didn’t really take Chani’s petulant attitude as being woke as I thought it was supposed to be a negative for her character.
I was surprised you didn’t mention that the bad guys (harkonnen) all being white was a woke element, I’d call it circumstantial woke though as it made sense aesthetically.
I also noticed a few anti woke moments and this is the first movie I’ve watched that made me think you may need to have a counter woke\based summary section for some movies. Such as showing so much of the unborn foetus I was genuinely taken aback seeing those images from Hollywood, and the fact she was talking to Jessica while unborn, kind of smashes the debate that ‘it’s not a human it’s just a collection of cells’. A couple of other minor but notable anti woke messages: Baron Harkonnen is grotesquely fat which is the opposite of woke where we’re supposed to think obesity isn’t a barrier to beauty. Secondly the fact the main hero screwed over his girl by declaring he’ll marry another in front of her then looks at Chani as if to say, ‘don’t worry you’ll still be my side piece’. I’m so used to seeing a woman choosing between 2 male lovers i can’t remember the last time I saw this.
Worth it or Woke approves that the film retained Baron Harkonnen’s character trait as a homosexual necro-pedophile with the young naked male corpses strewn about his chamber.
If it was woke, they’d have heroes do stuff like that. Having villains do horrific stuff is completely standard.
Let me rephrase; Baron Harkonnen is a hero to us.
This movie is anti-Christian in a subtle and sneaky way. I believe my opinion will become more apparent in Dune 3.
Both parts are woke trash. The director and producers and the Traitor of Dune Brian “never met a dollar I didn’t like” Herbert have purposely destroyed a classic story to suit their twisted social politics.
The director ( refusing to say the French Canadian’s name ) also ruined Blade Runner . He is becoming as much a franchise annihilator as JJ Abrams (burning down Star Trek AND Star Wars) and David Green (Halloween Kills being the worst movie I have seen since The Last Jedi).
I have been a professional newspaper film critic twice and am an award-winning poet and dramatist. I first read Dune decades ago. The Woke Virus (probably the only virus that actually exists) is trashing our western art. The Tolkien family sold out to woke Crapazon, Phil Dicks kids sell out weekly, the Herbert traitor allowed his father’s great characters to be gender and ethnicity swapped. It’s tragedy unfolding via overwrought electronic Muzak and bloated CGI. Im sure the new Superman will be more of the same (based on the fatuous trailer).
We allow these atrocities against art when we pay to see them . Only one answer these greedy mutha’s understand: kill em at the box office. BOYCOTT all woke cinema.
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