Dune: Part Two

 

Presumed dead, Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), survivors of the massacred House Atreides, have been hiding out on the desert planet Arrakis. Paul hopes to rally the native Fremen to strike back at their mutual enemy, House Harkonnen. But first, he must learn their ways. As he does so, tribal leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) suspects that he might be their long-prophesized messiah. Chani (Zendaya) rejects the prophecy as a dangerous superstition even as she grows closer to Paul. Meanwhile, scheming Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) presses his nephew Rabban (Dave Bautista) to crush the Fremen, knowing that Rabban’s younger brother Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) waits in the wings as a potential replacement. The Emperor Corrino (Christopher Walken), having allied with the baron to depose Paul’s father, now fears an uprising while his daughter, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), seeks to learn the Reverend Mother Mohiam’s (Charlotte Rampling) plans for the future of the throne.

 

The follow-up to Denis Villeneuve’s successful 2021 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic, Dune: Part Two manages, improbably, to surpass it. Aesthetically breathtaking and powerfully acted, it avoids the first film’s second-half lag. Though ten minutes longer, Part Two feels like a shorter film thanks to more even pacing and plenty to occupy the audience’s attention.

 

Advances in filmmaking technology have made what would have been revolutionary years ago seem commonplace today, but even by these jaded standards, Dune: Part Two is a visually impressive film. Whether showing an immense sandworm crashing through desert dunes or a gladiator duel in a crowded coliseum (in black and white, no less), Greig Fraser’s cinematography is striking. Hans Zimmer returns to provide another powerful score.

 

The story that accompanies this marvel is largely faithful to the source material albeit with a few pragmatic excisions and expansions. Notable in the book largely for being its narrator, Princess Irulan here takes on a greater role in trying to preserve her family’s standing. Chani here is far less supportive of Paul as his legend grows. This gives her more agency – and a chance for Zendaya to show off her acting chops – but though intended as a voice of reason amid religious fervor, she often comes across as just as much of a zealot (an atheist ethnonationalist rather than a religious one) as the fundamentalists she condemns.

 

Both Zendaya and Bardem felt like odd casting choices the last go-around: the Fremen are Bedouin-inspired, and neither actor is Arabic. However, both seem to have grown into their roles, and Stilgar in particular no longer seems like comic relief. Chalamet handles the lead role, capturing Paul’s virtuousness and rage alike, but he leans more adequate than excellent. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to do more with so many other strong performers around him. Ferguson continues to shine as a woman literally and metaphorically possessed, and Josh Brolin finally gets to do something besides scowl. A nearly unrecognizable Butler makes up for Feyd Rautha’s absence from the last film by stealing scenes in this one. He matches Skarsgard’s bald, pale appearance, gravelly voice, and violent cruelty albeit with a sense of honor in combat that the other Harkonnens lack.

 

Literary adaptations often walk a fine line between fidelity and innovation, and a step too far in either direction risks losing the audience. Exceptions as they may be, Dune: Part Two and its predecessor have shown that it is possible to have your cake and eat it too.