Look, Frank Herbert’s “Dune” was such a large part of growing up for me that I was always going to be obsessed with any cinematic attempt to capture the weird desert magic onscreen. While there have been many terrible adaptations of books that I love (the “Golden Compass” and “Dark Tower” movies come to mind), none of them negatively impact the source material in any way.
Luckily filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is fearless enough to latch onto properties millions of people love and then play with them brilliantly in his directorial sandbox. After making a sequel to what is inarguably one of the most influential sci-fi movies ever made with the underrated and underseen “Blade Runner 2049” and then diving right into an adaptation of the (widely considered unfilmable) “Dune” shows that Villeneuve is either a visionary or a crazy person.
When “Dune: Part I” was released in 2021, there was no guarantee that we would ever get “Part II.” I’m not sure what the dollar amount the first part had to make for Villeneuve to get the green light for the next part, but he obviously reached it, which is great considering “Part II” isn’t a sequel, but very much the second half of a single movie.
“Dune: Parts I & II” mostly faithfully adapt Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name, while if “Part II” makes enough money, Villeneuve wants to then adapt 1969’s “Dune: Messiah.” Let me just say really quick: “Messiah” is one hell of a novel, so if you want to see Villeneuve get very trippy and let completely loose with some bonkers visuals, that’s where it will happen.
I know a few people who were completely underwhelmed by “Part I,” but then completely spellbound by “Part II,” so your sandworm mileage may vary. The adventures of Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides, his mother Lady Jessica, his Fremen lady friend Chani and his BFF Gurney as they participate in a galaxy-spanning holy war aren’t for everyone, but those who like some moral ambiguity with their space operas will have fun here.
My biggest issue with the first “Dune” was actually its star Timothee Chalamet. I don’t think he’s remotely a bad actor, but his range is very specific and his charisma serves that specificity. Paul Atreides has an otherworldly presence that I’m not sure Chalamet possesses, but he honestly does a much better job in “Part II” conveying the darker path he must go down. I’m still not sure the perfect actor has been cast to play Paul yet, but I respect Chalamet’s work in “Part II” enough to not have him subtract from the film.
My biggest complaint is that I know it could be weirder. I don’t necessarily know that “Dune” needs to be grounded in reality.
Honestly, it’s Zendaya who brings more to the Fremen Chani than I thought possible, and Rebecca Fergusen, whose Lady Jessica hits those otherworldly and ethereal notes with ease. They find all of the emotional beats throughout the story and give “Dune: Part II” its soul. Austin Butler also does the greatest Stellan Skarsgård impression I’ve ever heard. It’s amazing.
Villeneuve truly is a visionary. The desert world of Arrakis, the brutalism of Harkonnen architecture on Giedi Prime, the ships, the space travel…all of it is so specific and well-developed that for the first time, “Dune” feels grounded in reality — something I never thought was possible. The scale of this story is unmatched by most (the novel is what inspired Lucas to make “Star Wars”) and Villeneuve, along with Hans Zimmer’s soaring score, Greig Fraser’s transportive cinematography and the best sound design I’ve heard since the first film, has succeeded in making something truly epic.
My biggest complaint is that I know it could be weirder. I don’t necessarily know that “Dune” needs to be grounded in reality. As flawed as David Lynch’s “Dune” was and as impossible to make as Jodorowski’s “Dune” turned out to be, they both attempted to tell Herbert’s story in a way that was so alien that our own visual vocabulary had nothing Earthly with which to compare them.
The original “Dune” is an inversion of the white savior narrative and a deeply cynical look at the possible poison fundamentalist religion can contain. “Dune: Messiah” and “Children of Dune” are much crazier, sci-fi fantasy books, so if Villeneuve gets a chance to attack the material, I hope he goes brazenly batshit.
See this on the biggest and loudest screen possible. I saw it in IMAX and the score and sound design rattled my eyes in their sockets. Also, make sure to watch “Part I” first, or else you’ll have no idea what’s going on, as this really is just the second half of that movie. “Dune: Part II” will absolutely transport you to another galaxy if you’re on its particular wavelength, and even if you’re not that into sci-fi, is a pretty spectacular place to visit.
This article appears in Source Weekly March 7, 2024.
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