Dune: Part Two Review

        It’s no surprise that many sequels have dominated this year. Most of the highest grossing films are sequels. While some have come out that have diluted any good will that the prior entries had going for it. Few stand out as being worthy of being part of the exclusive club of being better than the original. Dune: Part Two is immediately up there as being the one to surpass the original. And I feel that it’s the definitive sequel of this year. 

1. Paul’s Survival 

        I still remember the first movie’s marketing. There was no indication that there would be any continuations, but assuming that the whole book would be adapted under one film. And after having the chance to watch it, I remember the title card appeared as Part One as it showed up in a split second just as the movie begins. In some way, I was upset but seeing how the book is dense with detail and plot. I was for it in the long run. It’s now becoming a thing where a seemingly adapted work must be expanded into two films, but marketing doesn’t advertise it as such. 

        With that, we hear Princess Irulan narrating how House Atreides have met their end. The baldheaded Harkonnen has control of the planetary fief as Paul and his mother Jessica live among the Fremen. Events occur as Paul is plagued by more visions of a galactic jihad breaking out as he tries to exact revenge on his father’s death. This is probably one of the most complex sci-fi film that has a lot going for it. I’m only going to cover some aspects that I deem as worthy since there’s only so much to cover that I probably will need a podcast to nail down everything that this film has done right. 

        First and foremost, it’s a massive improvement over the first film as far as plot progression goes. Don’t get me wrong as I love the first film, but it’s one of those instances where a lot is going on where the first film is mostly set up with seeing Paul grow to becoming an unintended leader. I’ll focus on that aspect since I love the film’s execution of Paul becoming the chosen One in this story. It must be stated that this isn’t a type of sci-fi film where there’s blasters and what not. There’s a lot of intrigue where the whole background is as interesting as the characters. 

        The moments where Princess Irulan and the Bene Gesserit is interesting to see. I’m a sucker for Florence Pugh, while some think that she doesn’t do much in the film as far as narrating and basically that. I love the moments where she talks to the Reverend Mother. It’s established that she’s the best student that the Mother has taught but gets too good when she starts to question the motives of the sisterhood. Such as asking if their plan might blow up in their face. 

        The action moments are much better as we see Fremen attacking the Spice Harvesters as sabotage. Especially the one moment where Paul learns how to ride the sandworms.  The exhilaration of seeing Paul struggle and then finally being able to control and ride the creatures is just great. While it’s great to see, it all comes down to the idea of predestination and religious fanaticism, but before I get into that topic. I should at least expand more on the vistas that we see and the other characters. 

2. World Expansion

        I think out of all the planets that we see in this one, Geidi Prime is easily the most interesting visually. We get a small glimpse of them in the prior film, but here we see just how visually stark it is when compared to the other two vistas. We see that it’s a brutal world and get an introduction to the secondary villain Feyd Rautha. You’d probably never know that he’s being played by Elvis star Austin Butler under the makeup. He looks freaky and the best scene involving him is when he’s in the gladiator arena. 

        Just the whole moment showcases two of the threats in the film. The malevolent Sisterhood looks at Feyd as a potential project as the nephew of the Baron kills the remaining Atreides survivors in the arena. I just love everything about the scene with the monochromatic colors and the creepy looking picadors. We see how Feyd fights as he enjoys it and takes honor with killing whoever is fighting him. The moment when he deactivates his shield and tosses it away shows he has confidence. 

        We see another member of the Bene Gesserit as Lady Margot Fenring uses her Voice and seduces Feyd to get his offspring for the collective. We see more of the Sisterhood as both Margot and Irulan follow the orders of the Reverend Mother, specifically we see more uses of the Voice. It’s like a Jedi mind trick, but their inflections trigger what they want. We’ve heard the prior use as it has a haggish screech to them. While both young women use it more seductively and curiosity. It’s hard to tell, but there’s an audio crunch whenever they do it.

        If there’s one complaint that some ardent fans of the book have is that Alia isn’t front and center in the film. She does appear, albeit in Jessica’s womb since she gets mutated after her mother drinks a liquid that only the believers consume. I think the change is necessary since it’s weird how Paul’s sister just shows up. Her appearance is more like asking Jessica what’s happening and seeing how her mother is gaining followers for her son’s role in the prophecy. 

3. Fanaticism

        This is probably the defining feature of the film that I feel gets overlooked a lot whenever I read some articles or watch discussions on the film. The film is really about the dangers of fanaticism. Throughout the whole movie, Stilgar and a few Fremen believe a prophecy of the Lisan Al Gaib, the one who will liberate the people of the planet. Paul tries to avoid the prophecy as he dismisses the idea as a product of the Bene Gesserit’s control over everyone. Like everything he does, unintentionally sets him up as being the guy. 

        With how it’s handled, it’s done great as it’s presented as the story doesn’t have Paul be passive and then everything falls into place. Paul is very active as he tries to do everything to avoid fulfilling the prophecy. And it’s compounded when he reunites with his combat trainer Gurney and recontextualizes the prophecy as revenge. Gurney is filled with retribution and he helps Paul try to get back at the Emperor and Harkonnen. It’s one of those things where it has the idea of predetermination. Basically, what I said that Paul tries everything to avoid being the Lisan Al Gaib, but inevitably embracing the role. 

        When he becomes that, it’s the most awesome looking thing I’ve seen. He’s walking to meet the southern Fremen as a sandworm breaches the grain like a whale. The music even has a heavy sound as he’s now super cognizant with his abilities. While that’s nice and dandy, the context makes it so much more heartbreaking like it’s a tragedy. He manages to have Fremen be united in their fight, but he’s saying all of it since he has no control since he sees multiple futures.

        I haven’t even mention Paul and Chani’s relationship since I feel that this counteracts with the fanaticism angle. This detail changed with how it’s presented but we see that Chani doesn’t believe in the prophecy, seeing that it’s use is for enslavement of her people. The moments between both are sweet as they bond more as he learns the way of the Fremen. It then goes tragic near the end since Paul embraces his new role and Chani is heartbroken. 

        It's very rare for a sequel to expand more and this one is the rare case of doing everything right. The common complaint being that the sequel does the exact same thing but doubles it or go in a different direction where it’s nowhere near connective to the prior story. With this one, it expands so much more and makes the character not a savior but a tragic one where he’s bringing unintended bloodshed that he doesn’t want. This is the rare example of subversion of a character. 

4. Overall

        Dune: Part Two is easily the best sequel of this decade and one of the best films of the year.