“Dune: Part Two” is a sci-fi epic for the ages: a story of revenge told through the ascension of a reluctant messiah-figure and the fight over the desert planet, Arrakis.
This marks the third adaptation of the famous novel by Frank Herbert, following in the footsteps of the 1984 film and a three-part miniseries released in 2000. “Dune: Part Two” adapts the events of the latter half of the 1965 novel, following the events of the previous “Dune” (2021).
We follow Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) as he and his mother, Lady Jessica Atreides (Rebecca Ferguson), seek refuge among the Fremen after a vicious attack. The Fremen are Arrakis natives, the two most prominent ones being Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem).
They fight against the villainous Harkonnens (Stellan Skarsgård, Austin Butler and Dave Bautista) that control the production of spice, a miracle drug only found on Arrakis that grants the user unnatural psychic powers that the entire galaxy hinges on.
Complimenting the star-studded cast are the beautiful visuals, as the 200 million dollar budget is displayed with beautiful and jaw-dropping visual effects (VFX) work. Despite being only a desert, Arrakis’s deadly beauty is wonderful to behold, especially when it comes to the sandworms, the VFX artists spared no effort in making these mammoth creatures feel real.
The sequences that take place on different planets are just as breathtaking, with the stark black and white colors of the Harkonnen homeworld standing out as unique and inventive. The decision to focus so much on the background aesthetics of the galaxy and flesh out each faction’s home planets, architecture and fashion adds depth to this far-off future and makes it feel lived in.
Though “Dune: Part Two” is a novel adaptation, director Denis Villeneuve makes sure he doesn’t stick too closely to the source material for the film. Instead, opting to change several key points in the plot and emphasize the background elements of the book.
Key characters are given new spins and different arcs than book readers will remember. These changes ensure Dune superfans are on their toes just as much as the regular audience.
Currently sitting with a 94% critics rating and a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has been immensely well received, making 82.5 million on its opening weekend at the box office.
Due to the critical acclaim of the film, it caused its predecessor, “Dune,” to become the most streamed movie on Max since its release.
It’s clear that “Dune: Part Two” is a classic, so don’t miss out on the next big Sci-Fi epic and watch as characters wrestle with Paul’s destiny, causing relationships to be strained and whole empires to shudder.
