After Dune: Part One (2021) here's the hotly anticipated sequel! Launching in March 2024, Denis Villeneuve's latest film is very close to being an instant classic.
As sci-fi as it gets, it's visually stunning but also features an excellent cast and some heft, Shakespearean portent to go with it. There's a lot to behold here and we're going to contemplate its dusty vision.
Sand and Worms in the Dusty Cinematic World of Dune: Part Two
Put aside two hours for this SOB as it's long! Three hours, basically, so one of those films you need to pick the right time for (i.e. a weekend when you've got nothing better to do).
Cripes, is Dune: Part Two worth it.
See the thing on the biggest possible IMAX screen—one of those room dominating majiggers that never seems to end. The visually splendour of this world is totally deserving of it.
As right from the off there's incredible stuff like this.
The plot follows on from Dune: Part One. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) have fled House Harkonnen who've destroyed House Atreides and killed the father of the family.
Now, Dune the book is notorious for its stunningly complex narrative.
The 1965 epic sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert is one we've never gone near. But from what we've heard, it's 856 pages of intricacies.
Many considered it unfilmable, but here we are! Consider it a sci-fi version of Game of Thrones (just with more sand). Religious undertones and overtones abound, with Paul Atreides welcomed into a desert community called Fremen.
This is on the sand planet Arrakis. The Fremen are headed up by Stilgar (Javier Bardem), who becomes convinced Atreides is the "messiah" told in prophecies and he's there to save them from House Harkonnen.
At first, Paul Atreides denies he has any leadership ambtions.
Instead, he fits into the community and hits it off with local hot stuff Chani (played by actress and singer Zendaya).
Whilst we suppose the plot from there is fairly predictable (yes, Paul Atreides does go on to lead and becomes a bit of a bad egg in the process), the way Dune: Part Two gets to that narrative arc is positively riveting.
Where it excels is the world building, as you genuinely feel like you're on this enormous planet populated by extra enormous worms.
Denis Villeneuve has directed some fantastic films over the last decade, even taking on the mighty task of Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Whilst we were disappointed with that effort, this one doesn't let anyone down at all.
Dune: Part Two is better than the first outing. Not least as it has some immense gravitas behind its Shakespearean plot, this is a brilliant film.
It's also just bloody incredible to look at. Really, a marvel of modern cinema. Those worms! The sand. And then the arrival of one very pale dude...
The Arrival of Feyd-Rautha
House Harkonnen nutcase Feyd-Rautha turns up halfway through Dune: Part Two. That's when things really hit the fan and become rather intense.
Played by an unrecognisable Austin Butler (who was recently Elvis in a 2023 biopic), Feyd-Rautha is completely insane and all the merrier for it.
It's the threat of him that leads to Paul Atreides upping his leadership antics.
Full credit to Butler on this one. From Elvis Presley to this pallid maniac! Definitely one of the best screen villains of the last few years.
We've often wondered what it'd be like psyching yourself up to be a bad guy in a film. When you're a normal sort of person, how do you approach that? Well, here's what Butler had to say.
The husky voiced dude kind of has a Micheal Biehn vibe about him.
We all love a good screen baddie, of course, whether it's the iceberg in Titanic or Magua from Last of the Mohicans. The difference here is Feyd-Rautha remains unabashedly insane and uncomplicated.
He's introduced as a madman. He is a madman. And he remains a madman.
The Production of Dune: Part Two
Considering it's pretty much the biggest film of the moment right now, Dune: Part Two has so far had a solid cinematic return.
Off it's $190 million budget (and we're surprised that's not higher), it's made back $705.1 million. That should smash the $1 billion mark in the coming months. As great as that is, it's actually quite a disappointing return in the world of cinema.
Think of James Cameron's Way of Water (2022) from the Avatar world. It took home some £2.3 billion.
We suppose a moot point here, as Dune: Part One cost $165 millions and only returned $407.5 million. So, the sequel has been much better received!
Anyway, the film was shot out in various deserts.
It makes us think of the desert-happy Lawrence of Arabia (1962) with its themes. Not as good as that all-time classic, of course, but a fine effort all the same.
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