I have never seen David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Dune, despite the fact that it is, by some accounts, a fun watch because of how spectacularly weird and bad it is.
It has been sitting in one of my streaming service queues for quite a while now, gathering imaginary digital dust and whenever I get some free time I just can’t find myself ready to commit to 137 minutes of silliness.
Dune: Part Two was a slightly different beast—sure, it may be a whole 18 minutes longer, but I found 2021’s Part One to be exceptional.
And even though Denis Villeneuve’s latest adaptation may have taken up a good chunk of my evening I have to say—I loved every minute of it.
Dune: Part Two is, in a word, big. The scope, the actors, the soundtrack… everything that Part One did this one is bigger, battering each of my senses into submission until there was nothing left in my life except the desert planet of Arrakis, and a giant Diet Coke and tub of popcorn at my side.
Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser–who won an Academy Award for his work in the first install- ment–instill every frame with sheer awe, their knack for finding the perfect angle never failing to bring forth the beauty and horror of Frank Herbert’s universe (the Harkonnen world of Geidi Prime is particularly striking with its black-and-white eeriness).
It’s a dense and daunting universe, to be sure.
Lynch’s previous attempt at adapting the novel in 1984 famously included a glossary of terms along with each ticket to better help audiences understand what was happening and what those silly made-up words meant. Dune: Part Two feels significantly easier to follow, in comparison to Part One, although I do recommend re-watching the previous installment first if you have another two and a half hours to burn (I caught a showing of Part Two with closed captioning, which also helped immensely).
The stacked cast is a who’s-who of Hollywood royalty and Gen-Z wunderkinds.
Most have interesting material to work with (poor Dave Bautista is not one of them, as he again only gets to be angry to varying degrees while Florence Pugh doesn’t have much to do) in this cautionary tale of revenge, love and the dangers of religious extremism.
The costumes are magnificent, the CGI is breathtaking, and the unusual but excellent score by Hans Zimmer (who also won an Oscar for his work on Part One) turns the entire experience up to eleven.
Honestly, I’m having a hard time finding anything interesting to talk about with Dune: Part Two that’s not just a boring checklist of things done well.
Watching it on the big screen is a transcendent experience that must be seen to be believed.
Go see Dune: Part Two on the big screen before it’s gone.
Dune: Part Two is now playing exclusively in theaters.
Article written by TJ Reid
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