After waiting impatiently since 2021 — it’s finally here! Somehow, it managed to exceed my unfairly high expectations. Future generations will wonder what it would have been like to be alive when the masterpiece Dune: Part Two was first released (for anyone who might read this in 2074: it was glorious).

Boasting staggering visual effects, a gorgeous score by Hans Zimmer, orgasmic sound design, and one of the greatest contemporary casts ever assembled, this is a triumphant spectacle to behold. Sweepingly epic in every way, some have said that this is science-fiction’s Lawrence of Arabia… and I agree. 

Denis Villeneuve is simply one of the world’s best working directors, and cinematographer Greig Fraser deserves to have his name known (his photography on The Batman and The Creator was the best part of either film). Get a few Oscars for both of these gentlemen (…as a matter of fact, let’s just give this film all of the Oscars right now, it will save us some time in March of 2025).

For all its thrilling spectacle, it packs quite a bit of emotional heft. I didn’t watch this for the love story between Paul and Chani, but darn it if it wasn’t affecting and authentic, and one of my favorite parts of the movie. The performances were all noteworthy and spot-on, offering real emotion and depth that I could feel.

Paul Atreides undergoes one of the most intense archetypal hero transformations ever seen, as he is forced to choose if he will accept the messianic mantle and its horrific consequences. This is something that is thoroughly explored in detail over two films now and a total of more than five hours… and by the end, it packs a serious punch. The climactic final battle is all I hoped it would be; I was sometimes literally on the edge of my seat.

Cinema, with all its layers of craft at their finest. Sprint to the theater — this one can’t be missed.

Please, give us Part Three!