Watching Dune Part Two in Imax is best described as a thrilling theme park ride. The movie grips into you like a Maker Hook into a Sandworm and doesn't let go. The great production, image and sound design as well as the exceptional editing make sure of that from minute one.

There is not a dull moment here. But that comes at the expanse of actual depth. It seems the dullness comes creeping through the backdoor. The characters stay at surface level. And the suspense surplus of the big picture swamps and ultimately blurs out the nuances. A sense of space gets washed down a sand vortex. We never really see anyone walk from one location to another. We kind of just get there. Figuratively and literally.

Half of the time I kept asking myself: what's the point? What is all this good for? Can't you see, you are blinded by dust in your eyes?
But the other half felt like the 12-year-old me watching LotR for the first time in a theater. And he was all in for the ride.

I love the way they decided to tell Paul Muad'dib’s journey, the deconstruction of the messiah myth. Chani’s character is the way relate to the corruption in his eyes. And through her eyes we know the power of the colonizer cannot be the friend of, and especially not the savior of the Fremen. Although Chani is given more room than in the book, she still is underdeveloped. The movie would’ve only benefited from giving her more screen time, more room and more depth. If Chani is not only supposed to be there for the sympathy, but an actual voice of reason, and more so our empathy gate into the movie, I personally would’ve loved to see more of her, and inside of her mind. I wasn't really invested enough to be actually emotionally affected by the ending, just like Marian64 put it more eloquently and on more point, besides a lot of other great observations, in her review. But I am all the more excited to see what we’ll get in part three. The way it ends seems promising in that regard.

Still, overall, Dune Part Two is a spectacular achievement and sur its predecessor in almost every way. It is emotionally lacking, but sensorial stimulating. A spectacle in the best sense. Actually, in the Imax sense. I even went back and saw it twice precisely because I think it’s just meant to be seen in Imax and I didn’t want to miss my chance to see it a second time like that. Though I don’t really see it holding up on my home sofa. And I cannot yet decide if I think this is a good thing or not.

But whatever critique I may have, in the end I can’t deny that this is such a vibe and the immaculate pacing achieved in the editing room made 3 hours fly by like nothing.

This movie flows like spice over the hills.