Waited an entire week to get back from Pittsburgh and watch this in IMAX70 here in NYC. It has been a long time since I have read the book, but on the grand scale I it. Villeneuve fully captures the tragedy of it here. Technically speaking, this film is near perfect. The sounds, the pictures, the editing, the production, all perfection. BUT.

I think this film is flawed though. At its base, the book it’s based on is primarily a collection of interactions between characters. It is constant world building. But a film cannot be just that. The issue is that on a macro scale, the pacing of Dune: Part Two is hindered by the design of its source material. The acts feel somewhat disconnected. I find myself forgetting much of the substance of the first act as soon as the third comes along. Likewise, when the third does come, it is so rapid, it becomes a challenge to keep up with the plot. I wish it would have slowed down. I think it works as is, but could have been even better.

As for the performances, I feeling puzzled by Chalamet's performance the first few times I watched Dune. There is something empty or week about much of it. It is present in the early scenes of this film too. But through the length of it, we experience his entire demeanor, almost his whole characterization of Paul, Usul, Muad-dib, etc, adapt through many phases. I was sure there was some nuance to the emptiness of Chalamet's Paul in part one, and his masterful manipulation of development of the character here is evidence of that.

Zendaya is equally powerful here. She leads the film almost much as he does, and I think it is clear her performance here is the emotional heart of the film. It wouldn't work without her. Yes, the emotion of the unrelenting death throughout is present, but without Zendaya's performance of Chani's constant emotive opposition to Paul's set path, we wouldn't see what he is giving up by giving in to his visions of the future. It is what he gives up, the peaceful life, that makes the devastation of the endless carnage so powerful.

All this to say that I am torn on this film. I liked it. Villeneuve's direction is phenomenal. I wish the pacing was better.