This is one of those movie watching experiences that feels like the equivalent of winning a championship in the sports world. That incredulous, surreal feeling of “…they actually did it.” 

The sometimes ineffable concept of “Movie Magic” isn’t something that has gone extinct but certainly has become a more “few and far between” occurrence with the advent and over-reliance of CGI. There’s always movies here and there that capture it in moments, but Dune and especially Dune Part 2 has that magical quality from start to finish. Through effects, cinematography, production design, and through really every department Dune 2 fully engulfs you in the experience as if you are being swallowed by a sand worms massive gaping mouth. This movie is a paragon for the concept of an artists vision realized to the fullest extent and that’s what makes this such an epic world-championship victory for the industry.

Props to Warner Brothers and all the producers for trusting the artists and letting the story to be the sci-to classic it is and not try to contrive any unnecessary action or comedy. Everything in this movie is in perfect harmony. It is 100% firmly itself  and that is something you can’t say about many movies or art right now, especially massive blockbusters like this.

There is something missing that didn’t allow me to fully connect to it. I do feel like this movie rushes through a lot especially once they go south and there is so many characters that some aspects fee unfocused and thin. Perhaps that’s a consequence of how dense the source material is but nonetheless there is something emotional and thematically that’s lacking for my ideal movie experience. So back to my sports analogy it felt like a really awesome Championship game to watch and see the collective Sci-Fi team win, but it wasn’t that same feeling as seeing my team win. Who knows though maybe with rewatches and deep dives I’ll learn to love it more.

Right now, what’s important is that this is a massive win and huge cinematic achievement for WB, Denis, all the artists, and us as cinephiles.

This has the possibility of becoming the next great trilogy and is one of those theater experiences that make you say “God, I love movies.”