It’s part two, and Denis Villeneuve decides to not be boring! I’d completely forgotten about Princess Irulan and her epigraphs in Frank Herbert’s novel, and seeing Christopher Walken was an absolute delight (did not expect to see him, here of all places!), so the opening quite drew me in. Then there was Alia, Paul’s to-be-born sister, who I’d also forgotten about. The thrilling desert ambush sequence was quite a fun opener as well.

The rest of the film is consistently enjoyable, so hence I appreciated the sweeping visuals a lot more. All the grand-scale fight sequences are quite fun, and I’m finally warming up to Chalamet with this performance. Rebecca Ferguson does great, as always, though it’s a bit unpleasant seeing Lady Jessica a bit evil, but I don’t mind too much, though I do prefer the book’s Lady Jessica. It's nice seeing Christopher Walken, for all his short screen time here, even if he does play the big bad emperor.

Most my reservations are in hindsight, but I did have one during the film. The film builds the Lady Jessica-Chani dynamics to the point where the book’s closing lines are impossible. I loved the final lines of the book and was hoping we’d get something similar to that for the ending, but the hope gradually turned forlorn as the film progressed. I won’t spoil those closing lines here, but do look them up if you haven’t read the book.

As for my in-hindsight-reservations, I in the book that Alia is actually born, which, if I recall correctly, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen is repulsed by, saying that its mother should be killed, or something similar, and Paul silences Gaius Helen and defends his mother most ardently. I wanted to see this scene, alas.

So, minor reservations about Villeneuve’s liberties this time, but the film works from beginning to end. Sans exposition, Dune is no bore. The hype is real, and perhaps I don’t dislike the book all that much after all. Villeneuve’s liberties have got me warming up to the book again and actually interested in reading Dune Messiah and re-reading Dune. Maybe.

Random thought:

Seeing this on the big screen makes me want to see Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen. I want to be invigorated by the visuals there as I was here. The home experience is barely sufficient for these types of films.