Wanted to get in an IMAX viewing and it does not disappoint.

My biggest takeaway from round two is just how much Javier Bardem as Stilgar is the not-so-quiet MVP of making this work. The Water of Life is a very visual concept but what it does is somewhat undefined. Jessica and Paul each receive visions from outside of time that dramatically impact their behavior and intentions in an immediate capacity. Jessica is reluctant to become the Fremen’s Reverend Mother but does so with no choice. Upon drinking, she immediately begins total indoctrination of the Northern non-fundamentalists so they’ll accept Paul as Lissan Al-Gaib.

Paul himself is resistant to this, and remains as such for his entire time with the Fedaykin, including specific resistance to going south. Where I’m lost is what happens between reluctantly leaving the North after Feyd-Rautha destroys their home there and arriving in the South only to immediately drink the Water of Life, for no other reason than his mother’s behest despite being terrified of becoming a tyrant, which is precisely the path this decision sets him on. In other words, Paul speaks and for the most part acts like someone uninterested in being Lissan Al-Gaib, even in his private conversations with Jessica, but ultimately just… does. Jessica didn’t really resist and of course knew the external influence of the Bene Gesserit, but Paul’s change just comes so suddenly and starkly.

Which brings me back to Stilgar. He isn’t privy to Paul’s real motivation for wanting to the Fremen, (revenge on the Emperor himself), but also doesn’t seem to care because he’s convinced Paul is the Chosen One. So much that he himself is pushing the propaganda. There’s the obvious scene where he convinces the others that by denying who he is, Paul is actually confirming it, but I’m more caught by the Shai-Halub ride. Stilgar tells Paul he tuned the thumper himself, but then is “surprised” when such a large worm arrives. He’s doing his own work to amplify Paul’s legend. He’s a fanatic but also calculating, and it’s not impossible to imagine he’s directly under Jessica’s influence. Either way, his goofy, seemingly-well meaning believer represents constant influence that might push Paul to himself believe that he could be Lissan Al-Gaib, or bare minimum behave as such to rally the Fremen, which is what Stilgar wants. Does he actually believe the prophecy or is he using it to control his people the same way Jessica is? It’s impossible to tell, which is what makes his performance so essential.

All that aside, this remains an absolutely elite sci-fi production, and with any amount of luck, a new standard for what a blockbuster can be. Between the likes of Dune Part Two and The Creator, I’m hoping a middle ground can be reached where we have such incredible effects and production value, strong writing, big stars, and all within less ballooned budgets.