“I am Paul Muad'Dib Atreides, Duke of Arrakis. The Hand of God be my witness, I am the Voice from the Outer World! I will lead you to PARADISE!”

Man what a fucking experience this was. The first film was already really great but this felt like they upped it in every single department, just as a great sequel should do. Everybody hyped this up so much it truthfully had me a bit worried but God does it delivers on every front but there are a few I want to highlight specifically. Sorry in advance for the rant:

The score and sound design;

Hans Zimmer is unquestionably one of the greats. However I think this might be my favourite work of his? It's certainly up there with his best work, of which there's a lot, in my opinion and it's so beautiful. The second I was out of the cinema the headphones were in and the soundtrack was blasting again all the way home. The sound design was brilliant too and I really loved the absence of the score in a couple of the pivotal scenes. Leaving us with just the sound of blades clashing and the breathes of the two warriors was a really excellent choice that made it hit even harder.

The performances;

Everybody is fantastic but there's a few I want to mention specifically. Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha is SO fucking fantastic. He's doing a great Stellan Skarsgård impression and I think it works great, he doesn't get all that much screen time but I think what he does with it is exquisite. Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica is again one of my favourite performances in these films. She's probably my favourite performance in Part One and she's equally as gripping here. Zendaya is very good for 2 hours and 25 minutes of this film and then for the final 10 or so minutes when she barely speaks a word, she says thousands of them with her eyes. She conveys so many conflicting emotions during that whole ordeal, it's really excellent. And finally Timothée Chalamet, the man who plays pretty much 2 separate people in the film and both of them are done expertly unlike anything I've seen from him so far. Those first 2 thirds of the film when Paul in settling into the Fremen and he's bonding with Chani is so heartfelt and beautiful, you really believe in their bond. My God what a shift he fucking does once he drinks the water. Everything about Paul shifts, he looks more commanding, he stands taller, he is very obviously more powerful in the way he talks and acts. The performance shift is truly amazing and so well done. So fucking good. One final mention to Javier Bardem as well actually. Stilgar is jokes, love him.

Cinematography and directing;

Not much to say on this except that this film is fucking gorgeous. Greig Fraser and Denis Villeneuve absolutely cooked and it's got some shots that'll stay in my brain for a LONG, long time.

There's so much more than can be said about this film in of what it has to say about it's themes that I haven't even gotten a chance to get into right now that I'm sure I will on subsequent viewings of the film, of which I anticipate there to be many. My quoting of Paul is not because I believe him to be some hero or that I don't understand the criticisms the films presents for us, they're just the moments of the film that stick out most to me on this first watch. As I've said, on further watches I'd definitely like to get into it's messages and critiques more! For now I will end with the fact that I felt physically shook to my core watching this film and that was just in a normal ass cinema, let alone you lucky bastards that get to experience this in IMAX. Truly a cinematic achievement to the highest degree.

“The great houses refuse to honor your ascendency, my lord.”
“We await your orders, Lisan al-Gaib."
“Lead them to paradise.”

Denis Villeneuve ranked