David Espinosa’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Bring them to paradise"
Not sure what it was, but I found Dune 2 to be even more bleak and somber on a rewatch. It feels hopeless by the end, a completely dark twist on love and freedom, just a low descent into darkness and death.
I believe it is a perfectly crafted film, something that takes its time to slowly build up something, carefully bringing together the pieces of the puzzle. But what we've come to expect, the massive blockbuster and epic story of heroism, is turned on its head and it makes way for darkness and destruction. The violence of self-fulfilled prophecies, the messianism that becomes even more and more horrifying and inescapable. It all falls into place at the end, and it feels revolting.
It's a movie that becomes terrifying by the minute, and I believe Villeneuve created a film that perfectly captures the journey and transformation of Paul Atreides, turning every expectation bleakly. Love isn't enough, even if it's real, and it feels empty and hopeless.
A beautiful and devastating movie.
