SuperBardiBros’s review published on Letterboxd:
I love sci-fi, it offers the highest ratio of “here’s a bunch of shit you’ve never seen before”— giant sandworms, monochromatic gladiator fights, dragonfly helicopters, nuclear shield explosions… Dune 2 is spectacular, the type of film you end up seeing in your dreams, breeding with artistry and creativity that will inspire the next-generation of filmmakers.
And it’s more than just awe-inspiring vistas, Villeneuve lifts the essential themes of Herbert’s novel for his adaptation: colonialism and religious fanaticism, ruling people with fear and faith, the perfect spark for war, revolution, and suffering — relevant today just like in 1965, the defining story of humans as a species.
For Chalamet, this role is the graduation moment of his young career, ascending to S-tier movie star. He plays Paul Atreides like a ticking time bomb, with a touch of anxiety until he finally explodes in the last hour.
Our best actors can tap into a higher level, with performances you never knew they had in their repertoire. It often happens when they play against type, I’m thinking villains like Denzel in Training Day or Leo in Django Unchained, that’s what Chalamet does with Paul in the last act of Dune 2
In a movie full of superstars, he manages to command every scene. It’s an intimidating performance but Chalamet brings humanity to the conflicted messiah. You see it his eyes, you hear it in his voice, it’s dominance and vengeance with a tiny amount of angst and torture, it’s masterful. He carries the ending and elevates the entire movie as a result, bring on Dune Messiah!
