There are many who view Dune: Part One as a stronger expression of film as a medium than it is a film. The film continues Villeneuve’s streak of topping himself in of sound design, special effects, visual storytelling, and doing all of this in a broadly-compelling manner, yet it concludes its plot at a pivotal moment in the protagonist’s story. To an extent, I agree with all of this. I believe Paul’s final act of the first film serves as a strong end to the first phase of his arc – having left the young man who wasn’t “in the mood” for Gurney’s sparring session in the comfortable confines of Caladan – but great films require no qualifiers. Dune: Part Two requires no qualifiers.

Villeneuve has rightfully received acclaim for adapting one of literature’s most famously-impenetrable franchises into a critical- and financial-success, but he’d be the first to tell you that the hundreds of people who contributed to this film deserve all the acclaim thrown his way. Again, to a degree, I agree. Greig Fraser has elevated his craft, bringing the mastery of landscape and interior photography from the first film and adding intimacy and spirituality to his visual repertoire. Patrice Vermette’s work recreating the worlds of Arrakis and Giedi Prime rival those of such marvels as of Alien and Blade Runner. Paul Lambert and his team took a fraction of the time allotted to effects development for the first film and produced a film seemingly replete with special effects shots as breathtaking as the last. Joe Walker took the innovative visual grammar he deployed in conveying the rhythm of this narrative and Paul’s visions and pushed further on both fronts. Hans Zimmer fleshed out the galaxy by expanding the musical palettes of the Fremen and Harkonnen and evolving that of the Bene Gesserit and House Atreides. Credit should go to the writing staff for transcribing Frank Herbert’s tome for the screen in a way which can be both understood and invested in. And the cast is littered with performances which will highlight the resumes of dozens of A-list actors.

But we’ve all seen films which look incredible, have unforgettable music, or whose characters remain with us long after the credits roll that don’t hit like Dune: Part Two. An effects-heavy story with such a massive scope that continues introducing new characters and worlds is expected to show its seams more than Denis’ new movie. All of the craft in the world wouldn’t mean a thing if the person directing the project had any doubts about his vision or how to orchestrate each of these other arts into one cohesive symphony. With this film – if he hadn’t already – Villeneuve confirmed his status as a name-brand director on the level of Christopher Nolan. Whatever project he makes after he leaves this franchise, studios will know it comes with a large and loyal audience just because he’s attached. 

That being said, I believe the difference with this film is in the payoff of Paul’s composition as a possible messianic figure and the prophecy which had been planted across Arrakis for centuries and throughout the first film for its entire runtime. Paul is no longer a child of Caladan who miraculously knows the customs of a land on which he’s been “coincidentally” marooned. The first third of Dune: Part Two is devoted to showing Paul’s initiation into the Fremen nation as a skilled soldier desirous of forging a path to revenge against the Emperor for his peoples’ massacre in the capacity of a citizen of their egalitarian community. That this conflicts so strongly with his mother’s – and her Benne Gesserit order’s – plans for him is not lost on the film, and the dissonance between the freedom-fighting fraternity he’s fostering and the absolute power he’s on the cusp of grasping propels our butts to the edge of our seats.

All the while, we’re given insight into Rabban Harkonnen’s mounting pressure to harvest spice and eradicate the natives of the planet they formerly-governed. We need not learn about the history of the Harkonnen lineage to know who Rabban and the Baron are, and Denis knows this. He even presents a brand new member of the family to balance the scales and serve as a narrative, political, and physical rival for that pesky Muad’Dib (Paul’s identity to those outside the Fremen population) in the most visually-striking character introduction I’ve seen in a big budget film. And then the third act happens, a manifestation of “hype” so contagious and contentious it’s as if we’re high on Spice for the first time. This Dune franchise is a great many things, and daring is certainly one of them.

I’ve heard that the film Lawrence of Arabia played a major role in inspiring Frank Herbert to write Dune. The setting, political intrigue, and the ambitious cinematography harkening back to the 1962 masterpiece were all clearly there from the first film, and Part Two now aligns the franchise’s protagonist with that film’s extraordinary titular character. Being that David Lean’s Best Picture-winning war tragedy is among my absolute favorite films of all time, it comes as no surprise that Villeneuve’s sendup to that film has me reeling hours after leaving the theater.