“SILENCE!”

I had little doubt that a filmmaker of Villeneuve’s caliber could stick the landing after such an impressive first foray into the world of Dune but the requisite world building for the Fremen gave me some pause. Not to worry though, as Denis understood the assignment and really delved into the culture of the most integral faction in the series for the first two thirds of Part 2. I was apprehensive initially as I was getting Zion vibes from The Matrix trilogy but that dissipated quickly as the core struggle of the Arrakis natives and Paul’s deliberation over manipulating them and fulfilling the “prophecy” took center stage.

I could see the aforementioned Fremen focus boring general audiences but it’s entirely necessary to tell a source accurate story and there are enough set pieces to break up the exposition (notably the multiple Harkonnen assaults, taming of the Shai-Hulud, and Feyd-Rautha’s unsettling introduction). Javier Bardem also provided some primo comic relief as the fanatical Stilgar that got multiple pops in my IMAX showing (none bigger than the Paul quote used at the top though, which nearly got a deserved standing ovation).

The third act is where it all comes together gloriously. Timothée Chalamet takes on a convincingly commanding presence post Water of Life consumption that borders on demagogic which perfectly aligns with Frank Herbert’s intentions for the character and the potential future of the cinematic franchise. Desert power is finally fully realized in the climactic onslaught bolstered by high stakes emotional drama and personal vendettas culminating in a satisfying duel of the would be emperors. I understand why some subplots were cut like Thufir’s Harkonnen enslavement for lack of time and Alia’s unfilmable 4 year old assassin shenanigans (creepy fetus was an excellent substitution though) but it was still a minor gripe for book purists.

Overall, loved it and very thankful that one of the best filmmakers of our generation dedicated such time and effort to the seminal sci-fi work of the last century that it so deserved. Could very well bump this to five stars after some contemplation or after watching the duology in full. Very interested in the future of this series and seeing the anti-messianism seeds planted in this entry come into full bloom even though the follow up novel itself (Dune Messiah) sort of lost me in the spice.