Dune: Part Two movie review & film summary (2024)
If the interstellar politics aren’t sufficient, writers Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts inject a pleasant dose of spiritual fanaticism for the inevitable suppose items too. Girl Jessica turns into a robust non secular determine of her personal among the many Fremen, guiding her son’s ascendance in a fashion that feels nefarious and unsettling. “Dune: Half Two” shouldn’t be a standard hero’s journey in that it’s continuously questioning if being led by an outsider from one other tradition is the appropriate transfer—Chani certain doesn’t suppose so, and Zendaya subtly finds notes to make viewers surprise what a contented ending could be for these characters. As Jessica and Paul be taught extra about Fremen historical past and tradition, they threaten to not lead it as a lot as dismantle and personal it. There’s a giant distinction.
Whereas the plotting in “Half Two” is undeniably richer than the primary movie, its best belongings are as soon as once more on a craft stage. Greig Fraser, who gained the Oscar for cinematography the primary time, tops his work there with beautiful use of coloration and lightweight. It’s within the method the solar hits Chalamet’s face at a sure angle or the wildly totally different palettes that differentiate the Harkonnens and the Fremen. The browns and blues of the desert tradition don’t really feel arid as a lot as grounded and tactile, whereas the Harkonnen world is so devoid of coloration that it’s virtually black and white—even what appear to be fireworks pop like somebody throwing colorless paint at a wall. Hans Zimmer’s Oscar-winning rating felt a bit overdone to me within the first movie, however he neatly differentiates the cultures right here, discovering extra metallic sounds for the chilly Harkonnens to steadiness towards the heated rating for the Fremen. Lastly, the results and sound design really feel denser this time, and the battle choreography reminds one how poorly this has been executed in different blockbuster movies.
As for performers, Chalamet is more likely to be essentially the most divisive factor, usually feeling a bit flat for somebody believed to be the Neo of this world. Nonetheless, these decisions add up in a method that makes thematic sense, enhancing the uncertainty of Paul’s rise. Zendaya is stable—though she lacks chemistry with Chalamet that will have helped—however it’s Ferguson’s slippery efficiency and Bardem’s playful one that actually add flavors right here that weren’t within the first outing. Lastly, Austin Butler leans onerous into the exaggerated position of Feyd-Rautha, taking part in the sociopathic nephew of the Baron with all of the scenery-chewing depth {that a} character like this must work, discovering the emotional void to steadiness out towards Chalamet’s tempestuous interior monologue.
“Dune: Half Two” has been in comparison with “The Empire Strikes Again” within the run-up to its launch, and that’s not fairly proper. The higher comparability is “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” one other movie that constructed on what we knew concerning the characters from the primary movie, added a couple of new ones, and actually amplified a way of steady battle and hazard. Like each movies, a 3rd chapter feels inevitable. Critics must give you a brand new synonym for enormous.
