Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s rip-roaring, planet-hopping sci-fi epic tailored from the primary half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 tome of the identical identify, was a straightforward movie to love however, for me no less than, a tough movie to like. Once I first noticed it – as quickly as I feasibly may after its launch within the autumn of 2021, and on the most important display screen I may discover – I used to be dazzled by its epic scale and luxurious rendering of otherworldly landscapes, however there was one thing lacking: the characters, as performed by a principally glacial Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin and Charlotte Rampling all appeared to be retaining the viewers at an emotional take away. You had been fascinated by them, but it was arduous to look after them – they had been like plastic motion figures who moved throughout this glittering, mind-bending world. So, whereas I marvelled on the costumes, the sprawling units and the brutal battle sequences, when – spoiler alert – Isaac’s Leto Atreides perished, I used to be extra miffed than devastated.
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Dune: Half Two, nonetheless, takes every little thing up a notch. The long-awaited sequel, on the heels of a predecessor which helpfully supplied all the required construct up, is ready to cram itself with wonderful, no-holds-barred motion, however essentially the most exceptional factor about it’s that it nails the emotional beats, too. The consequence is without doubt one of the finest motion blockbusters I’ve seen in years – and I’d be shocked if it doesn’t go on to grow to be a billion-dollar field workplace hit and win no less than a handful of Oscars come 2025.
Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides prepares for battle in Dune: Half Two.
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The story kicks off the place Dune left off, with Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and his mom, Ferguson’s Woman Jessica, becoming a member of the Fremen – amongst them Javier Bardem’s tribe chief Stilgar and Zendaya’s fierce warrior Chani – as they traverse the undulating deserts of Arrakis. The visuals are beautiful – expansive plains, the solar sliced by a number of eclipses – and as we settle into our new surroundings, Paul finds his toes amongst his new household, and promptly falls for Chani.
Zendaya’s Chani and Chalamet’s Paul get nearer.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Photos
Zendaya, who was criminally underused within the first movie with simply seven minutes of display screen time, lastly will get her due right here: steely and ferocious, beneficiant and protecting of her new protégé and love curiosity, she is the undisputed coronary heart of Dune: Half Two, and the character you develop to like essentially the most. You consider her and Paul as you see them develop nearer, and then you definitely sense her rising unease as he’s proclaimed a messiah and rises the ranks to steer her folks into a dangerous battle towards the nefarious forces that plotted towards his household and killed his father.
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Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune: Half Two.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Photos
The movie navigates this shift in Paul and Jessica’s trajectories, from our heroes to extra fearsome, bold and ambiguous figures hellbent on revenge – two supremely highly effective white figureheads compelling crowds of individuals of color to affix them of their holy battle – nimbly, for essentially the most half. As in Dune, this movie, significantly in its ornate costuming and set design, takes freely from African and Center Japanese cultures, although it appears extra conscious of what it’s doing this time round. Whereas most of the Fremen bow right down to their new saviours, Chani refuses to. “This prophecy,” she says of the assumption that solely Paul can cause them to freedom, “is how they enslave us.” The digicam fixes on her face, you’re feeling her intense worry for the way forward for her group, and realise that your personal allegiances have modified, too. It’s a theme that’s certain to generate discourse, however one which appeared to me to be too self-aware to really feel problematic.
Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan in Dune: Half Two.
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The thrilling factor about Dune: Half Two is that it could possibly do all of this with out ever skimping on the motion, both. As Paul and the Fremen put together for his or her assault towards the evil Harkonnens, there’s one breathless sequence during which he and Chani crew up for an explosive strike. There’s additionally one other during which Paul rides a sandworm for the primary time – sprinting throughout the peaks of the sand dunes, latching on, after which holding on for expensive life. Watching that scene, even on a smaller, non-IMAX display screen just like the one in my preview screening, was akin to boarding a rocket ship and being blasted into area. It’s merely staggering.
The sandworms assault in Dune: Half Two.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Photos
After that highest of highs, the ultimate battle and Paul’s confrontation with the inheritor of Home Harkonnen, Feyd-Rautha (a merciless, deathly pale, eyebrow-less Austin Butler), feels a tad anti-climactic, unaided by a two-hour-and-forty-five-minute run time that drags barely in its ultimate moments. There’s additionally an excessively self-serious campiness to Dune: Half Two that’s steadily pleasant – one thing virtually James Bond-esque, significantly in Bardem’s quippy new tackle Stilgar – however at just a few factors, it ideas totally into parody. Butler for one, along with his raspy, still-slightly-Elvis-like voice is simply too comical to be a very terrifying villain or a reputable menace to Paul.
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Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen with Léa Seydoux’s Woman Margot Fenring.
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Sadly, the opposite new additions to the forged get quick shrift, too: Florence Pugh makes for a hanging and clever Princess Irulan, the daughter of the emperor (a equally underutilised Christopher Walken), however is given little extra to do than look regal and anxious; whereas the all the time wonderful Léa Seydoux has a small, Bond girl-style function because the mysterious Woman Margot Fenring. Anya Taylor-Pleasure additionally seems far too briefly in her much-buzzed-about secret cameo however, as was the case for Zendaya in Dune, you get the sense that these girls can be given more room to breathe as this sci-fi saga continues.
And proceed it virtually actually will: Dune: Half Two ends on one thing of a cliffhanger, and one which expertly whets your urge for food for but extra desert showdowns, galloping sandworms, and knotty character growth. Does it have its shortcomings? Definitely, nevertheless it’s additionally simply the most effective cinematic experiences you’re prone to have this yr.
Dune: Half Two can be in cinemas from 1 March.
