Riot’s Reviews: Dune Part 2
There’s a bit of context that probably needs to be worked through before we start diving into the review for the highly anticipated, Dune: Part 2. The first (and most important point) is that I have not read a single page of Frank Herbert’s Sci-Fi epic. It likely informs a lot of the confusion I had while watching both movies. Second, I’ve never seen the original 1984 film. This point, I’d argue, is much less impactful since the general opinion seems to be that it was a truly awful movie and we already have examples of films like Tron: Legacy, where modern technology was better able to fully realize the vision/idea. Finally, I hadn’t seen the remake until a couple nights before going to see the new sequel, which ended up setting my expectations quite low. By no means do I think Dune was a bad movie, it laid the obvious groundwork that was needed for its sequel. But, it was extremely slow paced, almost entirely exposition centered, and struggled with some cinematic elements (namely the terrible job of cutting back and forth between reality and Paul’s visions) that made the viewing experience choppy and confusing. After waiting years for round two, the online community put out a pretty bold statement after Dune: Part 2’s release, comparing its quality to TLOTR. Does that opinion hold up? I don’t think so; but it sure does try.
Dune: Part 2 is superior to its predecessor to be sure. Visually (as with the first one) it is stunning even on one of the smaller theater screens. I didn’t see it in IMAX and I probably should have, because there are some epic shots that are simply made to be bigger and bolder. On the same thread, I was legitimately taken aback by the subtlety of some of the scenes and just how much they were able to convey without too much bravado. The CGI was pretty seamless and when coupled with the incredible score, most sequences delivered the emotional punch they were looking for. The visual effects surrounding Giegi Prime (the Harkonnen home world) were as impressive as they were mesmerizing. The black and white shots, coupled with “pyrotechnics” that looked like explosions of ink in water, made you feel terrified and in awe simultaneously. The acting was certainly top notch, with Timothee Chalamet putting in the best performance I’ve seen of his yet. I particularly enjoyed the zealousness and passion that Javier Bardem continued to bring to Stilgar. And while he wasn’t very heavily featured in the sequel, I am always here for Stellan Skarsgard, even as a disgusting, bloated, and evil dictator. Dune: Part 2 benefitted from leaning into the action a little more. While the first film had some really decent fight scenes (Paul’s duel with Jamis to be specific) the audience was treated to a few more excellent battles. Following the guerilla type warfare of the Fremens vs. the Harknonnens was more impressive than the grand scale battle that happened in the first movie and concluded the second. The audience knows that the battle between the two factions has been long/arduous and Part 2 did a better job of bringing the audience into that experience.
On the spectrum of issues I had with the film, I’ll take care of the small stuff first. There were a few, very minor elements that degraded from the first to second film that got on my nerves. The special effect surrounding the blue eyes of the Fremen and those who are growing accustomed to the spice on Arakis was visibly off. The intense hues from the first movie felt far more otherworldly. It could very well be that the darker lighting (since we finally got to experience the Fremen in their underground sietches) had a negative result on this effect, but I would have preferred they stuck with the deeper blue eyes from the first film. Also, I thought it a poor decision to alter the way Jessica and Paul used the Voice in their interactions. Again it seemed like the otherworldly aspect (or even magical) of their sudden, powerful statements got replaced with a different, more sinister, more horror-like screech that was meant as a jump scare method instead of an exercise of their powers. On a super nit-picky note, I thought Austin Butler's voice decision was probably the worst thing I've heard since Christian Bale's Batman. The makeup, bald head, and no eyebrows made him creepy enough, he didn't have to go for some strange affectation. Finally, I didn’t find the effects for the Shai-Hulud (the big desert worms) to be as interesting or imposing as the first movie. Granted, this is likely just due to pre-exposure, where the impact of the visual isn’t as great because I’ve seen it before. This is certainly last in my complaints, because there were some truly awesome sequences that the Shai-Hulud were involved in; I just think the impact was a little more softened than I would have liked.
Here is my primary complaint about Dune: Part 2: I didn’t really feel emotionally connected to the story nor its characters. There are a number of reasons for this I think. Primarily, while Denis Villeneuve respectfully seems to be taking the task of getting every story element he can into these films, there may be an argument that he’s getting too much in there. I feel gross admitting to that, but even though the sequel did not feel choppy (typically a sign of bad editing) it didn’t feel seamless either. The audience is sort of leaping from scene to scene, without being given the opportunity to really dive in and invest in the characters. This is exemplified greatly in the relationship between Paul (Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya). I saw a similar complaint lodged against the first film, where audiences kept expecting the girl of Paul’s dreams (visions) to show up and usher him to his destiny. When she finally did arrive, viewers were left disappointed with the infinitesimal amount of screen time she had. With this film, we get to see the relationship begin to bloom, but there is a 0-60mph moment where Paul is learning the Fremen ways (complete with that awesome guerilla warfare) and then suddenly the two are making out. The audience was waiting for it sure, but were they invested in the relationship in the same way as, random example totally not related, Aragorn and Arwen? I sincerely doubt it.
The sudden/uninvolved feeling with big moments was not limited to just interpersonal scenes and often made supremely important action sequences feel rushed or unsatisfactory (without spoiling, like the entire final battle or Rabban (Dave Bautista), Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), and the Baron’s (Stellan Skarsgard) fates). Much like the first film, there is a sense of conflicts coming to their conclusions almost too easily and perhaps a little predictably, but overall I would argue it didn’t cripple the progression of the story. Also like the first, there are more than a few moments of downtime that go a beat too long and make the overall length of the movie feel a bit slow/grinding. All this aside, Dune: Part 2 is definitively one of the strongest films we’ve seen in a while and should serve as a lesson to other filmmakers out there to maybe ditch the “message” and just get back to telling a decent story. Is it TLOTR caliber? In some ways, sure. But if these critics are going to invoke the name of one of the greatest cinematic feats in history, they better come with some better receipts. This film was an incredibly strong second entry to a series that will certainly leave a mark for years to come.
Riot’s Rating: 8.9/10
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