Film: Dune, Part Two

 

GENRE: Action/Drama
RATING: PG-13 for strong violence, brief strong language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 46 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name, Wonka)
Zendaya (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Euphoria); Javier Bardem (Skyfall)
DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049)
WRITERS: Villeneuve (Dune); John Spaihts (Passengers, Doctor Strange)
PLOT: Paul Atreides does not want to be a leader but does want revenge against those who destroyed his family.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Haven’t read the books. Enjoyed the first one.

STORY STUFF: While the Dune, Part One was long, it didn’t feel that way because there was enough going on and the pacing worked. That was not the case this time around. There is just way too much time before Paul realizes his ultimate role. Instead of dragging that out, maybe a montage would suffice.  My big questions are about the sandworms. While I enjoyed the initial sandworm riding, I was wondering how they get off the worm? Do they grind to halt and then the person hops off? Also, how do they get a whole bunch of people on the same worm? It seemed tricky enough to get one guy on there. This film has some great dialogue and lots of awesome scenes but it needed a serious trim. Maybe I’ll get more out of it the second time. That’s what happened with the first one.

ACTING STUFF: Chalamet and Zendaya do a great job of anchoring the film. They have enough serious looks and warning-filled dialogue to bring the drama. Luckily, Bardem is around to give some humour as someone who quickly believes. He needs to enunciate more though. When speaking English, he tends to mumble. I was almost happier when he spoke the Fremen language of Chakobsa so I could read the subtitles. Austin Butler (Elvis) is a stand-out as the menacing Feyd-Rautha. I didn’t know he had it in him. He is wonderfully ruthless. I also enjoyed Josh Brolin’s return. I felt that Christopher Walken and Florence Pugh were underused but maybe that will be remedied in the third one. Yeah, expect a Part Three.   

ARTISTIC STUFF: Villeneuve knows how to shoot a film. There is lots of gorgeous cinematography throughout. Love his capturing of scale. Very Freddie Young with a Lawrence of Arabia vibe. Really enjoyed the fight scenes. Hand-to-hand stuff is great. The Fremen hiding in the sand and then suddenly attacking is awesome to watch.         

VERDICT: Three stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You’ve see the first one and have time on your hands
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Oscar Predictions