“You underestimate the power of faith.”
So says Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), daughter of galactic emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), two characters who make their debut in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. After seeing 2021’s Dune, I had faith that Villeneuve would deliver an epic conclusion to his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel.
Having seen Dune: Part Two, I’m pleased to say my faith has been rewarded—and then some.
FYI, what follows is my SPOILER-filled Dune: Part Two review. If you want to watch the film with limited knowledge of what happens (and assuming you haven’t read the book), you might want to put a pin in this review to come back to later. Otherwise, here’s the review…
Paul of Arrakis
Dune: Part Two picks up immediately where the first film left off—Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), are fleeing into the deep deserts of Arrakis with the Fremen, the planet’s native inhabitants. The Harkonnens, fresh off the (near) extermination of House Atreides, have set their murderous focus on the Fremen.
But the desert dwellers are much harder to kill, and they know Arrakis well. In a tense opening scene, under a striking solar eclipse, the Fremen—and Paul and Jessica—get the better of their Harkonnen hunters. It’s a heart-pounding spectacle to open the film, and the visuals and sound design tows the line between sweeping and overwhelming, especially in IMAX.
(In fact, the sound was so intense in my theater that when the screen suddenly went blank after this opening scene, I assumed the audio must’ve shaken something loose in the film projector. It didn’t—the theater’s power went out. I watched the rest of the movie in another theater.)
After that opening, Dune: Part Two dives into the heart of its story—Paul proving himself to the Fremen and striking back against their shared enemy, the Harkonnens. Here, Villeneuve sows the seeds for the first major departure from the novel.
In the book, the Fremen almost universally believe Paul to be the “Mahdi” or “Lisan al Gaib,” a foretold messiah who will lead the Fremen and make Arrakis a paradise. Without getting too into the weeds, this prophecy is a fabrication created for the political manipulation of people groups such as the natives of Arrakis.
However, in the film, the Fremen are split between those who believe Paul to be their savior (like Stilgar, played by Javier Bardem in an amusing turn) and those who are skeptical of the prophecy, if not flat out reject it. This is a shrewd decision, inserting an added layer of tension between the Fremen groups as Paul attempts to prove himself. Adding further to this tension is that Chani (Zendaya), a Fremen with whom Paul develops a budding romance, is a skeptic who sees the prophecy as a means to control her people.
Power and Prophecy
Paul, to his credit, also rejects the prophecy—he is well aware of the political motivations for it and, more importantly, has seen visions of the bloody holy war it could lead to. This is what really makes Dune special as a story, both in book and film. Paul seeks revenge against the Harkonnens for destroying his family and murdering his father, and the Fremen can help him achieve that aim. But the more he gains the trust and respect of the Fremen, the more they think of him as their messiah.
It's a unique twist on the “Chosen One” narrative, where becoming the Chosen One will have dire consequences that the hero cannot prevent. Thus, Paul strives to find the balance between avenging his father and kicking off a galactic genocide in his name.
Additionally, Jessica is not helping matters. Though Paul finds the prophecy distasteful, she has no such qualms. She becomes the prophecy’s chief evangelist, stirring up religious fervor in those who believe and setting the stage for Paul’s ascension into a messianic figure.
The movie delivers Paul’s quandary well, spending just enough time on the consequences to come without allowing it to weigh down the action and triumph as Paul wins the respect of the Fremen, believers and skeptics alike, in some truly stunning scenes.
Villains and Intrigue
But Paul’s story isn’t the only one covered in this sweeping sci-fi epic. The vile Harkonnens get plenty of attention, led by the grotesque Baron (Stellan Skarsgård). The Baron is joined by another character introduced in Part Two—Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), his psychotic but cunning nephew.
The scene introducing Feyd-Rautha, set on the Harkonnen homeworld of Giedi Prime, is one of the most visually spectacular sequences in the movie. Shot in infrared, the scene under the planet’s sun is stripped of all color and creates a perfect visual parallel for the movie’s inhumane villains.
Feyd-Rautha, something of an anti-Paul, is given control of Arrakis, and he rules with cruel, sadistic pleasure. So intense is his persecution of the Fremen that he forces them to travel south—forcing Paul to go with them, pushing the young man closer to the vision he fears.
As mentioned at the top of this review, Emperor Shaddam IV is introduced in this film. He was the real brains behind House Atreides fall and Paul knows it. For as much as Paul wants to take down the Harkonnens, the Emperor is his real target. Unfortunately, Walken as the Emperor gets very little to do, but he plays his part well.
Scope and Spectacle
Dune: Part Two is a near perfect blend of grounding character drama and gleaming spectacle. The scope is huge, but the movie never loses sight of its characters. This is helped by the focus the film puts on Paul and Chani’s romance, which is expertly done—Anakin and Padme, this is not. As Paul is backed into becoming the Fremen messiah, Chani becomes our audience avatar. She watches, concerned, as his ascent (or descent, depending on how you look at it) drives toward victory, but at a terrible cost. I won’t spoil the climax here, suffice to say it is appropriately epic (you can expect to see more than a few knife fights and sandworms).
The film has so much ground to cover, and as such makes certain changes to the novel’s story. However, each change is very sensible and made with a great deal of care. I’d compare it to the way Peter Jackson and his team approached the source material for The Lord of the Rings.
Apparently, Villeneuve has been thinking about how he would adapt Dune since the 80s, and it shows. Every shot, every detail is thought out and integrated into a world that fulfills Villeneuve’s unique vision while remaining faithful to the original story.
As with the first film, great actors can make even minimal parts feel consequential by their presence. Each actor delivers in their respective roles, but I was especially impressed with the work done by Chalamet, Ferguson, Butler, and Bardem. Chalamet’s transition into a Fremen warlord is convincing, Ferguson becomes a pseudo-villain as she presses her son into a messianic role, Butler really embraces his role as a psycho and antithesis to Paul, and Bardem seems to be having the most fun in a performance that is comic but equally heartfelt.
Conclusion – Dune: Part Two Review
Taken as a whole, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (parts one and two) is a masterpiece, one of those rare epics that don’t come along all that often. I’ve seen talk that Dune could serve as this generation’s Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.
I’m not sure about that—I think as the end of Part Two shows, this series’ primary interest isn’t in being a crowd-pleaser. But regardless, Dune is incredible. And with the rumors that Villeneuve wants to make it a trilogy (by adapting the sequel book in the series, Dune: Messiah), Dune has the chance to expand its already impressive scope and further cement its cinematic legacy.
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