The Dune franchise has existed since 1965, when Frank Herbert released the original novel. We have him to thank for this out-of-world story. As we delve into the review of the second Dune movie, we witness how it seamlessly builds upon the foundation laid by its predecessors, captivating audiences with its immersive world-building and delivering stellar performances that breathe life into this extraordinary story.
Most might not know that the current Dune movies starring A-list actors like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Austin Butler weren’t the first Dune movies to be released. In 1984, Dune was adapted into a movie for the first time. David Lynch directed it, but it didn’t get nearly as good reviews as the current Dune movies.
Almost 40 years later, the newest and most successful movie adaptation of Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve, has taken the world by storm. This latest installment in the Dune franchise not only pushes the boundaries of storytelling and visual spectacle but pays homage to the rich legacy of Frank Herbert’s original novel.
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Two weeks ago, I watched Dune Part 2 with my family. Before this, our expectations and standards were set quite high as we kept hearing that the second Dune movie was so much better than the first one and that people’s jaws were on the floor.
When Dune Part 1 was released in 2021, I was initially captivated and eager to watch it, and not solely due to Timothee Chalamet’s presence. However, my interest waned as I struggled to engage with the complex and lengthy narrative, only managing to watch an hour of the nearly three-hour film. Being the huge movie buff I am, I expected to understand the hype.
Fast forward to when Dune Part 2 came out. I decided to rewatch Dune Part 1 because my parents were rewatching it, and we wanted to see Dune Part 2 because of all the buzz it was getting. After rewatching Dune Part 1 fully, I realized that it was better than I expected.
It was still a little boring, but nevertheless, I understood the storyline. When it came time for me and my family to see Dune Part 2, we could not stop sharing our theories and wondering if all the hype about Dune Part 2 would be well deserved. After watching the movie, I had many thoughts.
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First Impression
Seconds after walking out of the theater, I felt shocked, confused, and disappointed. I know those aren’t three adjectives someone would want to describe a movie, but it’s only right that I’m honest about how I feel. The movie was certainly a work of art, from the costumes to the cinematography.
It was breathtaking. As for the storyline, I understood it more than the first movie, probably because I had the plot from the first movie to help, but I felt as though the film had many plot holes. The visuals were truly mesmerizing in this film, and since I saw it in theaters, they were 10 times better than when I had watched the first Dune movie on my computer. As the tik tok creator Nikhil Clayton says, “The visuals are immaculate, and it feels you’re on Arrakis,” which perfectly puts into perspective just how detailed the visuals were. You can see this creator’s full review below.
Even though the acting and visuals in the movie were outstanding, they were still not enough to win me over. This movie was three hours long, and for most movies, I tend to lose focus or get bored if a movie goes over 2 hours. My family agreed that this film had much more action than the first one, and without spoiling anything for those who haven’t watched it, I’ll just say the action scenes with Austin Butler were my favorite.
The overall excitement for this movie made it slightly better since I kept anticipating what would happen next. Compared to the first movie, Dune Part Two dove into many of the other characters’ stories. For example, Paul’s mother gets a lot more attention in this film, and we see a different side of her. The two characters whose relationship I was looking forward to were Paul and Chani. We got a sneak peek of what the future would hold for the two of them towards the end of the first Dune movie, so I enjoyed how they focused the majority of the story on their relationship through their growing romance but also how they tackle the struggles they face coming from two different backgrounds.
Going back to the parts I didn’t love, I just felt like there were parts in the movie that weren’t needed. Again, without giving away spoilers, I counted about 5 scenes of interactions between relevant characters that served no purpose to the movie. Also from the trailer it made it seem like there would be much more action and action in the movie that’s categorized as a sci-fi/adventure movie I would’ve expected long and just overall more action scenes but maybe we can expect that in the next movie.
Speaking of the next movie, from the way the second movie ended, we can most likely expect a third movie coming. I also say this because we got introduced to many new characters that I know have so much impact on the story that it would have been a waste having them in the movie if we wouldn’t be able to see more of them in future Dune films.
Final Thoughts
After having a couple of weeks to reflect on Dune 2 and hearing other people’s opinions on it, I can say I’m happy that I saw it, but I wouldn’t watch it again. If it weren’t for the hype that Dune 2 was getting, I wouldn’t have watched it. You can’t disagree that this is an amazing movie in terms of the actors, visuals, cinematography, costumes, and so much more presentation-wise.
Still, the storyline is what weakened the movie for me. Individual preferences and perspectives play a significant role in how a movie is perceived. While I appreciate the film’s production quality, including the actors, visuals, cinematography, and costumes, I found the storyline to be lacking. I believe it is important to acknowledge that storytelling is a crucial aspect of any movie and can greatly impact one’s overall enjoyment. In a way, it wouldn’t be fair to call this movie awful; however, it would also not be fair to call it perfect in every way.
Rating
If I were to rate Dune Part 2 out of 10, I would give it a solid 6/10. If you enjoyed the first Dune movie even a little bit, I would recommend you see Dune 2 in theaters. Due to the popularity of a movie franchise such as Dune, it gains so much buzz from so many different people with different opinions that it is important not to base your opinions solely on what everyone else says, and that’s my two cents on Dune Part 2.
