Picking up where “Dune: Part One” left off, Paul Atreides continues his quest. After a tragic loss, he joins forces with the Freman. A group of desert survivalist capable of preserving water and designed special suits to prevent heat stroke and dehydration. Paul becomes close with fellow survivalist, Chani. In order to combat House Harkonnen led by Vladimir Harkonnen, he must learn the ways of the Freman and follow his father’s role legacy as the ruler of House Atreides. Due to the length of the book, Dune was split into two parts. First half was released in 2021 and the second half came out in 2024.
“Dune: Part Two” earned unanimous praise from critics and movie goers alike. In addition to positive reactions, it was a huge box office success. Dune: Part Two’s nominated at the 82nd Golden Globe for “Best Drama.”
Prior to its release, a popcorn bucket featuring the sandworm gained notoriety sparking a fad for other movies promoting a distinctive popcorn bucket listed below. Dune’s popcorn bucket was spoofed on “SNL.” A smart marketing campaign for movies to get people’s butts in seats.
- The Garfield Movie
- Inside Out 2
- Despicable Me 4
- Deadpool and Wolverine
- Alien: Romulus
- Transformers One
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Terrifier 3
- Venom: The Last Dance
- Gladiator II
- Wicked
- Moana 2 (plus a nacho boat)
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3
- Mufasa: The Lion King
- Red One
- Nosferatu
Before the upcoming 82nd Golden Globe Awards air/stream on CBS/Paramount Plus, I wanna share my thoughts on Dune: Part Two. Mark your calendar, the 82nd Golden Globe Awards will stream on January 5th, 2025.
Today’s review contains no crucial SPOILERS.
Powerful & Weak Qualities
Powerful: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista & Stellan Skarsgard reprise their roles and they all did an excellent job for their respective peroformances.
Newcomers to the series such as Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Lea Seydoux & Christopher Walken all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Austin earns Bonus Points for his sinister portrayal as Vladimir’s nephew, Feyd-Rautha. He’s one of the best villains of 2024 along with other antagonists listed below A gosh darn shame Bill didn’t get a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.”
- Count Orlock (Nosferatu)
- Casandra Nova (Deadpool and Wolverine)
- Sue (The Substance)
- Skar King (Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire)
- Dementus (Furiosa)
- Colonel Snidel (SpyxFamily Code: White)
Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049) did a superb job directing. He co-wrote the script staying true to the source material.
Fun Fact: Christopher Nolan hosted a Q&A session interviewing Mr. Villeneuve. The former compared the second half to “The Empire Strikes Back.”
Unlike the first half, the second half has more action. Stakes are bigger and better than ever. Same thing with “X2: X-Men United.
Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Blade Runner 2049) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Visual Effects are Class A. The sandworm’s bigger than David Lynch’s version.
Cinematography captures an immersive universe. I regret not watching it at Cinemark XD.
Prosthetic Makeup transformed Mr. Butler into Feyd-Rautha. Don’t forget Mr. Skarsgard went through heck like Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” wearing a fatsuit and heavy makeup.
Chani & Stigler have bigger roles. They factor in helping Paul to become a survivalist.
Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica obtains something important.
My favorite line from Stigler is… “As written.” Pretty much sums up Denis writing the screenplay.
Primary Themes are Social Class, Destiny, Technology, Power, Control, Premonition, Adapting & Revenge. Each one’s handled maturely.
Denis mentioned “Akira” as an influence regarding Paul’s characterization. Denis is also an anime fan along with fellow directors, Christopher Nolan, James Gunn & Darren Aronofsky.
A Golden Globe winning actress makes a cameo appearance in an uncredited role.
A Plot Twist changes everything. If you know, you know.
Without giving anything away, the final minutes had the balls to end on a shocking conclusion. It deserves a truckload of Extra Points. All I can say is, I did not see that coming from a mile away.
Weak: As I’ve mentioned on my review of Part One. If you haven’t read the book or new to Dune, you’re gonna be lost. I on the other hand did my research to understand what the heck’s going on.
I couldn’t find anything wrong. I’m giving the Cast and Crew an Extra Point for making a flawless sci-fi epic as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
Dune: Part Two’s a slight improvement with better pacing, more action, characterization, mysticism and a climatic payoff changing the course of the story. I’ve given Dune: Part One an A- which is the equivalent of a 9/10. If you combine both parts, it earns a 9/10. I cannot wait for the sequel, “Dune Messiah.”
Nickthemoviecritic.com 