Dune: Part Two is a doozy. Director Denis Villeneuve follows up his phenomenal Part One with a staggering interpretation of Dune‘s most interesting bits, and he does so with the verve and tact of a Frank Herbert admirer and committed filmmaker.
Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) transformation from earnest outsider to emotionally removed idol is a critical element of this story. Rightfully, most of Part Two‘s success hinges on whether or not this specific development works (thankfully, it does). With Part Two, Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts again do justice to Herbert’s toothsome novel, bringing care, scale, and moral murk to a complex epic. Villeneuve wrangles the material with the thoroughness of a diehard; everything from Fremen customs to Harkonnen ideologies feel fleshed-out and he has been open about Dune‘s importance to him, so it stands to reason that he’d put enormous care into making his adaptation the absolute best version of itself.
Of all it gets right, though, Part Two‘s most impressive feat is its artful relegation of its many villains. The Emperor and the Harkonnens are present and felt throughout, but they all play second fiddle to the ramifications of Paul’s ascension. Prophecy and deification are the big bads here. Villeneuve, eager to honour the story that helped shape him as an artist, spends most of Part Two digging deep into what makes Paul’s evolution so complicated and devastating.
Granted, a number of character arcs and subplots are resolved perfunctorily, and a handful of defining moments get zero time to breathe. The rest of it, though? The rest of it is impressively close to perfect.
DUNE: PART TWO is in cinemas starting March 1st.
