Film Review - Dune: Part Two
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Australia.
Frank Herbert's Dune has proven a difficult novel to adapt to screen, with four main attempts having gone through varying stages of development. First came one in the 70’s, helmed by Alejandro Jodorowsky and featuring a cast that included David Bowie, Salvador Dali, and the director's own son, which wound up cancelled due to its ballooning budget (check out the 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune for some great information on that one). Then came David Lynch's now-disavowed 1984 film, which has several different cuts despite Lynch only ever attaching his name to the butchered theatrical release, followed by the Sci Fi Channel’s somewhat acclaimed 2000 miniseries. Finally, last but not least, we now have Denis Villeneuve’s multi-part filmic behemoth, splitting the first novel’s thousand-or-so pages into two films spanning almost six hours in total, with room left over for one more yet-to-be produced film set to adapt the next two novels.
Picking up immediately where its predecessor left off, Dune: Part Two continues Villeneuve’s ambitious, artful, and (above all) painstakingly faithful adaptation of Herbert’s seminal novel. The film continues the story of Paul (Timothee Chalamet), the young heir to the Atreides throne, who finds himself struggling with his part in a galactic prophecy that would see him become leader and messiah to the Fremen, the desert dwelling natives of Arrakis. For those of you who haven’t yet seen the first Dune, or are in need of a refresher, Arrakis is the only known source in the galaxy of spice melange, a hallucinogenic substance that enables intergalactic travel, not as a fuel source, but rather used by Spacing Guild Navigators as a means to awaken multidimensional sight, which in turn enables them to chart out safe passage through the universe.
As Paul begins to immerse himself in the Fremen culture, his sincere desire to learn and understand feels mirrored by the film's own sincere adoration of its source material, unafraid of getting bogged down in its weirdness, while also balancing its sensibilities as a $190 million blockbuster with its director’s voyeuristic tendencies. One of the very first shots of the film is a dream sequence where Paul communicates with the fetus of his yet-unborn sibling, and this isn't the only time the two communicate. Seeing a thing like this unfold on a gigantic IMAX screen is utterly breathtaking, grounding the absurdity of its mystical science fiction concepts with a documentary-like approach to the cinematography. Even amidst all the dream sequences, prophecies, and massive action set pieces, it never once feels like the camerawork is showing off a perspective that couldn't be viewed through the eyes (or mind) of one of its characters.
Speaking of action setpieces, those who found the first film to be a little too dry or lacking an emotional through line should be more than happy with what's on show here. In just the first ten minutes there's an intense Harkonnen ambush, and a scene showcasing retaliation on a spice harvester later in the film sent tingles down my spine. There's also an incredible gladiatorial sequence set on Geidi Prime that's equal parts brutal and breathtaking, and Paul's first attempt to ride a sandworm had my stomach drop a little, calling to mind going pier jumping as a teenager. The sound design does much to elevate the already staggering visuals, amped up even more so than the first half of the narrative. Likewise, Hans Zimmer’s score gets a significant upgrade, both in terms of its more appropriately timed usage and thematically, growing from the organic croonings of the desert planet to more electronic sounds, mechanical in nature to represent the rhythm of the escalating conflict. War drums fire off with the gravitas of machine guns, crackling and booming like thunder, and synthesisers wail and rise up ominously to reflect the wavering mental state of the film’s protagonist.
But this isn't just Paul’s story. Jessica (Rebecca Fergusson), Paul's mother and member of the Bene Gesserit, undergoes a transformation that sees her take on a greater and more antagonistic role. Likewise, Zendaya’s Fremen warrior Chani finds herself opening up warmly to Paul’s presence, despite initially showing hesitance around him due to her rejection of the prophecy of the Lisan al Gaib. Their chemistry is what makes the rise feel so sanguine, and the beginning of the fall so harrowing. Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) also gets to take on a much more endearing role than the militaristic warmonger of this first film, forming a kind of dual fatherhood role with Javier Bardem’s religious mentor Stilgar. Without a doubt the standout though is Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, a fierce and vile antagonist that wants nothing more than the complete and utter annihilation of House Atreides and the Fremen alike. Any of Butler’s charm that might’ve been left after Elvis is stripped away entirely, creating an unstoppable force of a character that feels somewhere between a psychopath and a praying mantis.
The world of Dune is a deeply complex and mystifying one, with production design that rides the line between generic to the point of brutalism, and small tweaks that add just enough without detracting from the bare fundamentals of the novels. The set design is reminiscent of the works of H.R. Giger, and every suit, weapon and tool seems designed with function over form in mind, bulky sheets of metal and fibreglass existing only to constrain the mechanisms inside them. There's a tactile feel to the whole thing, seemingly both analogue and digital. This all ties in aesthetically with the film’s more grand themes of fate versus free will, mysticism and its ties to tradition, and the inevitability of war.
With its sweeping visual scope and grand approach to world building and action, Dune: Part Two is an absolutely monumental piece of sci-fi cinema, its only caveat being the fact that the story is still not fully wrapped up. It's far more conclusive than Part One in that we now have the bulk of Paul’s arc as a character laid out, as well as the trajectory of his downfall, and it hints at plenty of future plot threads. For some, Villeneuve's balance of epic set pieces and more introspective character moments may prove unwieldy, but I felt that the balance was almost perfect. It's a thoroughly personal project despite its sheer scope, and the passion from everyone involved is more than evident on screen. This is the kind of cinematic event that doesn't come around often, and I'd highly recommend checking it out in the biggest, loudest cinema possible.
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Dune: Part Two is screening in cinemas from Thursday the 29th of February. For tickets and more info, click here.