Dune: Part 2

Where to Watch: Theaters

Directed By: 

Denis Villeneuve

Written By: 

Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert

Starring:

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stellan Skarsgård

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13

All media courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — There’s no other way to say it — the cinematic experience has been evolving. From streaming to day-of digital and theatrical releases, many families are finding themselves in a tight position. Going to the movies becomes a gamble and a financial burden if you go to the theaters and the movie you watch ends up being junk. It’s less risky to sit on the couch and pay $20 than to pack your family into the car, spend upwards of $50-$100, and leave disappointed. I’d even go as far as to say there is a sense of leniency with streaming movies because you don’t have to make as big of an effort to see it.

Dune Part 1 was released in theaters in 2021, a year when we were still nervous about being in a crowded theater. Who knows how many more people would have attended had the pandemic never happened? I don’t know for sure, but what I can most assuredly say is that Dune Part 2 is the reason theaters still exist and why it is the ultimate way to experience a movie.

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Paul Atredies (Timothée Chalamet) grapples with the thought that he could be a Messiah. His family is broken, and he is seeking knowledge and training to return them to their former glory and avenge the fallen. The evil Harkanans show no mercy in taking planet Arrakis. Resources are their priority, and they are set on destroying the inhabitants of the planet and taking all of the spice, but can Paul bring faith and hope to the people to save their home?

This will be a non-spoiler review because truly, this is this decade’s ‘Empire Strikes Back’ in so many ways. I wasn’t completely sold after the first Dune film, feeling like they saved some of the biggest parts of the sequel and thinking that it lessened the impact of Dune Part 1’s ending. While I may still agree in some ways with that original idea — I was floored by Dune Part 2 and cannot see another way that director Denis Villeneuve could have told this story other than this.

Okay, four paragraphs in — time to talk about the scale of this epic. There were moments in the theater when my jaw dropped to the floor at the sheer magnitude of the wide landscape shots, mixed with seamless visual effects that made the world completely immersive. Certain sequences involving our lead learning the ways of the Fremen are visceral and mind-bending. Whether you are on Arrakis or any other planet you are treated to a detailed, massive painting that you could get lost in with every viewing.

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Chalamet again brings a terrific performance as Paul, and his chemistry with Zendaya is the heart of the movie. Rebecca Ferguson has more to do in this film and brings new dimensions to the prophecy in Dune Part 1 that you could have endless conversations about. There are a few new characters — Austin Butler is a standout as a Harkanan psychopath who relishes a good fight in a way that’s extremely unsettling. His voice work here was captivating and his transformation into the character (from even just the way he walks) shows how versatile he is. Christopher Walken and Florence Pugh are great, we get to see more of this galaxy and the people who run it. Javier Bardem was briefly introduced in Part 1, but in Part 2 stands out as a Fremen leader who leans on faith and prophecy to guide him.

The cinematography by Greg Fraiser improves and expands on everything set before. I love how he used lighting and practical camerawork to bring this vision to life. The sound design again was amazing, as well as the VFX that never stuck out as not being in the shot in-camera. All of the technical work done here begs the audience to see this in a theater and I echo that whole-heartedly. Some films you will not get the full experience with unless it has the best picture, the best sound, and the best environment, You don’t want to see this initially without that. Repeat viewings of course will work via streaming but I can promise you it will not be as immersive.

Denis Villeneuve is the perfect choice to helm these massive films, and I can only hope he chooses to move on with a third to conclude the story he has masterfully told so far. You feel his hand in every scene, and in a time where you more often than not see studio interference taking away a creator’s vision and tarnishing the film, it’s a breath of fresh air to see someone get to do exactly what they want.

Dune Part 2 is why you go to the theaters. It’s transportive, it’s beautiful, and it will undoubtedly be one of the best films of this year, and perhaps even this decade. Let the spice flow!

See It or Skip It? SEE IT!

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