#DunePartTwo/ #Dune2 is jaw-dropping, breathtaking & wildly exhilarating. It’s an adrenaline rush to the head & heart, soaring in its spectacle-driven action sequences as much as it sings in its refined, evocative stillness.Timothée Chalamet & Zendaya turn in singular work. (1/2)
Dune: Part Two is truly an awe-inspiring cinematic achievement; one that continues to advance and build upon the world that Denis Villeneuve and company have exquisitely created, crafted and shaped.
If you loved part one, you are going to go absolutely wild for part two. While I liked aspects of the first film, part two ups the ante of part one in almost every way.
Everything about Dune: Part Two feels bigger than ever before and the film as a whole is way more engaging than the first especially from a narrative perspective.
The crafts including the cinematography, costume design, score, hairstyling & makeup, and sound are all somehow even more impressive this time around. The crafts were something that I really didn’t think they would/could top yet somehow they did. I fully expect Dune: Part Two to dominate next year’s creative arts categories come award season.
I also found that the majority of the characters were far more interesting in this entry. Some had more depth while others were more mysterious making them far more interesting to watch. There are still one or two characters, however, who I don’t feel that way about but more on them when the review embargo lifts later this month.
Amongst the standouts of the cast, I do have to say that I liked what Austin Butler brought to the table as Feyd-Rautha as well as Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan. Pugh is so incredibly captivating every moment she’s on screen. I also really liked Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli who despite not having a massive amount of screen time was always the scene stealer for me whenever she was on screen.
As many already know, Dune is a very dense book and Villeneuve doesn’t shy away from that in his films. I applaud him for not only staying true to the source material but building upon it to leave his own mark/legacy on the material.
And while I’m still not 100% sure that Dune ultimately needed to be a trilogy, I will say that this second chapter was far more rewarding than the first. But, I won’t lie, I did groan when it ended on yet another cliffhanger, especially after knowing that it was originally intended to be two films that somehow turned into a third.
All of that being said, I am way more excited about part three than I was about part two so that says something about the brilliance of Villeneuve’s impeccable work as a filmmaker and storyteller.
Oh, and one final thing, yes, you should see it in IMAX or whatever large format theater is available near you. I know it’s such a cliched thing to say at this point but it’s one of those movies that should be experienced in a theater simply to soak in and appreciate all of craftsman that is fully on display throughout this film.
#DunePartTwo