Dune: Part Two
“Dune: Part Two” will almost certainly go down as one of the best contributions to Sci-Fi film making in the last 20 years at least, if not more. The first “Dune” was an incredible introduction to the universe that laid the groundwork for part 2 to be an epic of Sand Worms, destiny fought, destiny fulfilled, and intergalactic war. It's a film that should absolutely be experienced on the big screen, and will end up being one of the years most lauded films.
Timothee Chalamet gives another excellent lead performance, cementing himself as one of the top prospects in film currently. There was an interview with an actor I really like and respect awhile back where they were talking about the state of the next generation, and trying to be derogatory they said something along the lines of “everyone's just going to end up a bunch of Timothee Chalamet's”. Meant to be a burn, but I wish it were true. He's killing it, and I don't know where this dislike is coming from.
In “Dune” he's had to be a character finding his purpose as a youth in politics, the grief of loss, someone becoming a warrior, and eventually by the end of Part 2 I think it's safe to say a full on action star. It's not an easy lead role to fill, and I think he passes the test with flying colours.
The rest of the cast is incredible as expected as a continuation of the first movie, with the most notable for me being Austin Butler as the psychopathic Feyd-Rautha. Covered in makeup, he's unidentifiable until the credits. When his character arrives, I remembered that it was someone pretty famous, but for the life of me I couldn't remember who it was. His performance is so different, both from a script perspective and even a voice performance from who I've seen him play in the past that I couldn't place who it was. When his name appeared in the credits it all came back to me. He does his best to sound like Stellan Skarsgard's Baron Harkonnen and does a great job to hit the same raspyness. Much different from Elvis. Without giving out spoilers, he also has a bunch of cool knife fight moments.
If you felt a little bit let down by the amount of Sand Worms in the first film, you can put that aside for Part 2. There are plenty of cool Sand Worm moments and they play a much bigger role than the first film. And if you were lucky enough to get one of the much memed Sand Worm popcorn buckets, even better. Hang on to that sucker for a few years and I'm sure it'll be a valuable collectible because of how silly it is.
Given how I understand the books to go, it'll be interesting to see a Part 3 adaptation. Part 2 doesn't necessarily end on a cliffhanger, but it does feel like they want to intentionally lead into a Part 3. And I hope they do. Because as it stands right now, Parts 1&2 are sitting as some of the finest science fiction epics ever put on film. The technology we finally have to bring this story to life, and the dedication to detail we get from director Denis Villeneuve have created not just one masterpiece, but two.
10/10 - Masterpiece
