All over the world (even where it shouldn't), the most anticipated film of the year is thundering: 'Dune: Part Two'. Denis Villeneuve returns viewers to Arrakis and again makes them admire the desert for almost 3 hours, but now everything has become...

The first one came out in 2021, although it was supposed to hit theaters a year earlier, but the coronavirus pandemic had other plans. Director Denis Villeneuve planned to show the sequel to audiences in 2023, but again everything didn't go as planned because actors and writers decided to strike, so the release was delayed by six months. And now the sequel, adapting the second half of one book, has finally reached theaters, and it has only benefited from this, becoming the first truly big premiere of 2024 and further humiliating 'Madame Web' and 'Argylle'.

Valeria Fomina

Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune' Is Perfect Until the First Sandstorm

The long-awaited 'Dune' by Denis Villeneuve has finally hit the big screens. This intergalactic slow-burner was awaited by fans of the source material (the film is based on Frank Herbert's novel of the same name)

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What's the Plot?

The second 'Dune' starts exactly where we left off at the end of the first part. Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) have joined a group of Fremen led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and are heading to a common shelter (sietch) called Tabr, where they will have to undergo trials to remain among the desert people. Pregnant Jessica faces a choice: drink the poison and become the new Reverend Mother, or die, while Paul, whom some consider the messiah from the Prophecy, with the help of Chani (Zendaya), must become a true Fremen and ride Shai-Hulud (the Sandworm).

Meanwhile, the evil Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) returns Arrakis to the cruel Harkonnens, and his daughter, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), keeps a chronicle where she reflects on the destruction of House Atreides and is clearly weaving some intrigues with the chief Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit order, Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling), who is at court. Now that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) again controls Dune, he appoints Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) as responsible for the planet, spice mining, and extermination of the Fremen. But he is clearly not coping, so the idea arises to replace the relative with an even more bloodthirsty nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), for whom the baron (and not only him) has grand and promising plans.

'Dune' Has Grown More Beautiful Under Villeneuve

If you look at the plot description, full of name-dropping and lore terminology, you can already get bogged down in the sands, so watching the second 'Dune' without at least some understanding is a lost cause. It would seem that in 2021 it was already unclear what was happening on screen (due to the complexity of the universe itself), so in the sequel the director should lay everything out clearly. It's a pity, of course, that this adaptation doesn't work that way. No matter how much Villeneuve and his co-writer Jon Spaihts simplify Frank Herbert's original novel, it still remains quite complex for the average viewer and for a full adaptation.

Varvara Ulianenok

Dialogues about 'Dune': An Oasis in the Desert of Faceless Blockbusters

Let's talk about Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune' from two perspectives: those who have read Frank Herbert's books and those who are first encountering the planet Arrakis and the conflict unfolding around it.

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The book is so multi-layered and intricate that the director didn't have enough even 5.5 hours to fully tackle it. He had to rework some plotlines, abandon certain characters, cut out some filmed material, and trim some moments, compressing the narrative timeframe. Otherwise, there was a risk of overloading the viewer so much that it would have turned out really bad, but Denis Villeneuve did everything in his power to give the world a great adaptation. And he succeeded. Fans probably won't get a better version than this duology (at least for the next couple of decades).

'Dune: Part Two' is an excellent and masterpiece film to the same extent that it is weak and uneven. It can be endlessly criticized and endlessly praised at the same time. It's clear that an adaptation is always a separate product, but at the same time it cannot be compared to the source material, as paradoxical as that may sound. And of course, it doesn't hold up to comparison with the book 'Dune'.

While the first part was quite accurate and followed the text in detail, the sequel has far more omissions. The characters of Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson have been altered so much that they are almost completely different from their prototypes, and the story's duration has been shortened from several years to six months, depriving the plot of some important events.

Perhaps a viewer unfamiliar with the novel won't understand where the fine line lies between Usul and Muad'Dib, nor how Kwisatz Haderach differs from Mahdi Lisan al-Gaib, and why all this is one person named Paul Atreides. It's also not entirely clear what nuclear weapons have to do with it, what spice has to do with it, and what relation certain Great Houses have to everything happening. There are probably many more such questions that could be dug up, but is it necessary? Such is the fate of adaptation: to simplify the source material and abandon something to turn the adaptation into a worthy film.

Naturally, no one would have allowed Villeneuve to make a trilogy out of one book (although as a fan, he would probably have been happy with such a prospect), and Warner Bros. would hardly have shelled out for director's cuts like Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings', so the films 'Dune' and 'Dune: Part Two' are the best option that can be offered to fans. Especially since the films are made with incredible love for the source material and provide a whole bunch of impressive emotions and a little bit more.

I Could Forever Film the Sand You Walked On

'Dune: Part Two' is a film where every cent of the $190 million budget is visible. Denis Villeneuve is an impeccable craftsman, so the film's visuals are simply stunning. Now comic book movies like 'The Marvels' or 'The Flash' look even more pathetic against the backdrop of this grand artbuster (especially if you compare how much money was spent and the results). The director remains true to himself and maintains his love for brutalism and meditative contemplation. However, at one point the narrative tempo plays a cruel trick on the director, and events start happening all at once, even though before that the characters were just running through the desert for a very long time.

Nevertheless, the action on screen is simply mesmerizing. You can endlessly watch the Fremen fight enemies, the terrifying Austin Butler fight, and the young Atreides ride the worm (caution: this scene is likely to give you goosebumps). In general, Denis Villeneuve handles the setting and plot so skillfully and magnificently that the viewer literally falls into quicksand and becomes fully immersed in the film.

For almost 3 hours, you never want to look at your watch. On the contrary, you want to stay in the theater to learn more about the planet Giedi Prime, made in black-and-white tones, or get an extra dose of Fremen raids on spice harvester convoys. What can I say, I want more worms! It's foolish to deny that the setting is beyond praise. The color palette, sets, sound design, and visual effects, in symbiosis with Villeneuve's authorial vision, have created an incredibly perfect world of 'Dune'. Such work deserves applause.

Plus, all this is adorned with the simply brilliant music of Hans Zimmer (who would doubt his mastery), which makes up a good half of the film. Thanks to the soundtrack, it feels like you are witnessing an extremely important and grand event. You get the feeling that you are incredibly lucky to be here in the theater and see such a large-scale work on the big screen. Although there is a purely subjective downside: it's a bit uncomfortable to watch when Greig Fraser's camera captures very close-up shots of the actors' faces (there are quite a few such shots). And no one doubts the beauty of Chalamet or Zendaya.

Perhaps this is done so that we appreciate the great acting of all the actors, but it's noticeable even with the naked eye. Everything became clear about Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson in the previous part, and in the sequel, Zendaya and Javier Bardem shone with new colors, joined by the incredible Austin Butler with a Joker vibe. It's a pity there's too little Stellan Skarsgård, but Josh Brolin and his languid looks into the camera seem to have been given a bit more screen time than necessary (it would have been better if Léa Seydoux had stayed with us a little longer).

There's not much to say about the rest, because the film, unfortunately, cannot go on any longer and many were not able to fully develop. But the casting surprise was Anya Taylor-Joy, which is very pleasant. 'Dune' is attracting the best representatives of modern Hollywood to the new cinematic universe before our eyes, and that's wonderful!

The film also has excellent socially relevant themes and subtexts, such as the creation of an idol, intoxication with power, the danger of religion, the threat of nuclear war, politics, and environmental concerns (some, however, are not fully explored, muted, and most likely left for the future, but still). We really hope that the third 'Dune' (and it will definitely happen, it's only a matter of time) will worthily continue many storylines and answer the questions that have arisen here.

What's the Verdict?

'Dune: Part Two' is a clear spoiler for the 2025 Oscars. A monumental artbuster that helps us believe that Hollywood hasn't completely sunk into the stupid clichés of endless comic book movies. I would like such Dunification to open the eyes of the big studios to the fact that by pouring a lot of money into any project (whether original, sequel, prequel, remake, or spin-off), you can get an impressive result if you approach it with all responsibility and love. And even if it's not an ideal film, most people will find it easy to love.

By delaying the release by six months, Villeneuve avoided competition with 'Oppenheimer' and 'Poor Things' at this year's ceremony, which may have only benefited him. Of course, over the year, the film may have other serious competitors, but for now, the large-scale artbuster based on Herbert's novel looks so powerful that it seems it can stand up to almost anyone. Perhaps the director didn't fully master the source material (apparently, that is the way), but this is real cinema for the big screen, stunning with its beauty and epicness, as well as its scale. You shouldn't miss such an event: it happens once a year, and sometimes even less often, so everyone to the beach!