I apologize for not writing a full review of Part One back in 2021, so I guess I should give my thoughts on the first one. I never knew much about the book series or the 1984 film. All I knew was that it had giant sandworms. When I saw Part One I thought it was good though a bit long and had too much political talk. Dune Part Two does have the same runtime issue as the first but honestly that’s my only complaint. Part Two pretty much continues where Part One ended.
There are two things in Denis Villeneuve’s films that stand out to me, his directing and the amazing cinematography. Almost every shot is wonderfully shot thanks to Denis’s terrific directing. You could pause it at any time and you could hang in in a museum. Desert settings aren’t usually my favorite setting though movies like Prince of Egypt and Mad Max Fury Road are a few exceptions, this film managed the make the desert planet of Arrakis amazing the look at. What also helped was that unlike the first part which I only saw on Max in my bedroom I went to a movie theater to see Part 2 on a huge screen. So, the film felt a lot grander to me.
The acting in this film is also really good but the real standout for me was Feyd-Rautha played by Austin Butler. He is a legit creepy and entertaining character and every time he’s on screen it’s clear that Austin Butler is having a blast playing him. I was already amazed by his performance as Elvis back in 2022 but this might be his best performance yet. My favorite scene of the whole movie and pretty much the whole duology in general that combines all these positive attributes is the Harkonnen arena scene. Everything about this scene is perfect from Denis’s directing, the cinematography and the fight choreography. The use of monochrome is an absolute brilliant touch that perfectly contrasts with the consistent orange desert aesthetic. This whole scene is just a visual treat.
The best film/films I could compared this/these is the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows duology. Both part ones are slower and there’s a lot more talking. Both parts twos however have a lot more meat and more action. Much like Deathly Hallows Part 2 (my favorite Harry Potter film), I think Dune Part Two was even better than the Part One. If you liked the first part you will love the second part. Still there was one downside when seeing this film. I didn’t get my Dune popcorn bucket.
Verdict:
+Denis Villeneuve’s directing
+Feyd-Rautha
+The cinematography
+The Harkonnen arena scene
-Long runtime
-No popcorn bucket
Score: A
JacobsonCinema 