When Dune 2021 came out without the “Part One” moniker, perhaps because the studio was afraid that audiences wouldn’t want to go see a movie that’s not a part of an established franchise when it’s just half of the story, the “Part One” text in the opening credits lasted less than a second. Blink and you’ll miss it. In Dune: Part Two, along with the proud proclamation of this being the second part in the title, the “Part Two” in the text in the opening credits lasts around 4-5 seconds.
The audiences and critics had the same kind of reservations with part one. Dune turned into an exhilarating and transcendent fantasy/sci-fi blockbuster that had one foot in breathtaking popcorn genre entertainment and one in the deft exploration of adult themes and complex sociopolitical context, a nuanced and balanced transfer of Frank Herbert’s “sci-fi for adults” text into the rare smart populist entertainment.
It was “Part One” that gave audiences and critics pause as it did me when I put it as number 10 in my top movies list that year primarily because of the fear that Denis Villeneuve, in spite of his monumental track, might still shit the bed when it came to the second half of the story. After all, we all got burned by the second “It” movie after a solid part one. Also keep in mind that the second half of the book gets really trippy and cerebral, and handling that section with kid gloves can be an utter disaster, as we observed in the rushed sections in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation.
But Part Two squarely pulls off the latter half of the first book with flying colors. Whatever the technique was, from celluloid to digital back to celluloid and then to VHS, etc…, the second half looks even more spectacular than the first. There’s more visual variety in this part as the black-and-white and lifeless Harkonnen world works as a direct and wonderful contrast to the Fremen world with warmer, early colors. The action set pieces are some of the grandest and most breathtaking in recent years.
As usual, Villeneuve finds great synergy between direct intense action and strategy, like the way the Harkonnen spice operation is ambushed by Fremen freedom fighters, led by Paul Atreides, whose messiah arc fits the complexity and cynicism of Herbert’s vision a lot more than Lynch could have. If you had told me Lynch would have ended up with the more simplistic and one-note version between the two adaptations, it would be hard to believe, but here we are.
At the end of Part Two, Villeneuve squarely finishes Herbert’s first seminal book. The proposed third part is clearly established with the cliffhanger and will more than likely adapt Dune Messiah. Strap in folks, shit’s about to get weird.
From Portland With Love 