YNOT at the Movies

Three years ago, the writer-director Denis Villeneuve brought Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel to the big screen—the visually stunning "Dune: Part One" (2021). The fans have been eagerly waiting to see the rest of the story. The second installment, "Dune: Part Two" (USA/Canada 2024 | 166 min.) makes the saga even more exhilarating to experience.

I use the word "experience" instead of "watch" because not only will you be captivated by the staggering visuals, but you will also be literally immersing yourself into that fictional world on the big screen sitting in your seats vibrating from the sound effects and music.

Besides all those triumphant technical achievements as in the previous film (Part One won six Oscars in that regard), this Part Two tells an arresting story about power, politics, religion, identity, and love. Part Two really should have been made together with Part One, or at least the theaters should have re-released the previous film, so they can be watched continuously for the viewers to enjoy this grand epic in its entirety.

Part Two starts where Part One left off on Planet Arrakis, the sandy place with little water, a.k.a. Dune, where Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is fighting along with the Fremen against the brutal ruler Harkonnens. Harkonnens is led by the Baron (Stellan Skarsgård) with Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) as his barbaric soldier. They are responsible for the murder of Paul's father, Duke Leto Atreides, in Part One. Paul seeks revenge by joining the resistance force led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem) from the South.

Paul's mother, the ambitious Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), has the ability to communicate with her unborn daughter and foresee the future. She wants the Fremen to believe Paul is the Messiah who will lead them to Paradise. She wants him to take over the throne from the Emperor (Christopher Walken).

But Paul falls in love with Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya), and taking the throne means he has to sacrifice his love for her. He is also torn between revenge for his late father and preventing a prophecy he foresees that a holy war is going to be fought in his name. By his own actions, he proves himself to be a brave leader for the Fremen, despite his outsider status. He adopts a new name Muad'Dib Usul, and his reputation grows bigger and bigger and wins battles over the Harkonnens. Eventually, he takes on a duel with Baron's sadistic nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) and checkmates the Emperor.

While the film is a grand showcase of sci-fi spectacles and wild imagination, Denis Villeneuve makes it even more engaging with the character development and an engaging story. The politics played out by the characters resembles those fascinating feuds in TV-series like "Game of Thrones." Even though he didn't make the film's plot a metaphor to our real world, yet the costume, the environment, the religious practice, and the language on that foreign planet remarkably resembles the Arabic region in the Middle-East, especially when there is a real war taking place in that region.

Timothée Chalamet's performance beautifully creates a towering figure born in a harsh living environment. His piercing stares deliver conviction, determination, and dedication. He makes Paul's love for Chani not only believable, but also heartbreaking.

As in Part One, we once again see the unique "sand walk" and the breathtaking "sand surfing" by clinching on sandworms, a giant creature traveling underneath the sand which can be called by tapping the ground. It's an ingenious type of transportation utilized by the Fremen on Dune, without any seat belt provided.

It's a good idea to watch Part One again before going to see Part Two, because it really should have been one single film that runs over five hours continuously—that would be even more epic than they already are.

"Dune: Part Two" opens on Friday, March 1, 2024.