Dune: Part Two

A true spectacle. A once in a generation film. A masterpiece. This film is outstanding, Denis Villeneuve is somehow able to take all the great aspects of the first instalment in the series and top them in Dune Part 2. The characters, a number of which are not only more utilised in Part 2, are much more interesting and engaging than they were in Part 1. I found Paul’s story in this Chapter to be more entertaining than his in the previous entry. Watching him be manipulated into believing that going down this dark path was his sole destiny is tragic. Timothee Chalamet gives what I think is maybe a career best performance, mastering the transition of Paul’s character from wanting to be an equal to the Fremen and aiding them in their survival to becoming the Lisan al Gaib and leading them to their death. Zendaya is fantastic as Chani. There are moments when her steely performance and emotional barrier is broken and Zendaya captures these moments of betrayal and heartbreak so well - displaying to the audience how she feels only through minute expressions in her face. Zendaya’s performance in the final act of this film is outstanding and her physical performance in the final shot gave me goosebumps. A lot of the discourse around this film is centered around Austin Butlers performance as Feyd Rautha - many labelling him as one of the most menacing villains ever seen on the big screen. While I think that might be a stretch, Butler certainly turns in a great performance as this tyrannical and terrifying character. We all know Butler is a master with his voice, look no further than his performance in Elvis - which may or may not have changed his voice forever - In Dune Part 2 this is no exception, Butler’s voice is so evil and creepy, making your skin crawl whenever he speaks. A frighteningly good performance. While I do think the cinematography and visual look of Part 1 was better, mainly because I loved the stuff on Caladan and the way the Atreides home planet looked on the big screen, The cinematography in Part 2 is still breathtaking. Greg Fraiser remains one of the best cinematographers in modern cinema, creating some of the most colourful and memorable frames in recent memory. The blistering heat of Arrakis is captured so well with the contrast of dark oranges and almost washed out colour pallets and the evil and dark nature of Geidi Prime is perfectly showcased with the monochromatic visuals void of any colour or hope. Villeneuve has managed to, for me at least, make a 3 hour film fly by - an extremely challenging task for a filmmaker. Dune Part 2 is a film I could watch whenever, I could watch it a 3rd or 4th time this week and not be bored - hell I want to. For me this rarely happens, even with masterful editing and intriguing stories I still felt the length of say Oppenheimer or Killers of The Flower Moon, some of the most notable lengthy films in recent memory. I think a reason for this is the way that Villeneuve presents this story, he allows us to sit with characters for a large chunk of the film rather than cross cutting between different characters. For me this not only made the story easier to digest but also more entertaining. I never felt bored or found myself disinterested in a particular character or story wanting to return to the other characters. With Dune 2 Villeneuve has crafted a once in a generation film. This is our Star Wars, our Lord of The Rings - and it is phenomenal. This is cinema.