Dune: Part Two

As a huge fan of both the book by Frank Herbert and the first movie, Dune: Part Two was my most anticipated movie of 2024.  I was able to see it in IMAX at a fan first premiere last night and, after all of the positive reviews from critics, I had unrealistically high expectations but they were more than exceeded! It is a masterpiece!  Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) join forces with a Fremen tribe led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem) in order to exact revenge for the destruction of House Atreides.  With the help of the Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya) and the Fedaykin, Paul leads several successful raids against the Harkonnen to disrupt the spice harvest overseen by Rabban (Dave Bautista).  However, it is only when Paul follows his destiny and consolidates both his political power and his religious power that he is able to free Arrakis from the control of the Baron (Stellan Skarsgard) and the Emperor (Christopher Walken) with an epic confrontation with the Baron's nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler).  Everything from the first movie is expanded upon in the narrative with a deeper exploration of all of the characters.  I was most impressed by Chani's arc because she is Paul's moral compass who warns against the dangers of absolute power and religious fanaticism and Zendaya's emotional performance is the heart and soul of the movie.  A scene between her and Florence Pugh, as Princess Irulan, when Chani realizes that Paul must marry her gave me chills!  Chalamet, too, is incredibly impressive because he portrays Paul's confusion over the true nature of his destiny with nuance but then fully embraces his descent into the darkness with a chilling performance in the final act that left me reeling (I hope Villeneuve is able to adapt Dune Messiah as the conclusion to a possible trilogy because I want to see how Chalamet portrays this version of the character), especially during a highly charged meeting with the Fremen leaders in the south and an unnerving encounter with the Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling).  All of the other performances are also stellar but Butler, as the psychopathic Feyd-Rautha, is another standout because he is truly terrifying but so charismatic!  The visuals in this are even more stunning than the first movie and I loved the desaturated black and white used to designate the Harkonnen, particularly the gladiator battle, juxtaposed with sun scorched views of Arrakis.  All of the action sequences are epic but when Paul rides the sandworm for the first time I was absolutely blown away because the score by Hans Zimmer during this scene is so immersive that I felt like I was riding the worm myself.   All of the music is very atmospheric but I got goosebumps during the scene where Paul first appears to the fundamentalists in the south because it is so ominous.  The giant IMAX theater was almost full (only the front row and a few scattered single seats were empty) and it was absolutely thrilling to experience it with a such a large crowd because the excitement was palpable.  It may be the greatest experience I have ever had watching a movie and I will be on a high for days!  I loved it so much and I highly recommend seeing it on the biggest possible screen!

Note:  There are a few changes from the book, particularly with how Alia Atreides is portrayed, but I think they make this adaptation better.