Denis Villeneuve thrilled many cinema fans with “Dune” in 2021, but can “Dune 2” continue its success seamlessly? Our film review sends you to the desert planet.
- With “Dune 2,” the second half of Frank Herbert’s novel “The Desert Planet” is finally being made into a film.
- On February 29, 2024 we will return to the Fremen’s barren desert planet.
- Many new, exciting characters await us in the second part of the captivating science fiction series.
Frank Herbert’s “Dune” was considered unfilmable for a long time and previous adaptations were all received rather cautiously. That changed with Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation, which faithfully brought the science fiction epic to the screen. At the beginning of 2024 you will see the sequel to the epic work in the cinema.
Politics and religion are more in the foreground
New villain and the Emperor show themselves
Sequels
Sand glitters in the sun, fingers wave like waves through the dune. A vision appears. Who is this woman? Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) found the answer to this question in the first film. The lady who is about to drive him crazy is Chani (Zendaya).
Their meeting did not actually happen under fortunate circumstances. His family was supposed to take care of the extraction of the important resource Spice on the desert planet Arrakis, but now they are betrayed and massacred by the rival House Harkonnen. Of the Atreides, only Paul and his mother Lady Jessica appear to be alive, and in “Dune: Part Two” they are not exactly welcomed by the local Fremen.
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s second film follows the story that moviegoers still remember. Paul has to decide quickly which path he wants to take. Is he the chosen one that many Fremen believe in? Someone who has supernatural powers and can see events in the past and future? Does he want to know nothing of all this, just become a Fremen warrior, or use their strength and launch a bloody campaign of revenge against the Harkonnen? Or will he just end up running off with Chani?
Politics and religion are more in the foreground
On Paul’s shoulders lies the pressure of the prophecy, his legacy and that of proving himself worthy of living and fighting with the Fremen, and it is precisely these conflicts that are portrayed in an exciting way. Paul’s own thoughts and feelings, political and religious motivations struggle with each other and moviegoers wonder how Paul will deal with this and closely follow his every decision.
These include extreme, haunting and, for some, perhaps frightening moments – for us this includes a central speech by Paul, which is a bitter reminder of how religious faith can be exploited for war. Sometimes doubts arise about the supposedly clear demarcation between good and evil and even though the scene is undoubtedly gripping, it leaves a bad aftertaste.
New villain and the Emperor show themselves
On the other side, the evil Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) sends his even nastier nephew to Arrakis to take on the resistance of the Fremen and Paul. Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) thirsts for blood, violence and glory. A “gladiator” and “soldier” takes the reins rigorously into their hands and accelerates the path to the finale.
However, none of this happens without the powerful influence of the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood that controls the fate of author Frank Herbert’s feudal-tinged vision of the future. Their ambitions come into their own in the second film and show that even the Emperor (Christopher Walken) doesn’t have as much say as many might believe.
“Dune: Part Two” puts political-religious themes even more in the foreground than the first part and continues to delight viewers with the power of images and a brutal soundtrack, for which Hans Zimmer is responsible. Audiovisually, everyone gets what they expect. There are no experiments here, just an opulent performance in the cinema. Paul’s epic ride on a sandworm is just one of them.
Dune 2: Sequels
The first “Dune” film only covered the first half of the first novel, part 2 now tells this story to the end. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the end, because the story of the Fremen will be continued in further books.
Frank Herbert wrote a total of six Dune novels, which, if split up, could become 12 films. However, a division doesn’t always make sense; the second book in the series, for example, is significantly shorter. In addition, Herbert’s son Brian, together with Kevin J. Anderson, wrote numerous other “Dune” books that take place before, after or during the original story. So if Warner wants to create a gigantic “Dune” universe: there’s no shortage of templates!
Dune Quiz: How well do you know your way around the desert planet Arrakis?
(Source: tmdb.org)
What trait are the Fremen known for?
Director Denis Villeneuve himself stated that he would like to make three films, so “Dune Messiah” would follow. This almost ends Paul Atreides’ story and in “Childen of Dune”, the third novel, the story becomes so crazy that even Villeneuve finds it difficult to imagine it as a film.
Great sci-fi epic
Now no one can claim that “Dune” can’t be made into a film. Denis Villeneuve managed to bring the cult book to the screen in an impressive way. The story sets exciting, new focuses in “Dune: Part Two”, and audio-visually everything remains as fans want it to be. Be sure to plan a visit to the cinema.
| Age rating | from 12 years |
| Duration | 166 minutes |
| Release | 28. February 2024 |
| Post-credit scene | ✘ |
occupation
Austin Butler
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
Charlotte Rampling
Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
Christopher Walken
Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV
Dave Bautista
Beast Rabban Harkonnen
Florence Pugh
Princess Irulan Corrino
Josh Brolin
Gurney Halleck
Lea Seydoux
Lady Margot Fenring
Rebecca Ferguson
Lady Jessica Atreides
Stellan Skarsgard
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Stephen McKinley Henderson
Thufir Hawat
Timothée Chalamet
Paul Atreides
Zendaya
Chani
Film series
Dune Messiah
Dune
Dune: Part Two
Who streams Dune: Part Two?
Buy or rent Dune: Part Two
genre
Direction
script
- Denis Villeneuve
- Jon Spaihts
producers
- Brian Herbert
- Byron Merritt
- Cale Boyter
- Denis Villeneuve
- Herb Gains
- Jon Spaihts
- Joshua Grode
- Kim Herbert
- MaryParent
- Patrick McCormick
- Tanya Lapointe
- Thomas Tull
Production companies
AMC
Legendary Entertainment
Other sources
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