Dune: Part Two, 2024.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem.
SYNOPSIS:
Denis Villeneuve’s eagerly awaited Dune: Part Two arrives on 4K Ultra HD after a successful theatrical run. While Warner Bros. decided this time to not include a Blu-ray, they did have the foresight to use triple-layer 4K discs, which allowed them to pack in the movie and about an hour’s worth of bonus features without a noticeable hit to video quality. As with the first movie, this edition is highly recommended.
I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: We’re in a golden age for fantasy and science-fiction shows and movies. Finally, such endeavors are being funded in ways they weren’t before, and the creative folks in charge truly grok the content, especially when they’re doing an adaptation.
Case in point: Dune: Part Two. Both Dune movies have been a clear labor of love for writer/director Denis Villeneuve (and let’s give some credit where it’s due to screenwriters Jon Spaihts, who worked on both movies, and Eric Roth, who lent his talents to the first one), and the moviegoing experience has been nothing short of a celebration for fans of Frank Herbert’s novel.
Personally, I’m not a huge Dune fan, but I experienced something similar when Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy came out, and I also appreciate Dune enough to have seen its multiple incarnations. (Some people may have forgotten about the Sci-Fi Channel’s adaptation 20-some years ago, which I should revisit one of these days.)
At the end of the first Dune movie, Paul Atriedes (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) found themselves in the sandy wasteland of the planet Arrakis. They found allies, however, in a group of Fremen led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem), and had resolved to take the planet back from the Harkonnens who had destroyed House Atriedes in a surprise attack.
Paul has also made a connection with one of the Fremen, Chani (Zendaya), creating a bit of a “Will they or won’t they?” question set against the backdrop of intergalactic feuding. For this film, Christopher Walken joined the cast as Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, while Florence Pugh plays his daughter, Princess Irulan. The Emperor set his own scheme in motion in the first film (offscreen, of course), and now he must confront what he has wrought, given his difficulty controlling the Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and the baron’s two cruel nephews, Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) and new arrival Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler).
The Fremen are a group of guerrilla fighters who have been trying to retake control of Arrakis for decades. They have a religious streak, and many of them believe Paul is the one who will lead them to victory, as it was written in an old prophecy. The bulk of the movie tracks their progress toward that goal, with an old ally showing up to help the cause.
Despite its 165-minute running time, Dune: Part Two never feels like it drags. The story actually moves at a brisk pace, since there are so many moving pieces that Villeneuve had to maneuver into place for the climax. I should add here that the end of the film actually sets up another one, rather than giving the story a crystal clear ending, like David Lynch’s movie did. Another sequel is in the works, of course, and let’s hope it happens.
The only thing that brought the movie down for me was Walken’s casting. I thought he was an odd choice, and I couldn’t accept him fully in the role as Emperor. I kept thinking “Oh, hey, it’s Christopher Walken” every time he showed up onscreen, unlike all the other roles in the film.
However, that wasn’t enough to completely wreck Dune: Part Two for me. I’m glad Denis Villeneuve was given the green light to finish the story. Here’s hoping Dune Messiah comes to fruition too.
This movie looks great on 4K Ultra HD, of course, especially since Warner Bros. used a triple-layer disc to avoid any compression issues. That was a necessity since the 4K platter is the only one found here and all the bonus features had to fit on it too. It’s a bummer that Warner Bros. is moving away from including Blu-rays in its 4K releases, but you do get a code for a digital copy too.
The extras are a bit more cursory this time around, which isn’t surprising since the Dune: Part One bonus features laid the groundwork for the story world Herbert created and the way it was brought to life. However, the featurettes found here run a little over an hour total, so it’s not like anyone skimped on the documentary materials.
You’ll find tons of cast and crew members in these featurettes, along with test shots and on-set footage. Here’s the rundown:
• Chakobsa Training (5 minutes): Chakobsa is the language spoken by the Fremen (Herbert’s version of it is different from the real Chakobsa language), and here we watch the cast getting familiar with saying their lines in that tongue.
• Creating the Fremen World (11 minutes, 41 seconds): We see more of how the Fremen live in this movie, especially their underground hide-outs known as Sietches, and this is a rundown of the design work that went into creating their world.
• Finding the Worlds of Dune (6 minutes, 24 seconds): In many cases, real world locations were used for places on Arrakis, the Harkonnen home world of Giedi Prime, and Kafian, where the Emperor and his House Corrino have set up residence.
• Buzz Around the New “Thopter” (4 minutes): The dragonfly-like ornithopters are used quite a bit in this movie too, and this is a look at the practical and computer-generated effects that went into realizing them.
• Worm-Riding (9 minutes, 23 seconds): The Fremen have become experts in riding sand worms, and many such shots in this film were actually done on sets. Here’s a look at how that happened.
• Becoming Feyd (7.5 minutes): While Feyd-Rautha was part of David Lynch’s Dune film (memorably played by Sting), he doesn’t show up in this version until the second film, when he supplants his brother as the one in charge of Arrakis. Where Beast Rabban only knew how to use aggression and fear to get his way, Feyd is smarter and more cunning, although no less cruel, and this is a look at how Austin Butler assumed the role.
• A New Set of Threads (7 minutes, 40 seconds): As the title suggests, this is a rundown of the costumes created for this sequel.
• Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune (13 minutes): The always-excellent Hans Zimmer created the score for this movie, and he talks about it here. bits from various musicians are included.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
