Enhance Productions

Dune: PArt Two is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material and brief strong language.

Enhance Ticket Rating:

48/50 Tickets

Following the events of the first Dune film, Paul Atreides and his mother join the Fremen people in order to destroy the Harkonnens, who have control of Arrakis. Paul gets attached to Chani while learning the ways of the Fremen, and his mother is pregnant with a daughter. His mother becomes a Reverend Mother after drinking the Water of Life. Paul starts to become a bit of messianic figure to the Fremen, who look up to and bow to him. With Paul’s family destroyed, he has two goals: he wants to take his revenge on the Harkonnens for what they did and he wants to stop a bad premonition he has from coming true. 

Dune: Part Two was definitely among one of my most anticipated films of the year. The first Dune movie by Denis Villeneuve is stunning in nearly every way. It is visually beautiful, well acted and consistently engaging. Sci-fi epics like this are my favorite kinds of movies to watch, so I was curiously wondering how this story would go. The trailers looked great, but they did not prepare me for the movie I experienced. 

Very few movie sequels to movies surpass the original. In my opinion, Dune: Part Two is one of them. This movie is AWESOME! This is one of the few films I have seen in theaters that truly makes me feel the type of movie magic that I love to experience. The scene where Paul is riding the Sandworm, from his perspective, has sand flying in our faces and the sounds of the Sandworm traveling through the land, almost like a sandstorm. I love these kinds of scenes because this is the kind of magic that I look forward to in movies. It felt like I was a part of the experience. That is just one scene of this immersive and enthralling sci-fi epic too.

The battle scenes in Dune: Part Two are epic and filled with clever tactics. I love how the Fremen can emerge from the sand to take the Harkonnen soldiers down as well as the scenes where Paul and Chani are fighting together. We get to see how the Fremen slowly gain the upper hand on the Harkonnens through the action of the film. The physical fights are even better here than in the first movie, with the choreography and intensity being stunning and on point. The action sequences are all beautifully shot and edited, and some of the melee fights stand out by how unique they look. The final duel, in particular, is memorable because of the way it is shot and the how it sounds. The soundtrack is just as great as the first film with musical score by Hans Zimmer, which is haunting at times. This movie also has more than a few technical achievements.

I love the way the story is told in this movie. It is not anything like I expected it to be. It tackles the messianic-figure-trope in a fantastic way. Paul Atreides mixes his good intentions with his more ruthless ones and it creates a narrative that is darker than the first movie. The movie progressively gets darker as it starts out optimistic with Paul learning how to ride a Sandworm, fight like the Fremen and connect with Chani. The last act in this movie is the best third act in a movie that I have seen in a long time, and made me feel a lot of different things. I even felt a shock through my body in one scene, and that rarely ever happens when I am viewing movies. The story here is terrific, and the direction by Denis Villeneuve is masterful. Villeneuve sets his vision up for the movie perfectly, as well as shows that he is one of the best directors in Hollywood. 

The performances and characters portrayed in this movie are top-notch. The only issue I had with the first Dune was that I felt that Paul Atreides was not the most interesting protagonist. He is so much more intriguing here. He is a better fighter, wiser and a bit more ruthless. He becomes a better leader as well. Timothée Chalamet is phenomenal here. He shows so much range in emotion and fury, where I saw his growth into leader as natural. The speeches he gives are amazing and memorable with the emotions he conveys. Zendaya as Chani steals the show though. Her facial expressions in the third act show so much emotion, and you can tell so much about what she is thinking that it gives her already complex character more depth. Chani is a great character who I rooted for the whole film, and Zendaya brings this character to life. This is without a doubt the best performance of Zendaya’s that I have seen. 

Their other acting allies are awesome as well. Rebecca Ferguson is amazing as Jessica, again. She becomes the Reverend Mother and her emotional performance leans in a different, more sinister direction. Jessica goes from being a good mother trying to help her son survive to trying to get all of the Fremen to see him as a messiah. Javier Bardem is awesome as Stilgar. Bardem brings a lot of comedy and heart to the film, but it never gets in the way to the dark tone of the movie. Josh Brolin brings the heart as Gurney. He gets a scene towards the end of the film that is very satisfying.

You cannot have a great movie without great villains and this movie has some memorable villains. The Baron is as evil as ever, and Stellan Skarsgård is fantastic, but it is his two nephews that standout. Dave Bautista is great as Rabban as he shows a lot of rage, but also some weaknesses slowly break him. Seeing the man who played as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy go from a savage to a broken man is rather fascinating. Even when he acts tough, there are hints where I can tell there is fear in his voice and body language. Bautista really surprised me with his outstanding performance here.

However, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha steals the show every single time he is on screen. His screen time is a little limited since he makes his debut here, but Butler makes the most of it by transforming into this monstrous guy who loves to fight. His mannerisms, line-delivery and actions are frightening, and I was nervous every time he was on screen. Feyd also has a surprising sense of honor- in that he is ruthless, but he also respects people who put up a good fight against him, making him more respectable than his brother and uncle. My only minor complaint is that I wish he had a little more screen time to explore his character a bit more. This is still one of the best and most memorable villains I have seen in years. Austin Butler is definitely a force to be reckoned with following up Elvis with this. 

Every single person in this cast and all of the characters they portray are wonderful. You can honestly point to nearly any main or supporting character and find a good reason for them being one of the best parts of the movie. No one feels wasted or underutilized.

There is a lot more that I want to talk about, but I also do not want to get into spoilers. Dune: Part Two is one of the best sequels I have ever seen. It is also one of the best movie-going experiences I have ever had. I got to see it on a pretty big screen in a pretty packed theater filled with older people, and when the movie started, the chatter vanished and the audience became silent for nearly the entire film, aside from laughing at a couple of humorous moments. It felt like we were all mesmerized by the film. As soon as the movie ended, there was some applause and a lot of chitchat about what happened in the movie. It was such a great experience because it feels like the audience was engaged with this movie, and I rarely see that with other movies in theaters nowadays. 

I could have watched Dune: Part Two for hours longer. I was never bored or tired in the slightest. I did not want the movie to end. I thought the first movie was fantastic, but this improved on the first in every way in my opinion. I was worried that I was gonna see the movie as overhyped from the reviews and reactions I saw, but the movie exceeded my expectations. This might be my favorite sci-fi blockbuster I have seen in theaters since Edge of Tomorrow. I cannot wait to see the final part of this movie. As someone who has yet to read the novel, I have no idea what direction the last movie will go. As far as the rest of the year goes for films, I think it will be challenging to find a movie I thoroughly enjoyed more than this one.

This article was written by Enhance’s friend Jared Jacoby and edited by team member Sidney J Floyd-Armstrong. Be sure to subscribe and keep an eye on the blog for more from our team and for more movie and video game reviews from Jared!

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