Dune: Part Two (2024) Dir: Denis Villeneuve
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The first part of Denis Villeneuve's gargantuan sci-fi odyssey was highly acclaimed and very popular. Part Two was even more acclaimed, and, thus far, has been even more popular. Rave reviews and prior successes bred high expectations for this second installment, as I settled in to watch the next chapter of Frank Herbert's epic saga.
Unsurprisingly, Greig Fraser's cinematography was bold, stark and beautiful. His ability to emphasise scale has been a treat with these films. The use of colour, or lack thereof, stood out to me a lot, particularly in the contrast between worlds and settings.
Once again, however, I find myself immensely disappointed with the sound design. There is a difference between using impactful sound and just blasting noise at the audience. There were a couple of times where I found the film guilty of the latter. On a positive note, Hans Zimmer's composition was as exemplary as ever, as the great composer proves himself once more to be a maestro.
The first hour of the film was slow - too slow, in fact. There was so little momentum, as the film stopped and started repeatedly. It had the rhythm of the sand walk. However, the second half of the film was something else entirely. The film's action, tempo and emotion built in intensity, impact and intrigue. The climactic scenes were truly breathtaking.
The overarching narrative of the film was interesting, the aforementioned pacing issues aside. I think the descent down the murky rabbit hole of fate was very well done by Villeneuve, who exhibited some of the monumental storytelling and filmmaking that has come to be expected of him.
Timothée Chalamet improved on his performance in part one, with a performance that grew in intensity and strength, as the film progressed. The elevation in mannerism and characterisation was very impressive - I really enjoyed witnessing his evolution as a performer and character.
Rebecca Ferguson was fantastic, as she showed the evolution of her character with commendable surety and commitment. I thought she was exceptional, especially in the first and second acts. She has shown herself to have far more range than perhaps I suspected her of in previous films, something I'm very glad to have been wrong about.
I enjoyed Austin Butler's performance a fair amount more than I expected, and he provided an intriguing antagonistic character, who had some interesting little folds to his persona. He was very good at giving intense, maniacal facial expressions, that truly delivered the sinister nature of his character to the audience.
I thought Zendaya was wonderful - she showed a lot more range than she had the opportunity to do in the last film, in what was, in fairness, a far more substantial role. Some of her facial expressions, particularly in the last third of the film, were extremely emotive.
Javier Bardem, however, trumped all of the above, with his magnificent portrayal of his key supporting character. He was believable, he was funny and he was well-rounded. I felt like I was watching a person, not just a character. He was utterly brilliant.
The group of Florence Pugh, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin and Dave Bautista don't have all that much screentime, but each of them stood out among the supporting cast, thanks to their memorable performances - especially Bautista. The film also features some very good, but far smaller, performances from some very talented actors, namely Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Anya Taylor Joy and Charlotte Rampling.
Overall, I would say, for me at least, that this was a film of two halves. In many respects, it was the opposite of the previous one - it started pretty weakly, but finished phenomenally. I've seen a lot of people calling this one of the best films ever, and while I'm glad they love the film, I can't say I agree. Don't misconstrue, I loved it, but I don't think it was that special. It's a very good sequel though.
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