Two Good

Just when everyone was at last able to see Dune: Part Two... I headed out to Louisville for GAMA Expo 2024, and had no time for blogging. But now, as the sequel heads into its second weekend, I have a moment to put down my thoughts on the film.

I should perhaps start by locating my "Dune fandom" on the map: I've read the original book a couple of times and have enjoyed it well enough -- but I'd say that anyone who would call themselves a "Dune fan" surely feels more passionate about it than I do. It's not really fair to come too hard at a book written in 1965 for feeling "dated," and I would say that Dune has held up better than most classic science fiction from the most heralded authors of the genre.

Still... I think Dune really shows its age. Herbert had themes in mind that the world wasn't quite ready for in 1965, taking a dim view of religious zealotry and highlighting the dark sides of colonialism. But at the same time, he could only "reach toward" some of his own themes more than he could fully "grapple with" them. Most keenly, he was ahead of the curve enough to question the "white savior" archetype... but hardly gives it a full-throated rejection in his original book.

All that is a perhaps too-long walk leading up to this: given what the underlying themes of Dune really are, I don't think you could tell the story of Dune any better than director Denis Villeneuve and his co-writer Jon Spaihts have done here in Dune: Part Two. This adaptation changes a fair amount -- though I've been pleasantly surprised to hear fewer complaints from "book purists" than I would have imagined. The changes are all in service of sharpening the core of the story.

The central themes of religion and colonialism are heightened in this adaptation, and while the character of Paul (of many names) is still the conventional protagonist, it's really almost more "Chani's movie." The character, rather underdeveloped in the books (if you ask me), is given so much more material in Dune: Part Two (more than making up for her minimal appearance in Part One), and Zendaya really rises to the occasion.

She can't quite steal the movie, thanks to the other great stuff going on. Javier Bardem's version of Stilgar delighted me, a spot-on portrayal of unthinking zealotry that's utterly impervious to reason. Rebecca Ferguson has somewhat less to do here than in Part One, but what she has is excellent: not only does she negotiate this adaptation's take on Alia (very clever) without seeming mad, she leans into the character's dark side most effectively. The Jessica of Dune: Part Two strikes me as almost being a villain in how manipulative she is -- and her aspirations for her son come off as equally self-serving.

The production design remains incredible, which could almost go overlooked because so much of the look and feel of this was established in the prior Dune movie. Still: Paul's worm-riding sequence could have looked so dopey (it's such a far out concept), yet it felt visceral and dangerous and powerful. Much has been said about the infrared photography used for the outdoor scenes on Giedi Prime... but much should be said, because the look was striking. New costumes for new characters, new sets -- all top notch work. (It always annoys me when movies like this lose production design Oscars to period pieces where the design team was able to simply do historical research to create their looks. Everything here is invented, and it's cohesive and perfect.)

I will say that even at two hours and 45 minutes (which don't feel overly long), the movie still doesn't have enough space for all its characters. This is another "unadaptable" part of Herbert's book, and while this adaptation does remove both Hasimir Fenring and Thufir Hawat, and reworks Alia into something that will play on-screen better than a murderous "toddler adult," it still has more characters than can be serviced well. You don't really need a name as big as Christopher Walken to play an Emperor with this little presence in the story. And while Margot Fenring made it into the movie where her husband did not, it hardly felt like her brief story arc contributed much to this story (as opposed to laying track for later ones). Still, Villeneuve and Spaihts strayed farther from the source material than I would have imagined, and I'd rather give them credit for what they did do than quibble with still deeper changes they didn't.

I gave Dune: Part One a B+, and this movie is undeniably better. So I'll call Dune: Part Two an A-. It excited me to see still more of the story in a way that the books themselves never really did. And judging by the box office, it seems like we all will get to.