“Consider what you are about to do.”
I first read Frank Herbert’s initial Dune book back in the mid 1970’s. I was introduced to one of the most complicated and extraordinary universes of literature I have still ever encountered. It’s a masterpiece followed by several more books over the years that have more completely brought this world to life. The material’s cinematic journey has been somewhat less captivating and quite a disappointment. The 1984 David Lynch film was a train wreck and quite possibly one of the greatest film failures in history. Since then a lot has changed. Today computer-generated images have progressed to the point that with enough money and artistic expertise a filmmaker can depict anything the mind can conceive. Images have become photorealistic, and the worlds of Herbert’s Dune universe can finally be brought to the silver screen with almost no limitations. But is that enough? In 2021 Denis Villeneuve gave us the first film in an expected trilogy. Would he be able to capture literature lightning in a bottle in the same way Peter Jackson brought to life the Middle Earth worlds of Tolkien? It was a bit of a strange time. The world was hit with a pandemic that brought our lives to a standstill, and people were finally looking to be coaxed back into the multiplexes … and they came. Dune delivered an exciting new experience, but it wasn’t quite up to par in my book. The film was far too involved in exposition. The characters talked a lot more than they did … anything. So I was a bit unimpressed even in the face of the technological marvel that the film certainly was. Now it’s Part Two, and the chances of the trilogy getting a conclusion depends heavily on what happens here. So what does happen here?
The second films still tends to tell instead of show, and I still have an issue with a pace that challenges an audience’s ability to keep up. This time, however, the exposition is coupled with some truly compelling cinema. Everything about this franchise has finally fallen into place, and I feel like somewhere in the second act everyone involved hit their stride, and it was all a grand experience from that point forward. This film is quite compelling and more than makes up for the missteps of the first. The true test is still can an audience keep up, and will they come out in numbers enough to make the conclusion a reality? I can’t speak for that, but I think the film has the elements required to make that happen.
The film literally picks up where we left off two years ago. There has been a massacre, and now Duke Paul Atreides (Chalamet) must step up as a leader to his people. He is starting to bond with one of his own warriors, Chani (Zendaya). She has become somewhat his inspiration and helps him to pick up the pieces of his earlier defeat. It’s all about a prophecy that he appears to be fulfilling and a kind of fantastic destiny he must strive to make reality. Meanwhile the empire’s Baron Harkonnen (Skarsgard) has been leaning on Rabben (Bautista) to handle the rebellion, but that hasn’t been working out so well, and he cannot afford the production of Spice to be interrupted. He brings in the most significant new character to this film in the person of his nephew Feyd-Rautha, played by Austin Butler, to try to change the fortunes of production. Meanwhile,, Paul’s pregnant mother, Jessica (Ferguson) has been named the Reverend Mother, which gives her tremendous power over the spiritual and leadership world of Arrakis. The film mostly follows the evolution as Paul almost fights against his role in prophecy but begins to accept the role and become strong as he accepts his position. It’s a matter of power that increases along with confidence to the point that he brings the empire to its knees … literally. It all sets up a third film that will deal with the ultimate war as Paul ascends to even more power.
I have to say the performances won me over more than the incredible visuals. I love it when an actor is able to truly sell a huge transition in his or her character. Timothee Chalamet does just that. You can really see his confidence and hence his leadership ability grow. A wonderful moment that highlights this evolution is when he calls the story’s famous giant worms and harnesses them as a knight would a great steed. It’s both a powerful visual and a compelling character moment, and for me my opinion of the franchise changes at this moment. You can feel that something has changed, and from there out I was completely on board. It is truly an unforgettable moment, and it’s the strength of the performance along with the computer magic that just comes together. Things won’t be the same from that moment onward. He is helped not insignificantly by a wonderful chemistry with Zendaya as Chani. No small portion of that growth in the film can be attributed to her performance. She acts as a wonderful inspiration to Paul, and the two of them really work well together.
I have to also give a nod to Austin Butler, who gave me a scare at first. His first dialog gave out just a hint of the Elvis twang that he did so well in that film. I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but other critics appeared to hear the same thing. It changed quickly, and he delivered a performance that was so unlike that of The King that my admiration of his skills has grown, and it wasn’t exactly low before this. The man’s got range, and he becomes quite a strong character. All of this serves to make this film so much more compelling than the first part. I’ve never had this much of a turnaround felling between a film and its sequel. Dune Part II is superior to Dune Part I in every way possible.
Video
Dune Part Two is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The ultra-high-definition image presentation is arrived at with an HEVC codec at an average of 50 mbps. The bitrate isn’t quite what I had hoped for. The reason is the running time and added bonus features. Warner Brothers appears to have discontinued the use of Blu-ray combo releases. What you get is still pretty impressive. Helped by the resolution and the HDR-10, we get pretty nice color and contrast. Much of the “other” world material is mostly monochromatic, so it’s contrast that rules there, but it’s the deep orange and reds of the desert scenes that impress here. The image is often hazy because of the environments, and we do lose some detail here, but we retain the atmospheric, stylized world that is intended. I wish some of the CG was better mixed with the live action. There’s a pretty big loss of detail in great moments like the worm-riding. Close-ups of characters are where you’ll find the best detail, and sometimes the establishing shots, mostly filmed in Jordan, are truly spectacular. Black levels are somewhat modified by color-correction, and shadow detail is often hazy. It’s style, really, and shouldn’t be considered an image defect or flaw. In theaters the film displayed a shifting aspect ratio, providing IMAX shots, but that’s not the case with this version. I suspect some of that detail is lost because of that releasing choice.
Audio
The Dolby Atmos audio presentation defaults to 7.1. The surrounds are aggressive but not intrusive. The winds and sand provide for an active environment that makes this audio presentation quite immersive. The Hans Zimmer score and collection of exotic instruments gets a wonderful showcase here, to be sure. Dialog comes through pretty clearly. Subs gives us a ton of depth even if they aren’t exactly earthshaking. The thopters offer some wonderful sub beats, and the explosions get a pretty good bump. Clarity is near to perfection.
Special Features
The extras are on the UHD disc, as there is no Blu-ray copy. As mentioned in the audio section, it would have been nice if Warner Brothers had not used up the bandwidth on a film with this kind of running time and an image presentation that is so important.
Chakobsa Training: (4:51) This feature looks at the language created in the books and how they expanded it for the films. The actors took training classes so they could speak it convincingly. You get some nice behind-the-scenes footage of cast members trying to learn the alien lines.
Creating The Fremen World: (11:41) Yes, there is a ton of CG in the film, but this feature focuses on the thousands of acres of sets that were constructed for the film. There’s plenty of conceptual art and behind-the-scenes footage of construction along with some close-up looks at the various detailed sets.
Finding The Worlds Of Dune: (6:24) This time we look at the exotic locations used for the shoot. Italy, Jordan, and Namibia all contribute to the unique look of the alien world.
Buzz Around The New ‘Thopter: (3:51) Take a look at the latest flying machine introduced in this second film.
Worm-Riding: (9:23) as I’ve already mentioned the worm-riding scenes are impressive and add quite a nice emotional beat to the story. Here we get a closer look at how both computer f/x and practical methods combine to bring it all to life.
Becoming Feyd: (7:33) Hot off his awesome portrayal of Elvis, Austin Butler is almost unrecognizable as Feyd. This is a nice profile of both character and actor with Butler offering plenty of insight into his performance.
Deeper Into The Desert – The Sound Of Dune: (12:59) Hans Zimmer gives us a look at his team and their creation of new instruments and sound boxes to give the score that “alien” feel. There’s some really interesting stuff here, and Zimmer is one of my favorite composers.
Final Thoughts:
The elements are in place, and I think this film out-Empire Strikes Back Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Fans will understand what that means. The film franchise finally gives this young kid some hope that he might actually get to experience that written world of his childhood. Just maybe. You want to know how to save a film franchise? Check out Dune Part II. It’ll “show you the way”.
