Sometimes a director gets handed the chance to make something so ambitious that words are hard to come by. So imagine how it must feel for Denis Villeneuve to be able to do it with back-to-back films. Granted, both Dune films are a literal whole. Part One even ends in a cliffhanger so jarring it feels like someone turned the movie off before it was over.
Thankfully for us, lightning struck twice and Dune: Part Two manages to surpass Part One in every aspect. The pacing, acting, visual effects, cinematography, it runs on all cylinders at every moment.
To be fair, these two films are the only exposure I’ve had to Frank Herbert’s beloved rebellions in a future far far away. It feels fitting that I have a hard time wrapping my head around the story thanks to the dialogue being presented either verbatim from the book, or drowned out Christopher Nolan style. But with Villeneuve being all over the news for saying he doesn’t like talky films and that they should be remembered more for their visual prowess, I guess that makes sense and Part Two will forever be his prime example.
I may have a very small inkling of what was actually happening, but I know that spice is fought over, sandworms are ridden, and Herbert’s book—according to everyone else I’ve talked to—finally gets its due. Maybe I need to sit on it, but I did love what I saw. Or, maybe the best thing is for me to let this one marinate. So make sure to hit up the next episode of Big Movie Mouth Off, where I can have my co-hosts, Counts and Adam, explain it to me like I’m a child.
Just make sure to see it on the biggest screen possible—it was filmed for IMAX after all—and we’ll see you then!
