Dune Part 2

Hey everyone and welcome, today we will be talking about the film Dune Part 2. Fun Fact, Chakobsa is the name of the Fremen language and the film employed David Peterson who expanded on the language from the book and created new words with their own meanings and there was a dialect coach to make sure they pronounced it correctly. This film came out in 2024 and stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, and Rebecca Ferguson and was directed by Denis Villeneuve. So without further ado let’s get right into it.

Dune Part 2 picks up where the last movie ended with Paul, the last survivor of House Atreides, and his mother Lady Jessica joining the Fremen to find safety from the Harkonnen’s. Some people think that Paul is the chosen messiah and will help return Arrakis or Dune back to the control of the Fremen while some think that a Fremen would be that person to free Arrakis, not some outsider. Paul must unite the Fremen and stage an attack on the emperor and the Harkonnens to not only get vengeance for his father but also try and bring a better life for the Fremen on Arrakis.

Dune is a sci-fi epic filled with action. It has similar vibes to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, or Avatar: The Way of the Water.

Dune Part 2 is one of the very rare occasions where the sequel is better than the original which is saying something considering I thought the first one was really good. I wondered why the book would be split up into two movies and then I read the book and it made sense because it’s not an easy read. The book builds this massive world which can oftentimes be confusing and adapting that into a movie that casual viewers and book readers alike can enjoy is a huge feat, let alone trying to do it in one movie. This movie is just epic in the best ways and proved that Denis understood the source material and how to adapt it for the screen, he knew what to cut from the books, what his audience would want to see, and what they would be able to understand.

As we move through this film it still feels like we are world-building but not as much as the first movie. This movie does a great job at slowly building up the world of Dune while also progressing the story forward at a nice pace.

Timothee Chalamet leads as Paul Atreides or Usul Muad’dib or Lisan al Gaib or the Kwisatz Haderach who was demanding on screen and really brought the character to life. Paul is the chosen one and we see that trope a lot but in this film they make Paul work for that title and really gain the trust and respect of the people of Dune. People are constantly telling him how he should live his life and I loved how Paul didn’t listen to them and instead for the most part paved his own path with the exception of his mother’s indirect interference that he doesn’t fully grasp. The character of Paul is an interesting one because he walks this path between religion and politics, is a foreigner destined to lead the locals, and his future shows he could be a great leader of Dune or a potential destroyer. His character is the protagonist but there is still this question of what his leadership will bring for the galaxy. All I know is his story was so interesting to follow and had me on the edge of my seat.

Seeing Paul riding Shai Hulud was so cool to see and I was like oh my god we got to see not only how the freemen get around but how difficult it is to master riding a worm. To further show Paul’s greatness we see that he’s riding a grandfather worm which is considered to be bigger than the average. The scene was so worth the buildup and then even more exciting we saw more people throughout the movie ride them

Zendaya was spectacular as Chani who is Paul’s friend and later lover. I enjoyed the chemistry she had with Timothee and she brought an intensity and vulnerability to Chani. Chani is one that has fallen for this man but doesn’t believe he is some prophesied person who will bring prosperity to Dune. She tries her best to support him but as the film goes on she sees Paul going down the path that he was so worried about and you can tell she is worried about how this will affect her home. Even with her doubts she was a fierce ally to have and was a great fighter and proved detrimental in the final battle. I thought it was interesting to see the parallels to the first movie and how in that movie we end with Paul and her setting off to join the Fremen and in this film, we end with her walking away from Paul and going somewhere away from him after he said he would marry the Princess Irulan after all they have been through and going down a path that will lead to destruction. Chani was the one person I feel that truly kept Paul grounded and loved him but wanted to protect her people and in the end, is realizing that he has the potential to ruin Dune and truly isn’t the person she thought he was.

Stilgar who is played by Javier Bardem in this film sees Paul as a prophet and is training him in some of the Fremen ways. He was kind of the comedic relief in this movie which wasn’t something I thought would be needed but was a great addition. He represented these Fremen who believed in this prophecy and believed Paul was the chosen one that the prophecy spoke about while the other Fremen like Chani believed that that person who would lead Dune to greatness would be a Fremen, not some outworlder. I loved seeing him showing what people who believed this prophecy would do in this situation and what role they would play in Paul’s ascension. I would say that he is the spark that lit the match of this idea that Paul was the Lisan al Gaib and then it just caught on like wildfire and with each feat that Paul completed, they gained more supporters. It’s crazy to see how this happened with word of mouth and just became bigger and bigger. Stilgar was like the ultimate hype man for Paul and really believed in his ability to change the planet for the better.

When the first Dune came out there was a lot of talk about different cast members but I feel like the one that was not talked about enough considering her sizable role was Rebecca Ferguson who plays Lady Jessica who later becomes a reverend mother for the Fremen in this film. Rebecca is a great actress and prior to the events of these movies we see she was taught by the Bene Gesserit which some consider to be witches but one thing I know they know how to do is to have a plan and set it in motion and be able to change so much, often times with it appearing that they aren’t even involved. In this film, Jessica lays out a path for Paul to follow and just drops so many breadcrumbs that gets him right where she wants him. Chani seems to see this but unfortunately, she is no match for Jessica’s planning. Jessica talking to her daughter throughout the movie was weird but I know she has a special connection with the unborn child because of the poison that she took and has frequent conversations with it. Rebecca did such a great job taking on the role of a mother who wants to protect her kids and uses her knowledge and power to put them in places where they will be respected and powerful. Without Jessica, I feel like Paul would not have succeeded and she just seems like a puppet master who will always be one step ahead.

Anya-Taylor Joy playing Alia, who is Jessica’s unborn child and Paul’s sister was nice to see. She didn’t really have many lines but Anya is always a positive when I see her acting. I knew she was in the movie when she popped up at the premiere but just didn’t know what her role was.

Na Baron Feyd-Rautha is chillingly portrayed by Austin Butler and I was wondering how he would be introduced into the film and wow he proved that he was the right choice for the role. They took a risk with his character’s design and I felt like it was perfect to show further make him look deranged.  I would say that he is the foil to Paul’s character and he is an absolute psycho. From the moment we met him I was shocked when he is getting ready for battle and to test his knife he slits one girl’s throat and then stabs the other repetitively and then turns to the person who gave him the blade and is like the tip is not sharp enough. He is the successor to the Harkonnen’s and his voice reminded me of the Barons but he had these black teeth with a bald head and no eyebrows and he really just looked like someone who would kill for fun. We can see from when he took over Arrakis that in order to deal with the Fremen he would just exterminate them instead of trying to control them. The way this villain was written is kinda of my favorite, there’s not much justification for his craziness they just let him be crazy but they also don’t make him dumb but he may have an inflated ego. Austin portrayed this character in a way that made me feel worried that he would actually be a problem and definitely was a great addition.

Stellan Skarsgard was great once again as The Baron Harkonnen who is the head of House Harkonnen and the one who exterminated House Atreides. He holds a lot of power and influence but because of how big he is and how he needs devices to help hold him I am always shocked that someone hasn’t killed him. He is one that is smart and evil which comes in handy when he tries to get rid of his foes. When the emperor comes to Arrakis, instead of just groveling he invites the other houses which seems like a plan to either get rid of the emperor or start a war between the houses. It was interesting to find out that he is the grandfather to Paul through Jessica who as a Bene Gesserit was not told her parentage. I’m glad that he died in the end because he deserved it and even better that it was from the hands of Paul.

Rabban is in charge of Arrakis at the beginning of this movie and we quickly find out that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He was a fierce warrior but I think that’s because he was born into Harkonnen nobility and had the backing of his uncle but as he loses that and some of his credibility to his brother we see him running away at the end like a cat with its tail tucked in-between its legs. Through Dave Bautista, we see a range of emotions with Rabban and how the actions of Paul made him react emotionally which further showed his uncle he wasn’t fit to lead.

Josh Brolin returns as Gurney and he seemed to serve as a clear reminder of Paul’s past and a voice that whispered in Paul’s ear that revenge needs to happen. Even after all the time that had passed he was still loyal to House Atreides and fought alongside Paul no matter what. His one goal was to kill Rabban and I was happy that he got to do that.

Florence Pugh was lovely as Princess Irulan who is the daughter of the emperor. When I read the book I realized she starts off every chapter but she’s not physically in the book until towards the end which is why I think they decided to hold her character’s appearance til this film. She still does offer some narration for some events from her perspective that she is putting in her diary so most of the time she’s not in the action but she’s watching and observing and putting pieces together. Her character seemed like one taught by the Bene Gesserit but also one that questioned how they went about their actions. While watching I was thinking if the Bene Gesserit listened to her they could have possibly stopped Paul when she mentioned that he was alive but they decided instead to keep going with their plan which they soon came to regret. Also, her outfits were cool, especially the headpieces.

The Padishah emperor who is played by Christopher Walken looked stressed the entire movie. He thought he could sneakily get rid of an entire house and that plan backfired and as a politician, you could tell that as he listened to what was happening on Arrakis he grew worried that the truth would come out. He is very much a man who only seems concerned with himself and how he and his family can stay in power. He has a lot of power but doesn’t understand that sometimes power isn’t everything.

The costume design was cool in this movie and really helped to identify the different groups. With the amount of information we have to learn about this world not to mention the characters, it was cool that they made these costumes to make it easier to distinguish different groups of people and where their allegiance may lie.

The cinematography is great in this film and I just loved the use of light and color or lack of color in some scenes. Greig Fraser is the Director of Photography for this film and I just felt like he helped make this planet with sand as far as the eye can see look so beautiful and vibrant. On the other hand, we see Giedi Prime which is the Harkonnen home planet which is shown in this achromatic style or in black and white but the lighting makes sure to highlight the right things and still makes this planet look interesting even if it is void of colors. I’m not sure if it’s in his realm as well but the way they had fireworks with a lack of color was also cool to see. Upon further research I found that they used infrared cameras for the Geidi Prime scene and infrared cameras allow filmmakers to work with a spectrum of light that’s not visible to the naked eye and it really captured my attention by making the planet look unreal in the fact that there was a lack of color but even with that everything looked so real and the people on that planet looked more intimidating. I just think it was a job well done making sure the film looked good which further elevates the film as a whole.

Hans Zimmer comes in with the music and to be honest not much to say because it was just fantastic. Like its as if he just knew this would be perfect for this scene and when I watched it I was like wow just to be able to read or see a scene and then compose some epic music for it is impressive.

The choreography was done really well in the fight scenes, especially the ones with Feyd-Rutha. Feyd was a killer and while he could take the easy way out and shoot someone or assassinate them, he instead just became super deadly with a blade to the point where some of the best fighters couldn’t even take him out. I think showing the fight with him killing the Atreides men in the middle of the film showed that he was scarier than you may have first thought because he knew how to best people in hand-to-hand or knife-to-knife combat. Even when we get to the end and the fight between Feyd and Paul is shown we see how precise the choreography is and they made sure to note that this is a knife fight, they will need to be close to each other to get some blows in. This scene also further shows that Paul may be a prophet and he may be good at a lot of things including fighting but he’s not invincible and Feyd almost kills him but Paul pulls a last-minute victory. The way that the fights were choreographed was fantastic and made the fights intense and even though you had a feeling about who would win, there was no clear winner.

The Fremen in this movie seemed to be influenced by Arabs more specifically like the Bedouins who are nomadic Arab people who live in the desert but also the San peoples. It’s interesting to me to see this Sci-fi epic still be grounded in reality.

I just have to say this cast knows how to dress or hire the right people to dress them because my god the press outfits were great. Making the film is great but you also have to promote the film and this cast said ok well if I got to promote this, I’m going to look damn good doing it. There were some coordinating outfits, some that just stood out, and all around just some exciting choices that drew attention to the cast and for people who didn’t know the film probably sparked some interest because of this cast that knew how to own a red carpet.

With this film, they released a special Dune bucket and it took the Internet by storm and I could not just ignore it. I happened to have one because why not I would never eat popcorn out of it but it is a cool souvenir of the movie.

This movie is amazing and while there are so many freaking great scenes my favorite part is a simple one, when Paul uses the voice on the older Reverend Mother and tells her “Silence”. I have been a day one hater of the reverend mother and how she orchestrated this whole thing with the extinction of the Atreides and I love how it kind of backfired and even though Paul lost a lot, he came back angrier than ever. I loved that his voice at that moment was so powerful that it sent her stumbling back and let her know her time was up and I just loved Jessicas little smirk after where I just bet in her mind she’s like how do you like them apples. I’m glad that Paul’s use of the voice has gotten better because in the first movie, he was struggling and I’m glad that she was there to see that all her work to get rid of that house didn’t work as she expected.

Dune Part 2 is just epic. I think this will go down as one of the best sci-fi movies. There are more books that can be adapted but I will say that this movie has a definitive end but also the ending is just the beginning. While I think the first Dune was great this one just expanded and went big and it paid off because it was a truly great film.