Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to ‘Dune’ is one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the year, as it continues the story of Paul Atreides and takes us up to the conclusion of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel (noting a third movie is mooted, based on the sequel ‘Dune Messiah’). The first movie was an awe inspiring sci-fi epic that introduced us to the world brilliantly, with none of the shoddy effects or acting that plagued previous attempts to adapt the material. In ‘Dune: Part Two’, the story and world have been set up, allowing for more of a focus on characterisation as we follow Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) attempts to wage war on the people who murdered his family with the support of the Fremen people of Arrakis.

The first thing worth saying about ‘Dune: Part Two’ is it looks every bit as incredible as the first movie, with Villeneuve’s direction really selling the strangeness and epic nature of the fantastical desert setting. It is easy to forget just how strange the source material is, one of the factors in why ‘Dune’ has been harder to adapt for screen than other cult novels, so it’s testament to Villeneuve that he’s managed to create something that has appealed to both ‘Dune‘ fanatics and folks otherwise unfamiliar with the story. The second is that the acting is phenomenal, with more screentime given to the likes of Javier Bardem and Zendaya who only featured briefly in the first, with both (Zendaya especially) excelling – there’s even a bit more humour in some of Stilgar’s (Bardem) musings on whether Paul is or isn’t the prophet they think he could be.

Yet, for all the fantastic production values, quality acting and downright weirdness (in a good way!) of the material, I didn’t connect with ‘Part Two’ nearly as much as I did with the first movie and ultimately I thought this was a little unsatisfying, and dare I say boring in parts. I think that’s largely down to the extensive periods spent focusing on the elements of the story that interested me less, namely anything surrounding the prophecy or the religious stuff surrounding the Bene Gesserit, which took up a fair amount of screentime. I liked the bits with the Harkonnens for the most part and the fight sequences are phenomenal, if a little rushed particularly with regards the climactic battle.

‘Dune: Part Two’ is a continuation that reaches the same heights in terms of scale, performances and production values, but I found it less involving on a narrative level and didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I did the first movie.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt15239678/