2024 | Denis Villeneuve | Timothée Chalamet | Zendaya | Javier Bardem | Rebecca Ferguson | Josh Brolin | Stellan Skarsgård | Christopher Walken | Léa Seydoux | Anya Taylor-Joy | Cinema 2024

As I expected, “Dune: Part Two” is a whole lot better than the first part in pretty much every way.

Maybe it is because this part of the story is more interesting and intriguing, but I enjoyed the plot a whole lot more and was more engaged than I was in part one. The romance sub-plot works very well too and the performances are great. I especially enjoyed Javier Bardem as he puts maybe the most emotion in his performance, but the rest of the cast is great too. I still don’t really care for Villeneuve’s take on the Harkonnen’s and very much prefer their counterparts from the Lynch version in every way and I still don’t love the Hans Zimmer score, but I feel like I’m repeating myself, just like Zimmer’s scores in recent years. And while I still don’t love the production-design and style of many of the machines and technical elements, I generally like the visuality of the world a lot more than in part one.

And no matter how much I love, even prefer, the Lynch film, Paul’s story gets so much more room to breathe and develop in this and is treated so much better, making it not only more believable, but also more coherent and comprehensible. Really enjoyed seeing the development that culminates in a last hour that definitely is the peak of not only this film, but better than the entire first part. 

I loved the film the most when it got dark and when it got fast. After Paul drinks the water of life, the film skyrockets in of entertainment, tension and greatness. The last hour really is fantastic and elevates the film from very good to truly great. The ending might be a bit fast for some, but those who have seen the Lynch version will still appreciate the time the film takes. And I liked the note the film ended on, both for the characters and the story.

If you ask me, “Dune: Part Two” is much better than the first film. It’s more entertaining, more interesting and at its best when it’s dark and fast. It’s more nuanced, action-packed and the characters have more to do. I’m glad that I wasn’t mistaken in my belief that this one would be better than the first one and I trust that the sequel will be just as good, if not even better, as it delves deeper into the themes of religious fanaticism and its (false) messiah.