Well, about two weeks have passed since we were first able to return to Arrakis after (checks notes) just shy of a 2.5 year wait. Already it seems like everything that can be said about the movie has already been made into some kind of listicle or think piece, but I’m still going to give you MY thoughts because you’re here on MY blog.
I saw the movie on opening night, so most of this post was jotted down the next morning, but I wanted to let my thoughts marinate a bit before posting (I also wanted some time off from writing lol).
Essentially, I felt the special effects and set pieces were fantastic (some of the desert scenes were so bright and clear I kinda wished I’d worn sunglasses into the theater). Well worth the price of admission. If nothing else Dune Part 2 is a beautiful movie. However, I walked away weirdly ambivalent to the whole experience and generally lacking the enthusiasm that I could sense coming from everyone around me.
I have no doubt that the two films (parts 1 & 2) will be considered the definitive adaptation for an entire generation (ala Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings), but 2.5 years ago when I watched part 1, I asked if Denis Villenueve’s adaptation would be Dune’s Kwisatz Haderach?
With only half the story in front of me, I was unsure. Now, with the full product in hand, I’m left wondering about the relevance of such a story, and even whether or not a movie is the most meaningful way to experience it.
But there was quite a bit to enjoy about the film so lets start there . . .
The Good
To list a couple automatic wins, we have a futuristic desert setting, SANDWORMS, awesome starship designs, 1v1 sword/knife fighting and of course . . . Zendaya.
I want to draw particular attention to the sword/knife duels as for me, they were generally some of the most exciting parts of the whole film. Paul Muad Dib fighting Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was especially tense, and despite prophecy and Paul’s ability to see the future (and me knowing how the story ends from reading the book), I legitimately wondered what the outcome would be.
There’s always a kind of Jason Borne esque practicality to knife fighting that just feels so much more dangerous than sword fighting. The knives our combatants use are basically as long as swords but that sense of intensity and danger remains. There was only one unnecessary spinny-twisty flip in the whole scene and it actually did feel like the best way to dodge that slash. Good choreography that is.
Part Two’s opening shot will probably also stay with me. There was something just strangely compelling and alien in the way the Harkonnen troops were just kinda weightless. No explanation given or even wanted. Just badassery. Very fun.
I would also say that Part Two features some of the coolest sandworm riding we’ve seen yet in a Dune adaptation. I couldn’t help but wonder how you STOP riding a Sandworm but perhaps these details are unimportant.
Given how serious the tone of this movie is, I greatly enjoyed the brief respites of humor sprinkled throughout. Paul saying he was not the chosen one and Stilgar freaking out because the chosen one would deny his chosen-one-ness made me actually laugh out loud in the theater. However, I think they may have over used this bit as Stilgar essentially becomes a bit of a meme by the end of the film, his fanaticism actually serving to undermine the drama rather than increase it.
Finally, the POV of the Empress was an interesting inclusion. In the books I think we only see her POV in the epigraphs she leaves at the start of the chapters which, in all fairness, are kinda the coolest part. So much hinting. So much vague foreshadowing. Prophecy! But the way it was handled here did feel somewhat fresh.
The Bad
Now all that I’ve just gone over seems like a lot of wins, but Part 2 had some rougher spots too.
In spite of the dazzling effects and amazing landscapes, I think I still managed to pick up a few technical errors in the Editing / filmmaking. For instance Feyd-Ratha’s mouth not moving while he’s speaking and then a hasty jump cut away seemed like an attempt to cover up a flubbed line. I’ll have to watch it again, perhaps it was meant to be voiceover/interiority but if that was the case, it was not at all clear.
Austin Butler played an incredible Feyd-Ratha, who is rightly many people’s favorite part of this story, but I wish his cadence and voice had been less similar to the Baron’s (who’s voice and sinisterism are so unique!). Still Feyd-Rautha punched above his weight in this movie. Strong Jared Leto Joker vibes. What a psycho lol.
The Why Of It All
Admittedly, these few quibbles probably wouldn’t normally tip my review from positive to negative, and indeed the minor issues I mentioned above are not what is ultimately causing me to struggle with the film.
What is hanging me up is perhaps more existential than that. Having more to do with Dune‘s legacy, and the moment we’re in right now.
Basically, I can’t connect the two.
Dune is a franchise that takes itself VERY seriously. There are pages of lore to justify quirks of the setting like why a futuristic society still fights with swords and knives instead of guns, or creating an entire ecology so that some giant worms guarding vast pits of sand – like a dragon guards its hoard — actually makes sense.
This attitude has certainly carried over to Villanueve’s direction for the film which presents Arrakis as both brutal and breathtaking. It apparently cost $190 million to make Dune Part 2 and while this doesn’t even crack the top 60 most expensive movies ever made it is still well above average (100 – 150 million).
The seriousness in approach lends itself to the feeling that Dune is a movie which should say — or attempt to say — something. But what is it trying to say?
On the surface, a few things stand out. First, the dichotomous use of ‘The Chosen One’ trope, which in Dune Part 2 seems to tread unstable ground between subversion and reinforcement by the ascension of Chalamet’s Paul Atreides.
We have writers like Sue Obeidi saying (about part 1) Dune Repeats Tired Tropes of a White Savior in a Middle Eastern Setting, while the director, Denis Villeneuve, feels that (Part II):
“…It’s not a celebration of a savior. It’s a condemnation and criticism of that idea of a savior.” – Nerds of Color: Is ‘Dune’ Truly a White-Savior Story
I think I would agree with the director that Dune Part II leans more into condemning the white savior narrative (Paul very much feels like a villain by the end of the movie), but this feels like ground we’ve already covered as a society.
Would it not be better to elevate another story? To dump $190 million into something else? Perhaps a story that is more recent, and not written by an old dead white guy?
Another issue which Dune Part 2 could arguably be about is the environment. The positioning of Arrakis as a desert planet, exploited for resources so ruthlessly that only the toughest can survive — the parallels between spice and oil — is baked into the original premise of the book, and cannot really be divorced from the the stories other elements.
If we are to consider Dune Part 2 as a piece of climate fiction however, I would have expected the messaging to perhaps be more front-and-center. Yes, like the spice itself, the issue is prevalent and part of every aspect of the movie, but as such, kind of invisible.
I think very few people walked away from Dune Part 2 thinking “I should really start recycling more,” or “maybe it’s time to buy electric”, or even worse (best?) “I could see why global warming is bad”.
Kwisatz Haderach?
Ultimately, I’m not sure that question really matters, because I’m not sure Dune really still matters in 2024 other than that we’ve made it matter by throwing boat loads of money at it. I cannot deny that Arrakis calls to me, as a place which fascinates and terrifies, but the story of Paul Atreides might leave something to be desired.
All this has me wondering if I even want a Dune movie, or if the way this story should unfold really ought to be more personal . . . like perhaps an MMORPG such as Dune: Awakening
Perhaps this entry into the Dune legacy will be, in the words of the Baron Harkonnen:
“My desert. My Arrakis. MY DUNE!”
That’s all I have for this week. Has everyone seen this movie already? What are your thoughts? Am I missing something big here? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
alligators and aneurysms! 