Culture News I've seen more than 800 sci-fi films in my life and Dune 2 is one of the best. I still can not believe it !
Published on 02/22/2024 at 05:00
Share :
Dune, Part II is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of 2024, even beyond the “science fiction” sphere which is becoming more and more important in Hollywood. Denis Villeneuve took on the work of Frank Herbert in 2021 to the delight of fans. After an acclaimed first film, it is time to continue the story of Paul Atreides and the Fremen people. The uprising is near!
Dune, part two in a few words
There is no need to introduce Denis Villeneuve, especially to science fiction fans. The Quebec director is at the origin of some of the most influential feature films of the genre over the last decade with First Contact (2016), Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and of course Dune (2021). Dune, Part II is a sci-fi film directed and co-written by Denis Villeneuve based on the second part of the first novel of the eponymous saga written by Frank Herbert.
The casting has changed very little for anything related to the main characters, even though the Warner Bros. film franchise. welcomes into its ranks many renowned actors and actresses. Alongside Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson, we find ourselves in 2024 Austin Butler (Masters of the air), Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer) or Léa Seydoux (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol). Denis Villeneuve also retained his creative teams. The opposite would have been surprising. Photography is placed under the aegis of Greig Fraser (The Batman) while the musical compositions are the work of the artist Hans Zimmer (2 Oscars and 3 Golden Globes). Guarantees of quality!
The official synopsis for the Dune movie, part two:
Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen to lead the revolt against those who destroyed his family. Haunted by dark premonitions, he finds himself confronted with the greatest dilemma of all: choosing between the love of his life and the destiny of the universe. -Warner Bros. France
The cast of Dune, part two:
Javier Bardem – StilgarDave Bautista – Glossu Rabban HarkonnenJosh Brolin – Gurney HalleckAustin Butler – Feyd-Rautha HarkonnenTimothée Chalamet – Paul AtreidesRebecca Ferguson – Lady JessicaFlorence Pugh – la princesse IrulanCharlotte Rampling – Gaius Helen MohiamLéa Seydoux – Lady Margot FenringStellan Skarsgård – le baron Vladimir HarkonnenChristopher Walken – Emperor Shaddam IV Zendaya – Chani
Dune, Part Two is released in cinemas in France on February 28, 2024.
A new pillar of SF
Let's not mince our words. Dune Part II is one of the best sci-fi movies I've seen (+800 according to my Letterboxd profile) and the best since Mad Max: Fury Road directed by George Miller in 2015. For 9 years I have been feverishly waiting to be transported by a talented filmmaker and his teams into a SF universe worthy of the name, and it is now done. The planet Arrakis became before my eyes the scene of a power struggle on a galactic scale between the late House Atreides massacred in the first film and that of the Harkonnen. And I haven't come back to Earth yet!
Dune: Part Two of its original title is stunningly beautiful and I'm not exaggerating. Greig Fraser no longer has anything to prove to Hollywood in terms of photography, but he still manages to surprise me by managing to transcend the Fremen Lands. The breathtaking visuals, sometimes naturalistic, sometimes clinical, sublimate the universe imagined on paper in the mid-1960s by none other than one of the founding fathers of modern SF: Frank Herbert. Let's be frank! I have never been a huge fan of David Lynch's vision (even if I recognize many qualities in him), but it is different from that of Denis Villeneuve which suits Dune perfectly.
The musical creations, already acclaimed in the first film, continue to work for the good of a lore which is just waiting to flourish on the big screen. I was transported by the harmonious flights of Hans Zimmer at the height of his art and by exotic sounds conducive to a journey to the confines of the stars. The costumes and the sets are not left out, whether on Arrakis or even Giedi Prime (the planet Harkonnen) with the immediate effect of a total change of scenery throughout the 2 hours and 45 minutes that the second part of Dune lasts. Special mention to the desert – sublime and hostile – which here becomes a character in its own right that I have learned to venerate and fear.
Dune was confusing with its exposition phase (essential but particularly long for the uninitiated) and its lack of action sequences. Personally, I did not feel the slightest lack in 2021. However, Denis Villeneuve pushed the entertainment knobs in 2024. Dune, Part II is much less stingy with pyrotechnics and other moments of bravery. The Fremen insurrection in the face of the Harkonnen takeover was fertile ground for making this sequel an epic epic without unduly distorting the omnipresent political dimension of the novels. Mission accomplished !
Dune: Part Two respects the source material, even if the film knowingly moves away from it on several occasions to guarantee the integrity of a story with a thousand and one ins and outs. The plot of Dune is complex, abundant in characters and adventures, which does not fundamentally pose any problems over 900 pages. Nevertheless, such a story requires adjustments to be digestible once projected on the big screen. Purists will struggle to list all the differences between Dune the films and Dune the novels. I personally don't see the point.
It will take me several more days, even weeks, to assimilate what I have just seen, and surely a second viewing to form a definitive opinion on Denis Villeneuve's film. However, Dune Part II is undoubtedly the science fiction film of the year, and for me that of the current decade. I can't wait to see Dune, part three made official in the summer of 2023. The Holy War has only just begun!
About Dune
News culture
Dune the film (2021): A faithful adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel and a general audience?
News culture
Dune by Frank Herbert: A look back at one of the pillar universes of science fiction