I Finally Watched Dune: Part 2

We are so back!

The first Dune movie absolutely blew me away back in 2021. Gorgeous visuals, phenomenal acting, incredible sound design and music, it checked all the boxes. It was an excellent adaptation of the original book, accentuating the important bits and making the story more easily accessible. Aside from a few disappointing cuts, my only real problem with it was that the story was incomplete. Dune is a big book, after all; if you’re gonna do it right, you can’t do it all at once.

Dune: Part 2 sets out to complete the package and bring the story of the first book to a close. So, did the team manage to capture lightning twice in the same bottle? Or am I going to have to return its water to the well?

You’ve all seen this before me, y’all know the answer already.

House Atreides is no more. The Emperor has given control of Arrakis back to the Harkonnens, who have begun harvesting spice and purging the natives once again. Deep in the desert, Paul and Jessica are guided by the Fremen to their home. Though they are not entirely welcome. Some remain hostile to the Atreides survivors. Others already worship him as their savior, the Lisan al-Gaib.

Despite his thirst for vengeance, Paul denies the prophecy at every opportunity. He seeks to become one of the Fremen, not their divine savior. For he sees in his visions that if he does, the universe would burn in his wake.

This is the beating heart of Paul’s story in this movie. You see him fight to prove himself and become accepted by the Fremen. He becomes family with them, jokes around with them, becomes Muad’dib, one of their greatest warriors, and of course: he finds love among them with Chani. It’s heartwarming to see him find a new family so soon after losing his own. He seems genuinely happy with the Fremen.

Which makes the prophecy feel like a noose around his neck. Everything he tries to do to dissuade everyone’s growing faith in him only makes it worse. He is afraid not just because of his horrible visions, but also because they seem to be inescapable.

As we see later: he was right to be afraid.

Jessica, on the other hand, is in a difficult position. Not being a foretold savior, her position among the Fremen is tenuous. She has but one choice: to drink the Water of Life and become a Reverend Mother. In the novel, this sequence was one of my favorite scenes; it was the perfect blend of strange, unsettling, and intriguing. Thankfully, they adapted this scene really well in the film! It’s just as bizarre as I had imagined it, perhaps even more so.

Though she survives, the consequences of her ascension are massive. Particularly for Jessica’s unborn daughter. The fetus gains the abilities of a Reverend Mother herself, speaking telepathically to Jessica. Both mother and daughter now fully believe in the prophecy, manipulating the Fremen and pushing Paul to fulfill it. If the prophecy is a noose, then Jessica is the one tying the knot. Rebecca Ferguson going full villain-Jessica is a fantastic display of her acting abilities.

This prophecy is key to the identity of Dune, and this movie absolutely knocked it out of the park! As the film goes on, you watch as the Fremen get more and more caught up in it, transforming from wise nomads to an army of holy sycophants. It’s a grim transformation. Even more so because it’s not all that unrealistic, should you strip away the Spice and the prophecies and the space magic.

Stilgar is at the front of this. Towards the beginning of the film, he’s got a pretty wholesome mentor-student relationship with Paul. But when the prophecy starts to come true, Stilgar becomes a brainwashed drone. Javier Bardem does a phenomenal job; he’s got the wise old man act down pact, and he adds an extra layer of loving grandpa to really bring the character to life! It’s honestly sad to watch this man become Paul’s religious drone.

Another equally important factor is Chani. I much prefer the film version over the book version. In the novel, she played a fairly minor role. This has been expanded upon quite a bit in the film. Chani is Fremen through and through, bad ass and wise in the ways of the desert. She vocally decries the prophecy, seeing it for the manipulation it truly is. Yet she’s also compassionate and nurturing, guiding Paul in his training. Their romance feels natural and earned. Zendaya‘s performance is fantastic from start to end.

Meanwhile, there are the Harkonnens. They’re as creepy, gross, and ruthless as ever. Their planet is a strange visual wonder, an entire planet in monochrome, with ink-like fireworks and onyx structures. It’s an incredible visual contrast to the yellow sands of Arakis and the green life of the Emperor’s world. Once again, the visuals of this movie are utterly jaw-dropping!

It’s on this planet that we meet the film’s antagonist: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. A deadly warrior. A sociopath. Yet an honorable one. He’s the perfect mirror of Paul, a reflection of the monster our protagonist is prophesied to become. Austin Butler‘s performance is downright chilling; outside of fights, he’s quiet and dangerous, and in combat, he’s a screaming animal. Fantastic stuff.

When Feyd-Rautha escalates the Fremen extermination effort, the people of the desert gather to discuss war. All eyes fall upon Paul. He no longer has a choice; if the Fremen are to survive, he must drink the Water of Life and become their Lisan al-Gaib.

The transformation is nothing short of stunning. While Paul still speaks and acts like himself, the morality at the heart of his character all but evaporates. Though he’s not as gross as the Harkonnens, he’s every bit as ruthless and blood thirsty. Seeing him become the thing he was afraid he’d become is one of my favorite ‘good guy goes bad’ arcs, and they adapted it from the book perfectly!

This is where Timothée Chalamet really started to flex his acting muscles. Honestly, he knocked it out of the park for the whole movie! When he becomes the Lisan al-Gaib, he goes from the quiet and caring Paul to a larger than life charismatic dictator. Yet beneath that, there’s a subtle layer of sorrow and regret; some part of him still doesn’t want to be what he has become. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a ‘hero becomes the villain’ arc done so well!

From here, the film adapts the book almost perfectly. Paul’s rise to power is completed with terrifying efficiency. The final duel between him and Feyd-Rautha is excellent; no music, no shaky cam, just two honorable dudes trying to kill each other with knives. When the Holy War begins, it’s as awe-inspiring as it is terrible.

There is one change to the ending that I really like. In the original book, Chani decides to stick at Paul’s side as his mistress. In the movie, Chani ain’t having that. She rejects Paul for what he has become, leaving him to return to the desert. All without shedding a single tear; a true Fremen through and through.

Dune: Part 2 is a fantastic follow up to the first. With their power combined, we have the best adaptation of Frank Herbert’s work to date! It’s an incredible adaptation and an amazing film in its own right! Book-to-film adaptations haven’t been this good since the original Lord of the Rings trilogy!

And we’re not done yet! This same team is currently working on an adaptation of Dune: Messiah! Who knows? We might even get the rest after that!

Like all the really bad ones. Of which I’ve been told there are a lot.