I did not get to see this movie in theaters, mainly because I am still concerned about catching Covid-19, but also because I had kept up with the details being released about the movie and I was worried that Part Two of Denis Villeneuve's Dune adaptation could live up to the second part of the iconic science-fiction novel that I have truly come to love by Frank Herbert. If you have read my review of Part One of Villeneuve's Dune, you will know that I was (and, yes, I'm going to quote the Last Son of Krypton again from an important scene in the Snyder Cut) 'Not. Impressed.' Besides how Villeneuve handled Part One, I also didn't like the press release from Denis Villeneuve about the possibility of an extended cut and how that he is not doing that idea for the two parts of Dune, mainly because there are a lot scenes and performances on the cutting room floor that will not ever see the light of day. Finally, in comparison to the popular SyFy miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel done by John Harrison, I found Villeneuve's Dune: Part One lackluster, and therefore my expectations were quite low for Part Two upon its theatrical release.
That all being said, I was blown away by this titanic masterpiece of a cinematic adaptation of a sci-fi classic novel. And what is really cool is that my Expectations were exceeded but in ways that I wasn't anticipating.
The Actors, much like Part One of Dune by Villeneuve, are perfectly cast. The ones returning from the first Part who didn't get as much time get much more screentime and that is quite enjoyable, while the characters who are introduced in Part Two are well-cast and play their roles magnificently.
Greg Fraser's cinematography is breathtaking and the Computer-Generated Imagery used in this film are still near-flawless in comparison to most science-fiction productions in the last five to ten years, especially those from Marvel and LucasFilm LTD.
Hans Zimmer redeemed himself from Part One's flat score. Yes, I know he won a little gold statue for Part One saying it was the best score of the year, but I think the Academy had just given it to him because he was able to construct a techno-score in quarantine through Face-Time and Zoom Conferences. This time around, I really hope he gets another Oscar for his effort, because this time around, the music was perfect. Plus, we didn't have to get that horrible screaming noise in the score all the time like a Yoko Ono performance art piece.
The script is very tight this time around, too. One of the complaints that I had with the first part was that they used almost none of the dialogue from the novel, probably save for a handful of scenes. Same for this film, but the script is still pretty darn good. There are some elements from this script that weren't in the novel, such as the two factions of the Fremen introduced in this part (Ones who believe the 'Prophecy' and the ones who figures out that it was the Bene Gesserit's Missionaria Protectiva softening the way to prepare for the Kwisatz Haderach) and that Chani would be one of the non-believers. But it's a subtle nod to the upcoming conflicts going on in the next two books, most notably Children of Dune. I also found it interesting how conflicted Paul is in this movie over his visions.
Finally, I'm hoping that Denis Villeneuve adapts the second book of the series as Part Three, which would be appropriate since Dune Messiah is really the epilogue of the original novel. And since he has said in interviews that he intends to do that, I think that hope is justified. What I really hope for is a certain twist from the expanded universe to be revealed about a certain Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and the Baron Harkonnen. I also hope that Warner Bros and Legendary will keep the Dune adaptations going, even though Villeneuve has stated that he intends to have Dune Messiah be his last adaptation of the franchise. Personally, I would very much love it if Children of Dune got adapted into a trilogy on the same level as these two films. Let's hope that's not a pipe dream.
Long Live the Fighters!
That all being said, I was blown away by this titanic masterpiece of a cinematic adaptation of a sci-fi classic novel. And what is really cool is that my Expectations were exceeded but in ways that I wasn't anticipating.
The Actors, much like Part One of Dune by Villeneuve, are perfectly cast. The ones returning from the first Part who didn't get as much time get much more screentime and that is quite enjoyable, while the characters who are introduced in Part Two are well-cast and play their roles magnificently.
Greg Fraser's cinematography is breathtaking and the Computer-Generated Imagery used in this film are still near-flawless in comparison to most science-fiction productions in the last five to ten years, especially those from Marvel and LucasFilm LTD.
Hans Zimmer redeemed himself from Part One's flat score. Yes, I know he won a little gold statue for Part One saying it was the best score of the year, but I think the Academy had just given it to him because he was able to construct a techno-score in quarantine through Face-Time and Zoom Conferences. This time around, I really hope he gets another Oscar for his effort, because this time around, the music was perfect. Plus, we didn't have to get that horrible screaming noise in the score all the time like a Yoko Ono performance art piece.
The script is very tight this time around, too. One of the complaints that I had with the first part was that they used almost none of the dialogue from the novel, probably save for a handful of scenes. Same for this film, but the script is still pretty darn good. There are some elements from this script that weren't in the novel, such as the two factions of the Fremen introduced in this part (Ones who believe the 'Prophecy' and the ones who figures out that it was the Bene Gesserit's Missionaria Protectiva softening the way to prepare for the Kwisatz Haderach) and that Chani would be one of the non-believers. But it's a subtle nod to the upcoming conflicts going on in the next two books, most notably Children of Dune. I also found it interesting how conflicted Paul is in this movie over his visions.
Finally, I'm hoping that Denis Villeneuve adapts the second book of the series as Part Three, which would be appropriate since Dune Messiah is really the epilogue of the original novel. And since he has said in interviews that he intends to do that, I think that hope is justified. What I really hope for is a certain twist from the expanded universe to be revealed about a certain Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and the Baron Harkonnen. I also hope that Warner Bros and Legendary will keep the Dune adaptations going, even though Villeneuve has stated that he intends to have Dune Messiah be his last adaptation of the franchise. Personally, I would very much love it if Children of Dune got adapted into a trilogy on the same level as these two films. Let's hope that's not a pipe dream.
Long Live the Fighters!