Dune: Part Two released

Dune: Part Two Released: February 6, 2024 Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Genre: sci-fi Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 282.14 Worldwide: 714.64 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Denis Villenueve Screenwriting: Denis Villenueve, Jon Spaihts Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken Review: When director Denis Villenueve took on the daunting task of adapting Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 sci-fi novel Dune, he made the wise choice to stretch the complicated story line over two movies. The first movie, released in 2021 (see that review here), focused on the House Atreides arrival on the planet Arrakis and the assassination of their leader, Duke Leto. That forced his son, Paul (Chalamet) and his mother (Ferguson) to retreat to the desert and the primitive world of its native people, the Fremen. That leaves the second part to focus on Paul ingratiating himself into the Fremen’s way of life, being accepted by their leader Stilgar (Bardem) and becoming romantically entangled with Chani (Zendaya). Paul finds himself at the center of a prophecy to become a messiah figure for the Fremen as he rises up to lead the attack against the House Harkonnen responsible for killing his father. Like the original story, the movie focuses on the danger of charismatic leaders who become too power-hungry. In Paul’s bid to oppose the evil Harkonnen’s, there is a lingering threat that he could also succumb to the same temptations. The movie does tend to subscribe to the “‘natives good, white colonialists evil’ narrative” RN in depicting Fremen culture “as largely good, its problems caused almost entirely by evil outsiders.” RN For example, the book depicts the Fremen as a hierarchical, male-led society but the movie downplays these aspects. Regardless of any reservations about the movie, the result is “an impressive film version of one of the most famous of all science fiction novels.” RN “The acting, storytelling, and visual images are all top notch.” RN Sources: RN Reason.com movie review by Ilya Somin WK Wikipedia

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Eras: Oscars: Wins: ? Nominations: 5, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects Lists: First posted 3/2/2025.