Even as we marvel at the stunning and immersive and Oscar-level cinematography, editing, score, visual effects, production design and sound in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two,” we’re reminded at every turn that this is an absolutely bat-bleep crazy story with some fantastic but also loopy and at times almost ridiculous plot elements and characters, to wit:
- On the planet Arrakis, giant sand worms 10x larger and faster than a Metra train are attracted by rhythmic sound and will suddenly surface from beneath the desert and swallow up legions of humans and the machines they’re operating. However, a select few members of the Freman people have mastered the art of mounting and riding these sand worms, a la Khaleesi with her dragons in “Game of Thrones.”
- Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica is pregnant with a girl, and the fetus is able to communicate telepathically with her mother and with her big brother, the hero Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). At one point we even catch a glimpse of the unborn child when she’s in her 20s, and she looks just like an A-list star!
- The evil and ruthless villain Baron Harkonnen (the great Stellan Skarsgård), who looks like a cross between Jabba the Hut and Brando in “Apocalypse Now,” has the ability to slowly levitate and float, as if he’s an entrant in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
- An elixir called “The Water of Life” that is the color of one of those vibrant blue sports drinks is typically fatal to males — but if the right female downs the potion, it becomes an awareness spectrum narcotic that gives one prescient powers. So there.
Add to that a rocky romance with more arbitrary ups and downs than a story arc on “General Hospital”; some heavy-handed messaging about how blind faith in a messiah who might or might not be real can get you killed, and a complicated plot that has consumed two movies with the ease of a sandworm and leaves things open for a third, and there are times when “Dune: Part Two” is almost overwhelmingly dense. (Your appreciation level will also vary if you’re familiar with Frank Herbert’s novel and you dug it; full disclosure, I was not the biggest fan.)
Still, thanks to Villeneuve’s masterful direction, the aforementioned brilliant technical elements and a star-studded cast of actors who pour themselves into the material — you can practically see them shaking the sand out of their boots after a long day’s filming — “Dune Part 2” makes for a wondrous viewing experience. To invoke the cliché because it’s apt, if at all possible you should see it on the largest possible screen in one of those Dolby theaters with “seat transducers” that vibrate in sync with the action on the screen.
“Dune: Part Two” picks up shortly after the events of the first film and introduces two more key characters to an already crowded field: Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) and her father, the Emperor Shaddam IV (a disappointingly muted Christopher Walken), who are concerned that Paul Atreides may still be alive after they conspired with the psychic witches known as the Bene Gesserit and the Harkonnens to destroy the House of Atreides.
Meanwhile, on the desert planet Arrakis, the Skywalker-esque Paul has struck up a friendship that could blossom into romance with the brave and plucky and quick-witted Freman warrior Chani (Zendaya) and has demonstrated such skill and acumen that Stilgar (Javier Bardem), the leader of a Freman tribe, has come to believe Paul is the prophecy fulfilled — a messiah who can lead the Freman to prosperity and peace. (Others strongly believe such a claim is heresy. It’s all very New Testament-y.)
It’s unclear if Paul truly is the Chosen One, but he has continued to master the special powers and skills he was just learning from his mother in the first “Dune,” and he’s also leaning into his role as a fierce warrior who can command an army and is willing to take on the bloodthirsty and power-hungry Baron Harkonnen and the baron’s perhaps even more terrifying and destructive nephew, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, who is played by a bald-headed Austin Butler, and congratulations to the greatly talented Austin for finally shedding that Elvis accent, good on you! (A “Gladiator”-esque arena battle pitting Feyd-Rautha against multiple opponents is an action highlight of the film.)
With so many characters to juggle, some of them, e.g., Pugh’s Princess Irulan, are thinly drawn and get scarce screen time. On the plus side, Javier Bardem as Stilgar and Josh Brolin as Paul’s former mentor, the swashbuckling Gurney Halleck, are scene-stealing forces every time they pop up. Chalamet and Zendaya have a lovely chemistry in their quiet moments together; they would make for a power rom-com couple for sure. Even when “Dune: Part Two” gets a bit lost in the weeds, or should we sands, of the plot, it’s an impressive and at times gloriously beautiful piece of work.
