Good news, Dune 2 is everything you expect from it (spoiler-free review)

One of the most anticipated films of the year was released in theaters on Wednesday 28 February. Three years after (finally) setting the scene, the plot and the protagonist of his epic in a first film, Denis Villeneuve has revealed the second part of Dune.

The Dune 2 trailer

A second part, what is it?

Paul Astréides (Timothée Chalamet) is determined to rally around Chani (Zendaya) and her people, the Fremen, as he plots his revenge against those who destroyed his family. Even as he must choose between the love of his life and the fate of the galaxy, he must do everything he can to prevent a terrible future that he will be the only one to see thanks to strange visions.

Do you have to have seen Dune to understand Dune Part II?

Before tackling the second big piece (2h46) of DuneA question arises spontaneously: is it possible to see and appreciate it if we don’t remember the first part well, or even if we haven’t seen it (yet)?

The answer is yes. This is also one of the challenges of this second part. Denis Villeneuve may have confessed that he “hates dialogue” two days ago, but this second part constantly tries to have a clear plot, thanks to the dialogues. It is as if the filmmaker has freed himself from the question of understanding this science fiction story, in order to direct the viewers’ attention elsewhere. Some will see this attention as a quality, others as a flaw. Because, formulating the narrative problems a lot, the film repeat sometimes, especially when the Fremen are reduced to people who constantly repeat that Paul is their Chosen One.

The writing and the location of the dialogues may also be lacking with respect to the question of faith, which Villeneuve tries to place at the center of his story. The Fremen, the people with whom Paul allies himself, never stop expressing it: their guidance, their strength, their vision of life, is their faith. Although the question is interesting, Denis Villeneuve treats it less well than in his other films. Let’s think, for example, about the excellent First contact, in which linguist Louise Banks was driven by the belief that she could communicate with faith-bestowing aliens. On the contrary, inside Dune 2Denis Villeneuve has more difficulty transforming this force of faith into something more than simple lines of dialogue, staging and images.

The desert: the strong point of Dune 2

On the contrary, the immense strength of Dune 2 lies in the staging of the desert. There we are not dealing with issues summarized in repetitive lines of dialogue or simple background setting. Each sequence of the film seems to renew the question: how to film, create drama, entertainment, emotions, beauty with a territory that, by definition, can be perceived as empty ? Imagining an impressive variety of lights, atmospheres, shots and actions on this expanse of sand so vast that it recalls the infinity of the sky or the ocean, Denis Villeneuve tells us the epic story of Dune thanks to the landscape. This struggle for the survival of a territory is embodied in the land.

The desert is never the same. When Paul and Chani are nestled in the dunes, he’s like a home, warm, familiar and loved. When the sand is shot in a very wide shot and the characters appear tiny, it becomes embodied an uncertain and threatening future. This diversity of tones is palpable throughout the film. Dune 2 it’s a reflection of Villeneuve’s cinema, which often straddles the line between arthouse spectacle and Hollywood spectacle with a body-building budget. Therefore, in addition to his poetry and his poetic dimension, Dune 2 shines with engaging, beautiful and terrifyingly creative action scenes. Let’s think, for example, of the titanic dimension of a ride in the desert on an underground worm, or of immense flames on an ocean of sand. Starring consistently convincing actors, the film finally gives Zendaya the place she deserves, it’s a surprising blend of mystery, contemplation and action. Enough to make these 2h46 go by in one go, and already make us impatient to know what will happen next.