By JADYN IBY
Arts Editor
Movie theaters were packed with people for Denis Villeneuve’s new film “Dune: Part Two,” which was released to theaters March 1, of this year, as a sequel to the first Dune movie.
On its own, this second part of the series was absolutely jaw dropping. I have never seen a movie like this, one that could keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time. With the movie being almost three hours long, you’d think one would get bored, but that is not the case.
The series is similar to sci-fi movies such as Star Wars or Avatar, with different planets and different dictators for each. We follow a young man named Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), who is an heir to the noble Atriedes family. He gains the burden of trying to rule/lead a harsh world, where the only thing of importance is their drug “spice,” which gives the capability of strengthening consciousness and getting glimpses of the future and is the vital ingredient for the Space Guild’s pilots to navigate between planets. Paul is tasked with many challenges throughout both movies, but within him he holds a power greater than any other.
The second movie in the series, covering the last half of the first book in the famous Dune trilogy, is truly captivating, even if you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy sci-fi/action movies. Comparatively to the first movie, the first movie has nothing on the second one.
The film has many prominent and modern day actors and actresses that are in it such as, Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Rebecca Ferguson. Chalamet really does a great job in his role, a role I never thought he would be able to play well. But, he puts much emotion into his acting and it pays off as the second movie progresses. Austin Butler as an evil character and many others, has my jaw drop to the floor. His acting in this movie was also nothing short of amazing. All of the actors came out of their comfort zone for this movie, I haven’t seen them in any other movies like this one. A lot of them are still young and adding to their accomplishments.
I also liked how action-packed the movie is. With sword fights, dangerous journeys, people with almost magical mental powers, tragic deaths, and sci-fi creatures, there is so much to uncover and learn about the series.
The director also included some comedy in this second movie, whereas in the first one he really didn’t. I think it’s important with these types of films to also include a bit of comedy, solely because it’s mostly serious. As I said above, the movie was also almost three hours long, so viewers need a little comedic relief.
All Dune movies are based off of the 1965 novel written by Frank Herbert. There is a 1984 movie version, directed by David Lynch and starring Kyle Maclachan and Sting, which almost all Dune fans found very disappointing.. I tend to agree with the statement that the 2021 version is way better than the 1984 version. This is obvious, due to better technology and acting. They also don’t include as much background information or scenes from the book in the 1984 version.
If you have watched the first movie and lost interest because of the first movie, I encourage you to go and watch the second movie of the series. It is way more action packed, comedic, and interesting. There are so many great actors/actresses within the movie as well that really contribute to the overall effect of the movie. The second film really saves the first one in my opinion.
The end of the second movie hinted towards there being a Dune: Part Three. Upon further research, Far Out Magazine wrote in an article that, “Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has made two Dune movies, and the filmmaker has made it very clear that he intends to release a third to complete the trilogy.” How far a third movie goes into either the second or third books of the original trilogy will be interesting to see.
