Dune: Part Two (Second Review by K G Kline)
Now that it's been out for a couple of weeks, and Warner Brothers has announced a third film in the works, this is a good time to re-examine "Dune 2" to see if it remains deserving of all the praise. The film has been getting a lot of great reviews, with some saying it's the best science fiction film of all time. It isn't. That position has been held tightly for five decades by Kubrick's masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey", but "Dune 2" DOES belong on sci fi's top ten list, and possibly in the top five.
What makes "Dune 2" stand out among so many lesser science fiction films is that first and foremost it's a great story. It's great science fiction as a distant second. The mark of a great sci fi film is that it doesn't rely on its ships, explosions, and trappings to keep the audience interested. That was where the Star Wars sequels failed - far too much fan worship of lightsabers, X-Wings, and iconic images from 1977 to allow the story to take control and move on. In contrast, Denis Villeneuve took a book already so rich in plot and subplot that he had to quickly find his angle and eliminate much of the rest.
To his credit, Villeneuve avoided the obvious choice of making this an action film dependent upon its CGI and combat scenes to hold people's attention, With "Dune" Villeneuve saw an opportunity to make a film with a message that has genuine meaning to contemporary moviegoers. By focusing on the book's messianic elements Villeneuve was able to draw out and expand upon the question of what a future Messiah might do if they could look into the future and see the suffering and death that their arrival will bring.
As important as the military struggles are to "Dune 2", it's Paul's internal conflict that gives the story its soul, and a religious story is lost if it doesn't have a soul. In his dreams Paul can see the billions who will die following or opposing him. He sees the wars and suffering that his zealots will soon inflict upon the galaxy in fulfillment of their own religious dogmas, and it's not much of a stretch to imagine that Villeneuve meant this as a warning to those who mix their politics with their religion and prey it will end well.
When it first came out, I gave "Dune 2' an A- based on its much-too-open-ended-ending, but with the announcement that there will indeed be a third "Dune “film that grade goes up to an A+. "Dune 2" is a textbook example of a perfect middle film. Darker than its first installment, "Dune 2"'s characters evolve just enough to give them added depth while keeping us guessing where they will end up. Plus, the film's sinister climax promises lots of action in the coming final installment, as the number of enemies the characters face increases, as does the conflict within their own ranks.
Although at least one major character remains to be revealed, having been merely glimpsed in part 2. Villeneuve avoided the two-year time jump that should have occurred mid-film to save Paul's sister Alia for the third film. I don't disagree with that decision. She's a formidable character who will benefit by taking the spotlight in the next installment.
"Dune 2" is as close to a perfect science fiction film as we've seen since "2001", and one that fans should enjoy on the biggest screen possible. I would also recommend seeing it at least twice to take in all the small-but-important details you will likely overlook during the first viewing. One you are almost certain to miss occurs when Paul announces near the end that he will wed the Emperess. The film cuts to the shocked face of Chani, though it could just as easily have cut to the presumed smile on the face of the Gaius Helen Mohiam as she sees her plans slowly coming to fruition despite Paul's ignorance.
When a film has two equally great close-ups to choose from, showing one while leaving you to imagine the second, it's the mark of great filmmaking