The story of the desert planet continues to be told. Two German Oscar winners were once again involved in the sci-fi epic “Dune: Part Two”. Director Denis Villeneuve dreams of a third film.
The science fiction epic “Dune” thrilled critics and viewers two and a half years ago. The visually stunning film by director Denis Villeneuve was a huge success at the box office. According to the industry portal “Box Office Mojo”, “Dune”, which was filmed with a budget of around 150 million euros, grossed more than 400 million euros worldwide. This ensured the continuation. Filmmaker Villeneuve (“Blade Runner 2049”) planned his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel, published in 1965, as a two-parter from the start and is fortunately able to continue telling the complex story of the desert planet Arrakis.
“I never left Arrakis,” Villeneuve said at a press conference shortly before the premiere in London. “As soon as the first part was shot, we immediately went into pre-production.” The director emphasized that it was not a sequel, i.e. an independent follow-up film, but rather the second part of a complete work. “We wanted to present it to the world as quickly as possible.” Because of the strike by actors and screenwriters in Hollywood, the film’s release was ultimately postponed for several months.
Accordingly, “Dune: Part Two” picks up exactly where the first part ended. With their sneak attack, the Harkonnen have almost completely wiped out House Atreides and taken control of the planet Arrakis and the coveted Spice. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (strong: Rebecca Ferguson) have fled to the desert, where they have joined the Fremen around Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya), the girl from Paul’s visions.
The attacks of the Harkonnen, who do not know where the desert people are hiding, are getting closer and closer. At first Paul and his new allies manage to fend them off. Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) sends his sociopathic nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) to Arrakis to win the battle. The Emperor (Christopher Walken) also has an unscrupulous plan.
Paul is torn between his loyalty to the Fremen and his feelings for Chani on the one hand and his supposed destiny on the other. Many Fremen believe he is the messiah from another world who will liberate Arrakis and bring water to the desert planet. Paul initially rejects this and blames the powerful Bene Gesserit sisterhood, which includes his mother. But in his visions he foresees a holy war in which he will be the leader of the Fremen.
“In this film we see Paul Atreides becoming the man of the prophecy,” Chalamet said in London about his character’s evolution, “by overcoming his fear of love, his fear of where his place is with the Fremen “. The development is not only positive, because – driven by anger and a desire for revenge – Paul not only becomes more powerful, but also more aggressive. Author Frank Herbert didn’t want him to be seen as a hero.
With Austin Butler as the bloodthirsty, pain-loving sociopath Feyd-Rautha, Paul gets a strong antagonist in “Dune: Part Two”. In David Lynch’s overly compressed “Dune” film adaptation from 1984, pop star Sting played the role of Feyd-Rautha in a wonderfully diabolical manner. The charismatic butler now gives the Harkonnen a fearsome, cruel aura.
The cast of numerous interesting characters is top-class. In addition to Butler and Christopher Walken, various top stars are new in the second part, including Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot Fenring and Anya Taylor-Joy in a small role that is not revealed here.
A star of the film behind the scenes is again Hans Zimmer. His soundtrack for the first part earned the successful German composer his second Oscar and a Golden Globe, among other things. For the 66-year-old, who says he devoured Herbert’s novel as a teenager, “Dune” is a matter of the heart. He gave a foretaste of the music in “Dune: Part Two” at his live concerts in Germany last year.
“When we finished the first film, I just kept writing,” Zimmer told the German Press Agency in London, “even though we didn’t yet have the green light to make the second part.” Once again, the sought-after Hollywood composer (“James Bond – No Time to Die”, “Top Gun: Maverick”) has created an overwhelming, atmospheric and dramatic soundscape that enhances every scene and is great cinema even without the impressive images.
Speaking of visuals, “Dune: Part Two” is a visual feast best enjoyed on the largest possible cinema screen. In quiet moments, the film is like a fascinating painting that you just let work its magic. In the action scenes – be it excessive space and desert battles or the ride on the sandworm – he offers great spectacle. The film was shot in the Jordanian desert and in Abu Dhabi. The team led by German special effects artist Gerd Nefzer, who received the Oscar and several other awards for their work on “Dune,” is responsible for the visual effects.
If there’s something to criticize about “Dune: Part Two”, it’s perhaps that it suddenly moves a bit too quickly in the last third. Despite its 166-minute running time, the epic is extremely entertaining, so the showdown could have been a little more generous. Overall, the second half of Villeneuve’s work is in no way inferior to the first. “Dune: Part Two” also impresses as an impressive, thrilling science fiction spectacle.
By the way, the story hasn’t been told yet. Frank Herbert’s “Dune Chronicles” includes six books. Denis Villeneuve has already indicated that he would like to film the second novel “Dune Messiah” from 1969. “There are already a few words on paper,” the director revealed to the British film magazine “Empire.” “If I manage to do a trilogy, that would be a dream.”