This review will contain spoilers for the events of “Dune: Part Two.”  For a refresher on the contents of the first “Dune” movie, see Josiah Anderson’s review of the movie here. 

The highly anticipated “Dune: Part Two” hit theaters nationwide March 1. The film, serving as a continuation of the Dune franchise based on the novels by Frank Herbert, earned an exceptionally high $81.5 million nationally and $178.5 million globally during its opening weekend, making it the most successful movie in theaters so far in 2024. The movie was equally well received by major movie rating websites such as IMDb (9/10) and Rotten Tomatoes critics (94%), even better than the original Dune movie. 

“Dune: Part Two” continues the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), who, in the wake of the massacre of House Atreides and Duke Atreides by the Harkonnens, joins the Fremen, an oppressed group of people living on the planet of Arrakis who wish to take back their planet from feudal rule. Paul convinces the Fremen to let him join alongside his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), utilizing religious prophecies planted in the region by the Bene Gesserit to make it seem like Paul is the Lisan al-Gaib, the Fremen’s version of the chosen one, even though he himself  does not believe in it and openly denies it throughout the movie. The Fremen, though initially wary of the two, choose to accept Jessica and Paul into their rank, with Paul earning their respect through learning the ways of the desert and Jessica inheriting the role of Reverend Mother from the former Fremen Mother. With the help of Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and the girl from his visions, Chani (Zendaya), Paul leads an assault against the harvesting of Spice followed by the Harkonnen themselves. 

If it was not evident from the summary, “Dune: Part Two” is a dense sci-fi movie with a fairly high learning curve to it, but for those who can follow, the experience is extremely enjoyable. Just like the first movie, “Dune: Part Two” uses every cinematic tool at their disposal to make the world of Dune immersive for audiences. Everything from the shots to the sound design to even the color choices make Arrakis come alive on the big screen. Audiences are able to feel every gust of wind as it blows through the sands and every blow of a knife in combat. 

Color plays a huge role in the storytelling of Dune. While in the deserts of Arrakis, the color scheme is composed of various browns and grays with spots of blue, showing Paul and the Fremen’s interconnectedness with spice and the desert, while the Harkonnen society is shown almost entirely in black and white, illustrating the dystopian and artificial nature of their society. Audiences can feel this contrast; the neutrals of the Fremen are much more palatable than the unnatural grayscale that the Harkonnens are cast in, which help push the themes central to the story. 

Since “Dune: Part Two” progresses the conflict of the first movie, the Atreides versus the Harkonnens along with the subtle role of the Emperor and the Bene Gesserit all play parts in the ongoing war. Paul Atreides starts the movie as an outsider wishing just to be a foot soldier in the war against the Harkonnens. He rejects the notion of his being the Lisan al-Gaib, a rejection of power that signifies a huge part of Paul’s character, even as his exposure to spice increasingly shows more signs of his power growing in line with the ‘fake prophecies’.  He is a humble guy and does not trust himself with power because as his visions show, if he takes power, he sees the deaths of millions following close behind. 

But over the course of the movie, Dune pulls off a smooth transition little by little and Paul gains more and more power, both through his visions and the Fremen, until he eventually caves into his growing power and the prophecy of the Lisan al-Gaib, and uses the Fremen to launch a full-on assault on the Harkonnens and the Emperor. It is a transition that brings a lot of complexity to the story and makes the audience unsure of Paul, especially with the visual motifs of their assault being reminiscent of the Harkonnens invasion of Arrakis and subsequent massacre of the Atreides, which makes the audience uncertain as to whether Paul is making the right choice.

Furthermore, “Dune: Part Two” does a great job making the audience question what is true regarding the prophecies regarding the Lisan al-Gaib. Paul and his mother Jessica are aware from the beginning that the legends were intentionally planted by the Bene Gesserit to use for their own purposes and are therefore false. Yet, as Paul’s powers grow and his visions become more clear, he continues to make choices that align with the prophecies and subsequently grows a large following of Fremen who believe him to be the prophesied leader, forcing viewers to  contend with the reliability of his visions and the prophecies. If the visions are true and the prophecies are real, it would change how the whole story is viewed, adding an extra layer of complexity to the movie. 

The overarching political conflict was also extremely well-done, with nearly every side of the story being told through the eyes of one of their members. Paul shows the Fremen, Princess Irulan’s (Florence Pugh) perspective illustrates  the empire’s side, while another segment of the movie encapsulates the Harkonnens through Baron Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler) and the Bene Gesserit’s hand is seen throughout. These perspective shifts not only helps to enrich the depth of Arrakis, but allows for some humanization of all sides (except the Harkonenns). The Harkonnens are only shown to be a brutal and slightly psychotic people, which was demonstrated throughout the movie through the repeated murder committed by Harkonnen royalty for the simplest of inconveniences, making it apparent that they are the villains of this story. But for a story with so many factions, the distinctness of all sides of the conflict both thematically and visually made the story more interesting and easier to follow. 

Overall, “Dune: Part Two” stays true to what it is — a complex sci-fi adventure-intrigue story. It is  definitely a lot for the layman viewer with its complex worldbuilding and the sheer amount of names and terms one has to understand, but it is  well worth the effort. In “Dune: Part Two,”  Director Denis Villeneueve manages to create a movie that can be dubbed an experience, a transportative story that ends with audiences craving the next installment, just so that they can be back in the sands of Arrakis once more.

What did you think of Dune: Part Two? Let us know in the comments.