The 2025 Oscars may have a frontrunner, and this year’s Oscars have yet to even happen.
After being delayed in November due to the actor’s strike, the highly anticipated “Dune: Part Two” was released on March 1, and it is sci-fi excellence.
“Dune” (2021) was a bit of a slog as it laid the groundwork for the sequel with painstaking worldbuilding and exposition. It got perfect marks on the technical front, winning six Oscars, but it felt like the movie ended just when it started getting good.
Looking back on it, director Denis Villeneuve was just doing the dirty work so “Dune: Part Two” could really soar. The sequel takes the first film’s compelling aspects and puts a meaningful story at the forefront.
The sequel picks up right where its predecessor left off. Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) has teamed up with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen to defeat the Harkonnen as they fight for the planet Arrakis, revenge and the most valuable resource in the universe, spice. All the while, Paul has vivid visions that show him gaining too much power and becoming the savior of the universe. That’s essentially the Cliffs Notes of the Cliffs Notes of this convoluted plot.
The already massive cast gets bolstered with the additions of Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken (briefly) and Lea Seydoux in an even smaller role.
The best new addition to the lineup is Austin Butler as the bald baddie Feyd-Rautha. He chews up the scenery, playing a hilariously over-the-top killer and new commander of the Harkkonen with one of the coolest character introductions in recent memory.
The real heart of the film is Paul’s journey to accepting his prophecy as the chosen one of this world. As these visions start becoming true, his stature, ego and power grow with it.
That’s the main philosophical dilemma of “Dune: Part 2”: Do we have control of our own fate? The film does a great job of exploring this idea as it takes incredibly dark turns for a blockbuster of this scale.
It surprisingly leaves no easy answers, and the conclusion is so bleak it makes “The Empire Strikes Back” look hopeful.
While its themes may leave you in existential crisis, the beauty of its balance is that it remains incredibly entertaining and light. The performances are outstanding, the setting is incredible and the film’s sandworm sequences are the best thing I’ve seen on the big screen in a while.
That’s really all you can ask from a film like “Dune: Part 2.” The new king of scope Villeneuve completes a far more thrilling chapter in the saga, and one more of this quality will put his series up there with the sci-fi greats.
The question of when we will get the next chapter is still up in the air as Villeneuve has stated he needs a rightful break from the franchise. He will begin work on a new project before the series’ third installment, “Dune Messiah.”
Until then, go see “Dune: Part Two” and enjoy how it delivers on what the first film promised.
