Dune: Part Two

It is almost the same as with the first visit to the sand dunes of Arrakis. Dune is a huge blockbuster with stunning visual aspects and the captivating Timothée Chalamet in the lead role. He effortlessly crosses the boundaries set by the script, as his Paul remains a bit of a lost puppy until the final act, when his transformation towards the promised events is quite sudden. Thanks to him, it's easier to forget that most of the characters (Chani, Irulan and all the other Bene Gesserits) are more interesting than the main hero, and I still can't get rid of the feeling of how much of a shame it is when such an enchanting, cruel, and complex world revolves around a single questionable prophecy. But do not be fooled. This dazzling blockbuster is exactly what we repeatedly call for and love the whirlwind of sound designed to grip you when the lights go out in the cinema. (24/04/2024)

With a bit of exaggeration, you could say of this colossal film it is about the USSR fighting the Arabs for oil and the Americans pulling the strings. Dune: Part Two is the pinnacle of modern big screen in every way. From the engaging storytelling, to the sound design, the fantastic sets, the visual effects, the sound and Hans Zimmer's beauty. Hands down, this a brilliant job by the filmmakers and the actors. A monumental epic that for years was considered unfilmable has succeeded for the second time. Everybody says it can't be done, until somebody does it. And that somebody is Denis Villeneuve. The event of the year – the riding of the worm and the duel between Chalamet and Butler are absolute cinematic delights. And the whiners who will complain about the final third and who knows what else are not worth addressing. (09/03/2024)

Impressive scale, a strong story that goes brutally against all modern trends and a young cast in top form (Austin Butler is demonic). It looks gorgeous, the polished design (a black and white planet!) where they paid attention to every detail surpasses the benchmark first film in places, and Hans Zimmer has taken the score to an even higher level. I liked the first part of Dune a bit more, though. It was more meditative and fresh. Here we're playing it safe and the cinemas are bursting at the seams. SPOILERS: It's interesting that a film about a colonizer who infiltrates a terrorist organization of religious fanatics and declares Jihad (it's interesting that they avoid that label) on the entire world order to avenge the death of his father gets this kind of space. Prophetic? We shall see. Denis Villeneuve has been mum about the third installment so far, and he's doing well because the leap to Savior is huge. Much more personal and the scale is smaller. The ending is bleak. (03/03/2024)

An experience after an experience. And also an internal redefinition of when it still makes sense to pay absurd amounts for sitting in front of a giant screen with a perfect audio set. The well-deserved praise is abundant, so perhaps just to the extent that compared to the first part, it may lack a certain lightness that seemed to stem from Denis Villeneuve's awareness of huge expectations, refusing to make the slightest wrong step. This paradoxically happens at the moment when to fit into a runtime of under three hours, and to keep the widest audience in theaters, especially in the last third, it is edited in a way that you completely feel those missing fragments (especially if you have read it) and mentally beg for another hour. But otherwise, it is all we fervently wished for two years. It is an absolute peak of Hollywood craftsmanship in the best possible form. It is a visual masterpiece and total overkill of cinematic sound design, to which Hans Zimmer's galactic chorales respectfully yielded. For the first time, I truly understood how people felt forty years ago when they were shown Star Wars in movie theaters. (03/03/2024)

I think I’ve just watched not only the most anticipated film of the year but probably the best thing I’ll see in 2024. The wait for the second part of Dune was worth every moment. If this is the level of quality we get after three years, then I’m not complaining. This installment is a total sci-fi epic that rightfully earns its place among the best Hollywood offerings of the 21st century. Hans Zimmer has outdone himself again. While there isn’t a standout melody, the combination of his score with the practically flawless visuals evokes an indescribable sense of fear and respect for Arrakis. The cast is a gathering of top-tier talent, seamlessly blending into a cohesive and high-quality ensemble. Denis Villeneuve has once again surpassed expectations. He has faithfully adapted a novel once deemed unfilmable in the 1980s. (03/03/2024)