Immediately following the events of “Dune”, the second part of the saga follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he continues his path to seek revenge on the conspirators who destroyed his family while setting out to protect the universe from a formidable fate only he can see.
After over a week of hearing rave reviews comparing the highly anticipated sequel to sci-fi masterpiece, “The Empire Strikes Back,” I headed back into the sand with high expectations.
Admittedly, I had mixed feelings about the first film. I was impressed by its visual and technical prowess but the slow burn storytelling didn’t stick with me.
On the other hand, “Dune: Part Two” blew me away. A monumental feat in cinematography and immersive storytelling, I was on the edge of my seat in pure awe. I actually think I GASPED several times because I was so overwhelmed by how masterful sequences were.
From Zendaya’s ferocity to Javier Bardem’s irresistible charm, “Dune’s” star-studded cast pulls out all the stops. Although it’s very much Chalamet’s film, the true stand out is Austin Butler’s psychotic Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. I didn’t have Elvis and Willy Wonka fighting with swords on my 2024 bingo card but holy hell was it incredible.
At the end of the day, this film is all thanks to the incomparable Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve outdoes himself, crafting a film thats sheer scale will leave your jaw on the floor. He poured his blood, sweat and tears (probably literally on the sweat part) to faithfully share this story on the screen and man oh man does it show.
I have a feeling “Dune: Part Two” is our first big win of 2024, and you best believe this baby is going through next year’s awards circuit.
I feel like we’re slowly watching a “Lord of the Rings” scale saga on our hands, and if that’s the case, we are in for a treat with the next installment.
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