“Power over spice, is power over all.”
This is the quote that kicks off the recently released science fiction movie Dune: Part Two, the second film in director Denis Villenueve’s (Blade Runner 2047, Arrival, Enemy, etc) Dune trilogy. Based on the second half of the novel Dune by Frank Herbert, the first half of the story was told in the first movie, released in 2021.
Dune is a story which takes place in the year 10,191 in a fictional society where humans have left earth and colonized planets throughout the universe. The main character in the story is Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto of the House Atreides. Paul goes to the planet Arrakis, where he is attempting to free the planet from control of the House Harkonnen, led by Baron Harkonnen. The people of Arrakis, the Fremen, believe that Paul is the prophesied messiah, or “Lisan Al Gaib” of their religion.
The story tackles ideas such as politics, war, and religious messiahs. While Paul is believed to be the Messiah, some of his actions are questionable. This leads readers, or in the case of the film, viewers, to question if Paul is the good guy or the bad guy.
Dune is not a story where there is a clear hero or bad guy. It is a lot more complex than just Good Vs. Evil, which is something that appeals to readers to the tale of Paul Atreides. It is easy to say that viewers are definitely attracted to the Dune movies.
As you can tell, Dune is clearly a complicated story. This led many people to say that the story was unadaptable for a film. In 1984, Director David Lynch gave his shot at bringing Dune to the big screen. Most people agree that he failed. The movie is critiqued for its poor construction, sloppy visual effects, and a lack of understanding of the source material. More attempts to adapt the book to film were made after; however, none came to fruition. This was until 2018, when Director Denis Villenueve said it was his goal to adapt the story into a two-part film series. This time it was a success.
Dune: Part One released in 2021, received a generally positive reception. People praised the film for its great production, world building, and understanding of the original story; however, many agreed it was rather emotionless and dull.
The film featured Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Zendaya as Chani, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar, among other actors.
Production on Dune: Part Two started almost immediately after the release of Part One, and it was released in 2024. Whereas Dune: Part One was seen as a good film, but nothing special, the reaction for Dune: Part Two was different.
Dune: Part Two received rave reviews from critics, and was praised for its incredible visual effects and acting performances. Everyone agreed Dune was a masterpiece of cinematography, editing, score, production design, sound and more, with an incredibly engaging story, fixing almost every critique of the first film. This led many people to call it one of the best science fiction films of all time, if not the best.
Legendary filmmaker Stephen Spielberg even said it was, “one of the most brilliant science fiction films I have ever seen,” while further noting, “it’s also filled with deeply, deeply drawn characters … Yet the dialogue is very sparse when you look at it proportionately to the running time of the film. It’s such cinema. The shots are so painterly, yet there’s not an angle or single setup that’s pretentious.”
Since the release of Dune: Part Two, the next film in the series Dune Messiah has been announced which will adapt the second novel by Frank Herbert. Until then, viewers can enjoy the first film on streaming services and go watch Part Two in theaters.
