The Reel Review
Set thousands of years in the future, the fate of the planet Arrakis is put to the test when a man hailed for generations as a savior leads a rebellion against the ruling dynasty that just killed most of his own family. Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem star in this sequel to the 2021 blockbuster adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 novel, one of the bestselling sci-fi novels of all time.
Dune: Part Two is without a doubt the most epic sci-fi film ever made. It is massive in its scope. Sweeping scenic vistas, a stirring score and dazzling costumes, visuals and sound effects immerse the viewer into a fantastical yet realistic world unlike any other ever experienced in film. How writer/director Denis Villeneuve managed to take such a nuanced, complex story to the big screen, even folding in a balance of humor and nuanced themes about religious fanaticism and Nazism, is masterful.
Even the acting in Dune: Part Two is stellar, from a convincing Chalamet as the begrudging rebel leader with horrific visions of the future, Zendaya as the young warrior/love interest, Ferguson as his mother, Bardem as the tribal leader who is convinced that he has found his people’s chosen one, Christopher Walken as villainous Emperor, Florence Pugh as his daughter and Charlotte Rampling as the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother. Austin Butler leans hard into his role of the sociopathic nephew of the Jabba the Hutt-looking Baron – an almost unrecognizable Stellan Skarsgård. As good as Dune: Part One was, Dune: Part Two is an even richer, bolder film – a science fiction masterpiece.
REEL FACTS
• The cast features two Oscar winners – Javier Bardem and Christopher Walken – and five Oscar nominees – Timothée Chalamet, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin and Charlotte Rampling.
• Stellan Skarsgård’s body makeup took 8 hours to apply and 2 hours to remove for every day of shooting. He didn’t drink anything and took Imodium pills in order to avoid having to go to the bathroom during shooting days.
• Austin Butler, who beat out Bill Skarsgård, Barry Keoghan, Tye Sheridan and Harry Styles for the role a psychotic Feyd-Rautha, says due to his character’s psychotic nature, he didn’t go full method acting as he did for 2022’s Elvis.
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