The highly anticipated sequel to Dune: Part 1, directed by Denis Villanueve, Dune: Part 2 was released on March 1 in the United States theaters.
Picking up from Dune, the film further explores the aftermath of House Atreides’ massacre at the hands of House Harkonnen, tracing the survival journey of its two remaining members: main protagonist Paul Atreides, portrayed by Timothée Chalamet, and his mother Lady Jessica, played by Rebecca Ferguson.
In an attempt to seek refuge from their murderous adversaries and the harsh desert in which they are stranded, Paul and Lady Jessica find themselves in a reluctant alliance with the Indigenous population of the planet of Arrakis, known as the Fremen.
The crux of this film revolves around evolving Paul’s character into a religious savior and military leader in the full-scale attack against the Harkonnen, demonstrating his dual roles as the Fremen’s messiah and its leader while delving into the split beliefs of the Fremen community and Paul’s own internal conflicts.
Luke Van Dyke ’25 said, “It [Dune] was able to execute on everything that part 1 set up and while it may be recency bias I think I even prefer Dune Part 2. I thought the film’s pace was handled even better than the first with the nearly three hour run time going by extremely quickly.”
Along with the complex plot and intricate worldbuilding, Dune: Part 2 also excellently executes the production elements, incorporating gripping visuals crafted by Greig Fraser and an immersive soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer, both of whom have worked with Villanueve on Dune: Part 1.
“I saw it in IMAX 2D and throughout the entire film I felt like my ears and eyes were being assaulted by the overwhelmingly powerful sights and sounds. In particular, the depiction of the Harkanon homeworld was an excellent contest to Arakis and a true visual feast,” said Dean of Academics Christopher Fern.
He added, “When many movies rely solely on great art and sound direction to get by with a basic story, this film shies away from a more traditional Hollywood narrative to make a far more compelling and thought provoking film.”
The film also expands its cast, adding prominent stars like Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar, while giving Zendaya’s character, Chani, a much more prominent role.
“I thought all of the casting fit extremely well for their portrayals and the whole cast did great really bringing to life these characters they were playing with a real stand out being Timothee Chalamet as Paul especially in the later half of the movie,” said Van Dyke.
Dune: Part 2 ends on a cliffhanger, with Paul launching a holy war across the universe, seamlessly setting the stage for the final part of Denis Villanueve’s dream of creating a Dune trilogy.
Fern concluded, “The narrative of the first film is a roller coaster downward of the fall of a great House, and the second film is the roller coaster steadily rising back up to its zenith, preparing for a possible final thrill of a third film.”
