Denis Villeneuve sublimates Frank Herbert’s masterpiece

Denis Villeneuve signs the sequel to his “Dune” released in 2021 and concludes a clear and clear adaptation of one of the greatest science fiction novels.

Built as a diptych, the version of Dune by Frank Herbert by Denis Villeneuve ticks all the boxes. The director of First contact and of Blade Runner 2049 has the fiber of science fiction. He demonstrates it again from Wednesday February 28 in theaters, with Dune: part two which concludes this faithful and sumptuous adaptation.

Dune, originally a single novel, was declined, with great success, into a series of six works from 1965 to 1985 by Frank Herbert, followed by other sequels by his son Brian. Alejandro Jodorowsky had imagined with the comic book author Moebius a film adaptation in 1975. It will never see the light of day, but the detailed project will be plundered in Star Wars Or Alien who will take science fiction out of its cinema ghetto.

After the failure of David Lynch’s version in 1984, then the Sci Fi Channel series (2000), an adaptation of Dune worthy of the name is finally on the screens.

This second part is the direct continuation of Dune. Paul Atreides, united in Chani within the Fremen people, feels more and more expected as the liberator from the Imperial yoke and from the Harkonen clan which reigns on the planet Arakis. Unprepared for this mission, but gifted with gifts that predestined him for this role, Paul guides the revolt and reveals the secret of the planet buried beneath the sands of Arakis.

Spectacular realism

We cannot talk about the film without mentioning the first with which it forms a whole. The projection in one piece of the nearly five hours of the two parts of Dune would be a great project. However, it remains economically difficult to achieve, with only two screenings per day.

A fan of the novel, Denis Villeneuve has made a filmmaker’s dream come true. His adaptation is clear and clear, contrary to what was criticized about Lynch’s film. The failed artistic design of this film is replaced by a splendid design responding to the spectacular realism of current SF in cinema. Each clan (Atreides, Fremen, Harkonen, Empire) benefits from a refined identity aesthetic, the marmoreal settings are magnificent, the sandworms spectacular and the battles epic, in a futuristic Shakespearean register conducive to a great spectacle.

A young actor with a dazzling career, Thimothée Chalamet suits the increasingly altered candor of Paul’s character. On the path to becoming aware of his responsibilities, this evolution of the hero guides the story. Denis Villeneuve follows the book closely, where politics, religion, ecology and war mix, in a work from the 1960s which strangely echoes our times. This is the very nature of all good science fiction, as this Dune prophetic that fulfills all expectations.

The sheet

Gender : Science fiction
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Actors: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, James Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling
Country : UNITED STATES
Duration : 2h46
Exit : February 28, 2024
Distributer : Warner Bros. France

Synopsis: In Dune: part two, Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen to lead the revolt against those who destroyed his family. Haunted by dark premonitions, he finds himself confronted with the greatest dilemma of all: choosing between the love of his life and the destiny of the universe.