Dune: Part Two, by Denis Villeneuve | Waiting for the Messiah

After the sumptuous adaptation of the first two thirds of the first volume of Frank Herbert’s cult novel saga, Denis Villeneuve, unsurprisingly, outdoes himself with this breathtaking second part with mystical overtones. A tortured messianic figure, Paul Atréides, played by the incandescent Timothée Chalamet, seeks to avenge the assassination of his father with the support of the Fremen.

“This is only the beginning,” promised Chani (Zendaya, who sulks and frowns most of the time), a formidable Fremen warrior, to Paul Atreides, heir of the late Duke Leto, at the end of Dune (2021). Promise kept. Denis Villeneuve having masterfully imposed his vision of Frank Herbert’s universe, notably thanks to the invaluable contribution of artistic director Patrice Vermette (Arrival), here he signs an even more spectacular sequel. In addition to new faces, we discover magnificent sets by production designer Shane Vieau (The Shape of Waterby Guillermo Del Toro).

Logical sequence

While Chani summarized the story to come at the start of the first part, it was the turn of Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh, decorative), daughter of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken, dull), to take over the narration. A choice which turns out to be logical since it is the writings of this character with literary pretensions, as Lady Jessica describes her at the end of the novel, which are found at the outset of each chapter of Dune. If the planet Corrin, where the imperial family lives, has an enchanting air like Caladan, planet of the Atreides, it is above all the Sietch Tabr, the large underground encampment of the Fremen, which strikes the imagination in this new part.

Their enemies and allies believing them to be dead in the desert, Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Fergusson, intense), pregnant with Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy, enigmatic), hole up among the Fremen. If certain members of this indigenous people of Arrakis, the only planet where the Spice, a precious source of longevity and prescience, is produced, take a dim view of the arrival of these foreigners, their leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem, hilarious) firmly believes that Paul is the Lisan al-Gaib (the voice from elsewhere) announced by the prophecy.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, eager to avenge his father, Paul attempts to change the course of history by fighting alongside the Fremen against the cruel soldiers of the despot Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, Brandoesque) and the bloodthirsty Sardaukar sent by the Empire. Will come to lend Paul a hand none other than Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin, truculent), Duke Leto’s master-at-arms recycled as a smuggler, who, faithful to the novel, will sing a song while accompanying himself on the beacon – which Villeneuve had deprived the spectators in the previous part.

Master of Science Fiction

Among the new characters, note Lady Margot (Léa Seydoux, evanescent) and Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler, terrifying), brother of Rabban (Dave Bautista, bestial) and nephew of the Baron. The latter appear in sequences shot in black and white of chilling beauty. This surprising aesthetic choice suggests that the low intensity sun of the planet Giedi Prime, where slaves are killed and tortured for pleasure, makes all colors disappear. Furthermore, the shots showing the scale of the Harkonnen army, greeted by a delirious crowd, effectively evoke the not-so-distant images of a totalitarian regime.

Boasting Greg Fraser’s remarkable cinematography, Joe Walker’s precise editing and Hans Zimmer’s hypnotic soundtrack, also Oscar winners for Dunethe scenes of battles, aerial and terrestrial, that the filmmaker brilliantly orchestrates have nothing to envy of those staged by Kurosawa (Ran), Coppola (Apocalypse Now), Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan) and Scott (Napoleon).

Seen in the first part, the gigantic sandworms with multiple sharp teeth will be the subject of breathtaking rides in the desert.

Beyond its opulence, this prodigious space opera with the mystical accents of Denis Villeneuve, who confirms his status as a master of science fiction, vividly illustrates the excesses of colonialism, wild capitalism and religious fanaticism. In this regard, Lady Jessica, who becomes a reverend mother, recalls the madmen of God and other charismatic gurus taking advantage of the naivety of the most vulnerable.

Finally, how will fervent readers of Frank Herbert react when discovering the surprises that Denis Villeneuve has in store for them, such as the absence or disappearance of characters, the disrupted chronology of certain events and the ending differing somewhat from the original story? No offense to purists, the liberties taken with the novel by the filmmaker and his co-writer Jon Spaiths, both winners of the Oscar for best adapted screenplay with their accomplice Eric Roth for Dunein no way weaken the story.

In a way, these changes help to shed new light on Paul’s character, who seems more complex and more tragic than ever in the face of a destiny he did not choose. As well as suggesting that the third part, Dune Messiahwill be grandiose.

In theaters on 1^er March

Science fiction

Dune: Part Two
(V. F.: Dune: part two)

Denis Villeneuve

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Fergusson, Javier Bardem

2:46 a.m.

8.5/10