Synopsis: Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

Dune: Part Two was far and away my most anticipated film of the year. The first was incredible, the book is one of my favorites and purely based on the promise, I was excited. I fully believed that in the hands of Denis Villeneuve, we were in for something special. I am so glad to be right. This film has it all: brilliant performances, perfect direction and jaw-dropping cinematography. An almost three-hour sci-fi epic that flies by and delivers on the promise of the much more dense first film.

The biggest story around this film was the additions of Florence Pugh, Austin Butler and Christopher Walken and they all brought fantastic performances in the end. Walken is hardly in the film so he didn’t stand out, but I believe Florence Pugh was excellent as Princess Irelan. I cannot wait to see her more involved in the future. Austin Butler is the best of the three with a terrifying effort as Feyd-Rautha. The returners are just as good with Timothée Chalamet living up the role of Paul Atreides and Zendaya finally getting the spotlight as Chani. Zendaya is the emotional pillar of the movie and like Pugh, I cannot wait to see more of her in the future.

This film is a visual masterpiece. What Villeneuve and Greig Fraser did with both the framing of the camera and the actual execution is nothing short of impeccable. There are so many shots in this film that left me in awe. IMAX of course is the best way to watch this, but this is one of the most immersive films you will see this year and that is a credit to the director and the cinematographer and filming completely in IMAX. The direction overall is so good and is worthy of immeasurable praise. 

The writing of these movies was such an impossible task. Adapting Frank Herbert’s novel was for a while deemed impossible. I believe it was done the best it could be. There were omissions, yes. I still think the main core of this incredibly dense work was done very well. The rest of the technical in this movie is also impeccable. The sound design is amazing, the costume design deserves the Oscar and the set design is incredible. Filming on location will beat filming in front of a green or blue screen any day of the week.

FINAL: Dune: Part Two will go down as one of the most epic sci-fi films ever seen. Denis Villeneuve had an impossible task of adapting such a dense piece of literature and he did it very very well. The direction is some of the best I have seen in quite a while, the writing, while omitting some things, was still incredibly solid and the performances are to die for. The final act of the movie is candy for the eyes and the payoff of this movie was worth the price of admission alone. A worthwhile continuation of the very well-made Dune: Part One and a film that will go down as one of the best films of 2024.

Point Breakdown:

15 for Writing: 14

15 for Performances: 15

10 for Entertainment: 10

10 for Direction: 10

10 for Emotions: 10

5 for Cinematography: 5

5 for Score: 5

5 for Pacing: 5

15 for Technical: 15

5 for Rewatchability: 5

5 for Automatic: 5

Dune: Part Two: 99/100

Jack Lautaret is a film critic, Host of the Jack Lautaret YouTube Channel and writer for Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Online Film and Television Association. Twitter: @JackLautaret