By: Kimberly Grant

If you are not a fan of science fiction and fantasy stories, then this movie review is not for you.  By that, I mean you won’t be interested in Dune: Part Two if you aren’t into action movies with heavy sci-fi elements or if you weren’t a fan of the previous Dune movies and series.

Dune: Part Two will be in theaters on March 1.

Sci-Fi Storyline

Denis Villeneuve returns to the franchise, once again, as the movie’s writer and director (with writing help from Jon Spaihts and based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert).  In the second installment of the Dune re-make, rightful Duke of Arrakis, Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet), and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are living amongst the Fremen.  The Fremen are basically the sand people who are the original inhabitants of the planet Arrakis before the nine noble families fought to mine the planet for spices. 

If you’re a fan of the original Dune miniseries or read the book, then none of this is a surprise.  Zendaya reprises her role as Paul’s love interest and Fremen, Chani.  Chani continues to teach Paul the way as he ascends into his prophesied destiny as Muad’Dib or Lisan al-Gaib.  I won’t ruin the plot for you.  I’ll just say that this second installment is a continuation of the first movie and provides some closure for some of the characters.

Symbolism

There is quite a lot of religious symbolism in Part Two.  Muad’Dib is the prophesied messiah of the Freemen and springs forth as an outsider.  His main purpose is to return the planet of Arrakis to the Fremen.  Sounds a lot like the story of Moses and the Exodus of Hebrews.  Paul’s mother is a part of an order of witches who have advised the noble elite for over 90 generations.  These women are powerful and seen like high priestesses.  The way the ruling classes revere these women is similar to how priests are/were revered in many countries.

Paul is also a reluctant leader amongst the Fremen and resists his appointment for most of the movie.  Similar to Moses who didn’t want to be the voice of the Hebrews for the Pharaoh.  The color of the people seems to be symbolic, as well.  The Fremen are mostly black and brown people who seem like a cross between African, Latin, Native American, and Muslim.  Since they live in the desert the Fremen are surrounded by earthy colors.

The main villains in this film are the Harkonnen.  The Harkonnen are in stark contrast to the Fremen.  They live in a literal black and white world where the sun is black and the people are ghostly white with no hair and black teeth.  The Harkonnen are disgustingly violent, from their heaving portly leader Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) to their sadistic and psychopathic heir Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler).  Now, I can’t say for sure that the filmmakers are intentionally making comments about the differences of the races.  But, this aspect of the film does encourage some discussion.

Rating

Some discussion needs to be had about the rating of this film, as well.  The film is rated PG-13, but it should probably have an R rating.  Not because there are naked people in the film, because there aren’t.  Not because of curse words, because there aren’t any curse words.  No.  This film’s ick factor and callous regard for life is what earns it a tougher rating from me.

Seemingly more violent than Dune: Part One, this film includes a number of fight scenes and scenes of senseless violence against unarmed people.  It’s off-putting.  The sadistic nature of Feyd-Rautha not only shows how much of a villain he is, but makes me wonder what exactly did Butler do to get into character.

Sci-Fi Characteristics

Unfortunately for Chalamet, Javier Bardem steals every scene as Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen on Arrakis.  His sense of humor is a welcome distraction from the darkness of the film.  Chalamet as Paul is good, but leaves something to be desired.  As an audience member, I still don’t see him as the future leader of the Fremen.  On the other hand, Zendaya gives yet another great performance.  Not only is she talented, but she has always been a badass when it comes to action.  This film is no different.  Too bad Chani isn’t the prophesied “messiah”.

Florence Pugh takes an interesting turn as Princess Irulan who is piecing together the facts of an impending war, while trying to maintain her duty to her kingdom.  Christopher Walken plays her father, the Emperor.  Walken is quite old, 80 years old to be exact, but his portrayal as a frail emperor trying to maintain his power is on point.  Dave Bautista returns as Beast Rabban, also known as the jock of the movie.  Lastly, Ferguson as Paul’s mother and a witch is one of those rare characters that you root for in one movie and look forward to their demise in the next.  Jessica takes a dark turn in the film and brings her son down with her.

Confession time: I haven’t seen the original Dune miniseries that was released in 2000.  After watching the two latest iterations of the series (based on a book), I can tell that there has been improvements in the casting, special effects, and set pieces.  While the sets are beautiful and the action is engaging, I would recommend seeing Dune: Part Two once.  Come for the action, stay for Zendaya and Bardem performances.  The rest isn’t worth it.

If you agree with this review sharing is entertainment.  See below.

Read more review by K. A. Grant via her Entertainment Blog.