The 565th film I have seen in theaters…

Movie of the year

Following the fall of the Atreides, Paul and Jessica join the desert people, the Fremen, for refuge. Manipulated via their religion, the Fremen are recruited as an army to get revenge against Baron Harkonnen and implant Muad’dib on the Golden Lion Throne.

Timothee Chalamet nails it. We see the aggrieved, yet sympathetic, son of the late Duke become the ambitious, revenge seeking Prophet. His Paul is not a Messiah. His Paul is not a hero. He schemes his way to the throne becoming every inch the dictator that spawns a holy war, killing billions.

Zendaya also nails it. Her Chani is not the book Chani, but is improved. Of the Fremen, she is the one that doesn’t believe Paul to be the Mahdi. The ending sets up some amazing storytelling for the sequel.

I thought Ferguson did a decent job in part one, but holy crap did she SHINE here. They made Jessica the central manipulator of the Fremen and it works. Fantastic.

Javier Bardem did not disappoint. I loved how he, and the script of course, balanced initial humor, quite funny actually, with devout fervor by film’s end. Its all fun and games until Stilgar is ready to actually die so Paul can lead. I expect him to be the one to begin doubting Paul in Messiah.

There’s a short list of actors who are so good that you need to see their new movies asap. Austin Butler is approaching, if not already in, that range. His Feyd is captivating. I love the accent, mirroring Skarsgard. His gladiator scene is a highlight of the movie.

Florence Pugh is Princess Irulan. Like Chani in part one, Irulan has few scenes. You don’t put a talented popular actress in a role this small without a plan. She is going to rock in Dune Messiah.

Christopher Walken as Shaddam IV Corrino, Emperor of the Universe. He was good in the role. He, being himself, brings a lot of gravitas to the performance. He at least matched Jose Ferrer.

Lea Sedoux as Margot Fenring! I’ve not followed the casting of this very closely, so imagine my surprise when Lady Margot was in the story! I miss the inclusion of her husband, the Count, but this is great casting for Dune Messiah.

So, if I was surprised at Lady Fenring, imagine my shock when Anya Taylor Joy cameos as the adult Alia during one of Paul’s visions. This is OUTSTANDING casting. As Villenueve only plans to make one more film, I can’t help but wonder how much of time skip will happen. She is more “Children of Dune” Alia in regard to age, unless they are planning movies or tv projects beyond Villeneuve.

The reviews are not lying. This is a goddamn masterpiece. Villeneuve thoroughly understands the novels and broke the old “Dune is unfilmable” opinion into a million pieces. Every facet of this movie shines like a diamond.

The cinematography, like the first part, was stellar. This film used every inch of that IMAX screen to great effect. The music and sound design was outstanding. The Sandworm riding scene in particular displays these elements. On a technical basis, this movie may very well be perfect.

The script was well crafted, and while there were several changes to the book, the spirit was maintained. One change I actually liked was Chani being a doubter rather than devout follower of Paul. It gave Zendaya much more to do as well as adding a bit more drama to the story for Dune Messiah than “Oh man, I can’t get pregnant”.

Jessica being the manipulator of the Fremen was also a good choice. She fully becomes the Reverend Mother, just as scheming as Mohiam. In fact, I love how Villenueve shows our “heroes” becoming mirrors of the enemies. One small scene that exemplified this was the mirroring of the burning of corpses. First the Harkonnens burning the Atreides war dead, and the Fremen doing the same to the Harkonnen/ Sardaukar.

A central theme of Dune is the dangers of following a charismatic leader, the chosen one. The movie absolutely understood this assignment. As Paul accepts his destiny, and rages the Fremen into religious fervor, the movie reaches a crescendo of excitement. It wisely shows much from the view of Chani, allowing us to see how the Fremen are being manipulated. When we reach the end, the gut punch of the Jihad drives this theme home. It ended with incredible sadness. Billions of people are about to die. BILLIONS. Stilgar is going to be the central commander in a fucking genocide of non believers. Paul sees this coming and embraces it as the lesser of evils. Frank Herbert would be proud.

This exceeded my already high expectations. It did not shy away from the horrors of Muad’dib’s Empire. This must be seen on the big screen. IMAX if possible.

An easy 10/10