I had watched "Dune," Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the first half of the Frank Herbert 1965 classic, on the way to Peru a couple of times. Just recently I saw "Dune: Part Two," which covers the second half. And what I can tell you is that it wrapped up everything left hanging in Part One perfectly.
I could talk about the cinematography, the acting, and the fight sequences, but the part that held my attention the most was how it portrayed the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and its themes of what makes a "chosen one" and the consequences that come with it.
To reiterate from the first film (spoilers ahead), House Atreides is granted feudal rights to the desert planet Arrakis (the titular Dune), which is the only place that produces the highly-valued "melange" or "spice," a substance necessary for space travel.
However, this is really an elaborate scheme to destroy House Atreides concocted by the Emperor (Christopher Walken) and its ancient enemies, House Harknonnen.
After an attack by the combined Harkonnen and Imperial forces kills Paul's father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), the younger Atreides and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are taken in by the Arrakis' native Fremen people, who are convinced Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach/Lisan al-Gaib/Mahdi, a messianic figure who will lead the Fremen in a holy war to conquer the galaxy.
Such a prophecy was planted among the Fremen centuries ago by the Bene Gesserit, an all-female religious order who have subtly manipulated religion and politics for centuries.
As a student of the Bene Gesserit, Jessica tries to make her son the Kwisatz Haderach in defiance of the leadership, stoking the Fremen's belief in Paul as their new religious leader.
The only one she cannot convince is Chani (Zendaya), Paul's eventual lover and skeptic of the prophecy who tries to counter Jessica's influence.
Despite her efforts, Paul's gift of foresight and the events of the Fremen's war with the Harkonnens force him to embrace his legend, though he still tries to avoid the worst of his visions.
The clash between Paul and Jessica is best summarized in a scene where Jessica says Paul is giving the Fremen hope in their fight, to which Paul angrily yells, "That's not hope!" because he knows what sort of carnage they will be unleashing as their successes continue.
Chalamet and Villeneuve masterfully portray the reluctant journey of Paul Atreides from outsider to cult hero, and there are times near the end of the film when it looks like he is starting to believe in it himself.
While I am not familiar with Rebecca Ferguson's work and don't know what sort of character she normally portrays, I did enjoy her portrayal of Lady Jessica, balancing the character of an ambitious yet protective mother and a manipulative snake.
I give additional props to Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, and Austin Butler as the vicious Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, one of Baron Harkonnen's (Stellan Skarsgård) nephews who fills a secondary villain role (and since Harkonnens are portrayed as pale, bald people kind of like cue balls, I feel like there can be a billiards joke to be made in his scene where he fights in a triangular arena).
Overall, "Dune: Part 2" (and Part 1) is one of those movies that you can dissect on multiple rewatches and still find something new, just as Frank Herbert intended when he wrote the book.
(In Bene Gesserit's Voice): GO SEE IT!
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