Joey Magidson
In many ways, the 2024 film calendar really has launched this weekend, as Dune: Part Two has hit theaters. With buzz not just building for the movie from the press screenings last month (though it had been screening for select press even earlier than my supposed early screening), but from pretty much when Dune came out, Denis Villeneuve‘s science fiction epic is poised to to do quite well at the box office. With the flick being basically the first flick of the year everyone is seeing, an Awards Radar Community Question is born. What do you all think of Dune: Part Two?
As a reminder, this here is some of what I had to say in my review:
What a difference a few years makes. I went into Dune (reviewed out of TIFF here) with trepidation, wondering if this would just be another grandly ambitious misfire. I walked out of that festival screening turned around on the property and actually excited to see what was next. At the same time, I did have a bit of worry in the back of my mind about the second part. Could it maintain momentum and work as well as the first one? Or, would having a little over five hours to tell Frank Herbert‘s book in total lead to bloat and perhaps even too much of a good thing? Well, I’m here to report that Dune: Part Two is none of those things. Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has managed to improve on every aspect of Dune, which is saying something. The first part was just a great setup for a grand science fiction tale that’s also Villeneuve’s epic war film. I once again stand corrected, as my fears and worries were for nothing.
Dune: Part Two manages to complete the novel’s story while raising the stakes in all regards. The action is bigger, the scale is incredible, and the actual ideas of the novel, as well as the complicated themes of religious fanaticism, come across with crystal clarity. Even if I won’t go quite as far as to call this The Empire Strikes Back for our time, those who are saying it are not completely speaking in hyperbole.
That’s my take, but what about yours? Does Dune: Part Two live up to Dune? Does it exceed it? Wherever you fall on the spectrum for this sci-fi epic, we’re very keen to find out. So, let the spice flow and speak up with your reaction…
What did you think of Dune: Part Two? Let us know!
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