Movie Review: Dune: Part Two

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Everything a sci-fi movie should be. 

The main goal of any sci-fi film is to make its world feel real to you. This movie does even better. After the film starts you are no longer in a movie theater, but you have been transported into the world of the movie. Everything about this world is perfectly realized from the incredible visuals (make sure you see this in IMAX and don't wait for it to come to streaming) to the mythology and politics. I can't remember the last time I was this engrossed in the world of a sci-fi movie. Despite the film's long length when the end credits started playing, I did not want to leave this world, I had become so engrossed in.  

While this is already set to be one of the greatest visual spectacles of the year (I know it is early in the year but what can top this), the incredible visuals never become the substitute for a great story. This movie has an incredibly intelligent script. It takes a deep dark look at both religion and politics, that is much deeper and more complex to what you have come to expect from a Hollywood blockbuster. Unlike most Hollywood blockbusters that try to say something, this film never oversimplifies what it is trying to say and never directly preaches to its audience. Instead, it is all incorporated perfectly into the story. Because of this, you can enjoy the story on a surface level or dig a little deeper. If you decide to dig deeper, you may find that this film causes you to look deep within yourself and your own beliefs. While the main character being "the chosen one" is a poplar trope in movies and books, I have rarely seen it be as well examined as it is here. This film follows this trope into the more complex implications that few movies explore. The result is incredibly thought-provoking. The arc the main character goes through concerning this is completely engrossing and keeps us glued to the screen. The romance here is also very well realized and believable (especially because Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya have great chemistry), which makes the climatic scenes of the movie all the more emotional. 

I have a feeling that one day the Dune trilogy (there is one more movie coming) will one day be just as revered as the original Star Wars trilogy. If the two movies so far have anything to say about it, this will be a trilogy that may even be better than the original Star Wars.