Ya never l cared for chalamet, but that scene in the south when he spoke to the leaders was amazing. He killed that scene.

My favorite quote from Denis Villeneuve about the first movie being released straight to HBOMAX was "Watching this on a regular TV screen is like buying a speed boat and running it in a bathtub." This movie demands to be seen on the largest screen possible.

This wasn't explained explicitly in the films, but in the books its explained how Leto's gas ampule killed all of the harkonnen senior staff and strategists, resulting in their more erratic decisions in the second film.

Surprised you didn't mention Javier Bardem, whose performance as Stilgar I think carried much of the first half of this movie

What I love about the book is that it was rejected 23 times by all the major publishing houses, until a publisher that mainly dealt with automotive manuals took it on. Now we have this, a stunning movie and what seems an equally stunning sequal, and a book that is one of the most successful sci-fi book of all time. If you stick to the source material, you really can't go wrong, something most modern movie makers can't seem to grasp.

The reason the Harkonnen’s seem inept is because they believe there were only 50K Fremen at most, and also that Paul and his mother were dead. They became complacent believing to have won the day so to speak. So the Baron gave management duty of Arrakis to Rabban, who is brutal but incompetent. Because of his fear of disappointing his uncle the Baron, and the Baron’s wrath, Rabban hid his failure to control Arrakis from the Baron until things were already out of control. So it’s a combination of Harkonnen top down leadership structure which doesn’t question the top dog (in this case everyone under Rabban feared him so they mostly kept quiet) and Rabban’s incompetence. If Feyd were to manage Arrakis from the start, things might have been more difficult for Paul and the Fremen.

Austin Butler looks like he's gonna steal your luggage at the airport.

Not only does there HAVE to be a sequel, but an extended directors cut on release will probably include a lot of the extra stuff that the movie obviously needs. We can only hope~

The Harkonens are supposed to lose their calculating and strategic powers because Leto killed most of their brain power in the first movie. It is one of the bits that is supposed to have long term consequences.

That 'unnecessary scene' when they're looking at the place where the atomics are kept was brilliant storytelling. It told you so much without exposition - It showed a mundane scene of how they all chatter amongst each other, something lacking in most movies. It shows how the characters of different backgrounds think of each other, how they think differently strategically, how they speak and interact with each other, and it tells the viewer that they bicker and laugh just like all of us. Mundane scenes are human moments, and it is refreshing to be seen in modern day blockbusters.

As a huge fan of Lynch’s Dune, despite its well documented flaws and story liberties. I must say that having seen both of the new Dune films in IMAX. I’m impressed and at the same time perplexed with DV’s vision of Dune. As with most great films, the more I watch the more I understand, accept and embrace it. Looking forward to the 4k release of Part Two so I can really let it sink in with multiple viewings. I can only imagine what Lynch’s Dune would have been if the studio would have not interfered and forced him to make a condensed shortened version. He originally wanted and needed multiple films but was denied by the studio. DV was very fortunate to have the studio back his vision and gave him license to make the film he wanted to. I’m just glad we got at least one Dune film from Lynch. I think it’s a cinematic masterpiece like no other sci-fi movie of its era. It’s unfortunate that’s it’s so often ridiculed by some. “The Sleeper has awoken!”

Late to the party but I just watched it. Enemies are actually threatening. Every plot point has major stakes for the galaxy. 9/10. Cinema can still be incredible when there’s no messaging

Watched the first movie this past weekend with my grandfather, who was big into the novel and the 80s movie. I knew nothing about the lore of Dune because I hadn’t read the book so I went in with no expectations. I loved it, but my grandfather loved it more than I did. He actually got visibly excited at seeing the ships and the explosions and stuff. He would jump up and point at the screen saying, “THIS is how it was said to look in the books! This is how it is supposed to be! Back then they just didn’t have the technology to make it look right on film.” And at the end he was like, “Holy shit they just did the first half of the book! Part 2 is gonna be the second half of the book where he rides the worms and shit!” It was one of the best film experiences I’d had in a long time, and memories like that with family stick with you forever. So needless to say, I’ll definitely be going to see Dune Part 2, might even ask my grandfather if he wants to go. Hopefully it holds up to the first part.

You know it's good when the drinker does not want to spoil the movie.

The Chani/Paul relationship never landed for me. She barely ever smiles at him. Most of the time she gives him a disapproving look or a look like she just smelled a fart. Imagine if Paul were more of a "bro". "Paul, what is your Fremen name" Paul: "Thumper! Am I right Chani?" (raising hand for high five)

I love movies that don’t spoon feed you every detail of what is going on and the repercussions of peoples actions, instead making you work it out as the film goes on until you’ve put the jigsaw together

Power corrupts is wrong. “Power draws the corruptible, and absolute power draws the absolutely corruptible” -one of the Dune books

6:16 - Harkonnens seem so incompetent now because, well, they are. Most of their tactical genius was because of Piter, the twisted Mentat. He provided the smart stuff and they provided the violence and cruelty, and this combination was very effective. This was also why the baron kept him around even though he disliked him personally. When they lost him, all they had left was the brutish cruelty, and that's not enough to win wars.

Chalamet played his role so much better than I expected. In the first movie it kinda looked like he was gonna be a wimp, but man, did he step up. And it fits the story perfectly. He evolved from a timid teenager hanging around in the background into a fierce leader, when tragedy struck and the situation called for it

My main criticism is that the real importance of the spice is not mentioned more often throughout the film. It ends up losing importance, which means that the threat at the end of the film doesn't have such a big impact, at least for those who have never read the first book.

The Harkonens losing their edge is intentional. During the first film, Duke Leto kills the Harkonnen tacticians and mentats (hard to explain, but essentially living computers) with his poisoned breath. Without their seasoned tacticians who built them into such a force to be reckoned with, they end up having a steady decline in leadership which is exacerbated with the Sarrdukar leaving.

Harkonnens are brilliant but arrogant in the book, consistently overestimating their abilities and underestimating the people around them, their biggest mistake is not knowing how many fremen actually exist and massively underestimating them, and their power over the worms.

I was completely overwhelmed by the lore when I saw the first adaption from 1984. I was screaming at my monitor, when I lost another silly harvester in the Dune strategy game. I was pround and felt like a badass when I could deploy my first Sardaukar Troops. The prophecy theme from 84 and the opening sequence with Virginia Madsen will forever be burnt in my mind. I love the story and the lore from Dune. And now, so many years later, I am completely blown away by the experience in the theater from part 1 and part 2. Let me tell you: You are commiting a serious crime when you watch Dune1/Dune2 the first time on a small ass TV with a whacky sound system. Go to the Cinema NOW and experience, what we have experienced!

I feel like I'm on crazy pills. I certainly liked the spectacle of this movie. But I did not consider it faithful in anything but the broad strokes of the book. I respect Denis is talented, particularly when it comes to creating a visual feast. But I get the feeling that the minor niggles in his adaptions will grow overtime as people become less and less blinded by the amazing visuals.

I'm almost 68, and read these books when I was a teenager. Great books and I'm glad to see someone that actually follows the books. Great to see hope to see the next movie.

At certain points the music and sfx were so loud that my cinema seat started vibrating. I've never experienced anything like it, it was insane.

Watched it on iMAX and.. wow. The sound made my whole body vibrate. When someone used “the voice” I could felt it in my soul.

I F-ing LOVED this movie; my brother and I went and saw it last Sunday and we might go see it again today. It's been a long time since I've seen a really great new movie in general but one that is not only great but I'm willing to go sit through it's 3 hour runtime a second time in theater is basically unheard of. All the actors really hit it out of the park on this one but the guy playing Feyd Rautha was fantastic; I love the way he kind of imitated Stellan Skarsgard's voice for that Harkonnen raspiness. That was a truly great touch in an overall truly great movie. I almost never recommend movies to my friends but I've been telling anyone who will listen they need to see this movie.

Denis Villeneuve is one of those Directors whose movies you wanna see based on pure trust on the quality of his previous films.

“Lead them to paradise” that line sent chills up my spine after all that had happened in the movie

Went and saw it a second time last week and this movie has definitely grown on me. When Paul rides a sand worm for the first time was a classic scene in my eyes. It’s on par with Paul’s first real close encounter with a sand worm in the first film when he’s stand by the edge of that rock while the beast rises up and seems to rise up and speak to him before getting pulled away by a thumper. Both of these scenes in these movies are just so well done. I think the first film is a little bit better, but Part 2 is another awesome movie that I think carries the torch on just fine while managing to introduce new tones and vibes.

Having now seen Part 1 & 2, stylistically and visually, Denis Villeneuve nailed the look of Dune, visuals are his forte, and the overall production was absolutely stunning. Having read all the Dune books, multiple times, I was a bit disappointed with the modern approach to both the dialogue and tone of some of the main characters, especially Paul and Chani, I know they're teenagers initially in the books at this time, but Paul was raised and groomed to be a planetary prince in the context of galactic struggle, and the lack of seriousness in tone and depth in the writing for these characters and their overall casualness felt off a lot of the time, their scenes often felt like watching a modern teen drama. And Jessica was very poorly misrepresented in Part 1, although she became more in line with her character in Part 2. Whatever you think of David Lynch's 1984 version of Dune (despite it's flaws I personally loved it), the overall tone of the acting and writing was more accurate to the books and to the tonal setting and stakes when compared to the original story in the books. Overall, Denis's version diverged far more from the books than I expected, although I felt it was an overall successful in the way that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings was, diverging unnecessarily too far from the books, but essentially staying true in spirit and plot to the main story. Two of my biggest complaints are dramatically changing Jessica's and Chani's characters, which I can understand for dramatic tension purposes; but more so the almost entirely side stepping the cosmic aspects of The Spice in the story and bypassed the depth of the prescience experience itself, it showed a bit of the what, but not the reality of Paul becoming the Kwisatz Haderach; at least in Lynch's adaptation you felt the power of what he was becoming, in this version basically he took a nap and Chani slaps him afterward, it was easily the singularly most disappointing moment in the Part 2. The cosmic aspect in the Dune books is by far the deepest and most compelling part of the story Frank Herbert explores, and admittedly very hard to portray in on screen, but this was seriously anti-climatic. Denis's version does a good job with the political conflict, and a decent job with the moral conflict, but entirely the misses the transcendent, which otherwise may have made this a masterpiece. Overall the dialogue was too geared way too much towards the mundane and explained instead of showing. Otherwise, It is still in an incredibly impressive film, and despite many lore issues with the books, I do look forward to him taking on Dune Messiah/Children of Dune in Part 3, which I do hope gets made, and i can't wait to see Anna Taylor Joy as Alia, and Paul as the blind fallen messiah tragic figure The Preacher. Even more, I would absolutely love to see The God Emperor of Dune realized, but that's a bit akin to wanting to see The Silmarillion by Tolkien on film, that's simply too much to ask from the universe to have those great works done properly on film.

The Harkonnes lost their mentat when Duke Leto used the poison, so yes they have lost some potential in terms of their tactical savvyness. Plus, if you go by the book, the Baron is purposefully leaving Raban on Arakis with bad orders and no support specifically to set up Feyd to take his place and be welcomed as a liberator by comparison. So, it may not be presented on screen as well, I don’t know yet, but it all still fits with how the story should unfold by the sound of it.

I'm kind of hoping they at least make a third movie, get into book two and finish Paul's story.

There's a lot to love about Dune II, but I feel Drinker is going a bit light on things that he would napalm in other films. Maybe it's an accurate depiction of source material, but the "sandworm express" by which the Fremen moved north and south with ease seemed cheesy to me. A lot of the fight logic "use the artillery on them, brilliant!" and magical fremen who can appear anywhere at whim to kill their enemies seems overly convenient. Again, in other films Drinker would point out these kind of things as 6 year old boys hastily brainstorming ideas to advance the plot as they need it, where better scriptwriting could come up w more interesting ways to resolve some basic mechanics like how the fremen become so militarily dominant so quickly and how the baron's son reverses this tide so quickly. Dune 2 is far superior to much of what Hollywood barfs out these days, but still makes use of some of contemporary blockbusters' more annoying devices.

I firmly believe that even if we don't get Messiah, these two Dune movies will be remembered as Sci-Fi classics for years to come. In the same way I feel like 2049 will later on be fondly remembered as an under appreciated gem. Mark my words, time will be good to Denis and his work.

The first movie since Top Gun Maverick I'll watch in theaters.

I became a Denis Villenueve after I saw Bladerunner 2049. I never thought a sequel to Bladerunner could be good (Some view it as slightly better). I then watched Sicario... then Arrival. Then he directed Dune. I'm glad he is on the rise.

I really liked the parts where Paul Atreides said: "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere," and "They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals!"

A movie isn't just the actors themselves. I disagree here Drinker. I think this is just run of the mill Hollywood choices with maybe a few tweaks and being based on a great book and previous cinematic work it's easy. I think the bar is so low these days that a movie like the Dune remake passes for awesome cinema when it's more like the bare minimum.

The fact that Villeneuve said “it’s not finished yet, we’re gonna have to delay it” made me even more excited. He did part 1 so well, I knew if part 2 wasn’t perfected yet, it was already gonna be great.

Drinker, you’re the only critic I ever believe because you’re genuine. Too many movie critics act like they’re weathermen, forecasting what is good and bad without providing any explanation as to why. Their monotonous videos come across as cheap and pretentious. You, on the other hand, speak as if you’re having a debate with your friends, showing the why and how of where movies succeed and fail and you bring your personality into it. Thank you from a loyal listener.

It rushed the most important parts (e.g. Battle of Arrakeen), it could have trimmed some time off elsewhere. Similarly, I thought they abused Stilgar's character as a serious, devout man and used it as comedic relief; they kept jumping between serious Stilgar and joke Stilgar. And Chani was too prominent, and she was much more supportive. And Paul absolutely *was* a Chosen One - he just wasn't the only Chosen One; Leto II essentially proves that Paul was right, even if he questioend himself, and had to do what was necessary to avoid humanity going extinct in the future.

My main issue with the movie is that it takes it's sweet time to set up everything (which I love) but then the final battle and the duel last for a total runtime of like 15 minutes.

Having read all the books for Dune throughout the years (even the meh ones) it brings a smile to my face to see these movies doing so well. In a world of poor science fiction/fantasy like star wars and Rebel Moon, it's good to see something on the opposite side of the spectrum, something that actually offers something that isn't stupid, and treats the audience like we aren't moronic consumers.

The Harkonnen part was on point though, the Baron knew his nephew is an incompetent brute who only cared to torture and pain. He knew the beast will fail arrakis on his own. While not being aware of the growing resistance, he intentionally wanted arrakis to be a mess so that feyd will sort of "fix" it and be hailed as a savior. Also, unlike the movie, the baron did not commanded his force to exterminate the fremen in the book which pretty much shows his ignorance about the fremen thinking they wont be a trouble of some cause.

Pacing, sacrifice of depth for breadth, and a surprisingly low amount of cinematic tension in I would say a third of the movie keeps this from being a true masterpiece. But considering the actual depth and time and pure balancing ability to be able to pull off the above aspects, deliver a coherent storyline delving into all these themes, stay true to the works of Herbert, and do everything in a visually spectacular manner is just a bridge too far. I gripe because I’ve been so impressed with Part 1 that I fooled myself into thinking Villeneuve might work a film miracle. He didn’t, but this is still the best movie I’ve seen this year, and a triumph for blockbuster filmmaking. A well executed Dune: Messiah would have me declaring this trilogy among the greatest of all time.

The secret sauce to the deserved success of these two Dune movies is the involvement of Dune Author Frank Herbert's son Brian and his long-time cowriter on a series of fantastic novels set in the Dune universe Kevin J. Anderson. It luckily occurred to the filmmakers that maybe they ought to talk with the two people still alive on Earth who understand Dune best before they started this project and to involve them in the script and screenplay. Boy, does it show too. Especially when you compare it to the Sci Fi Channel's attempt a while back. They have so far done a pretty good job of trying to make Chani like the character in the novels while still trying to please the girl boss crowd a little bit. Like you said, thank God they didn't make Chani strong at the expense of Paul. If only more movies would try this hard to make the male and female leads of films worthwhile characters in their own right without denigrating anyone in the process. I think they also tried to point out that not every Fremen was immediately convinced to blindly follow the Bene Geserit's invented religion that they'd been crafting over the centuries (which is in the books - there's a lot of argument amongst the Fremen over what they ought to believe and how they ought to act) by giving a lot of those thoughts to Chani. Yes, there's some murmuring among a few of the crowd as well, but the filmmakers wisely didn't cram the lead with too many characters. The drama succeeds because it centers on Paul, Chani, Jessica and Stilgar, putting every other character in the background and only showing them when it would help further the plot. I think they are wisely saving showing us more of the Emperor, Princess and the Spacing Guild (who have barely been mentioned so far in this trilogy) for the third movie. The biggest problem with the often-praised 80's version is that they tried to cram too much from a very long, thoughtful and complex book into a 137-minute action movie. This new trilogy does its best to avoid making that same mistake by spreading things out across at least three movies. If the trilogy does well enough, it might even spawn a new mini-series on streaming. I think that is likely.

When I first saw dune in theaters I had no expectations and knew nothing. Infact the movie I wanted to watch was cancelled so instead of going home I started looking at posters and say the dune poster. I said why not and I’m glad I did. When it ended I knew I had seen something special that I just had to tell everyone about. I said to myself this must be how they felt..the star wars fans, LOTR fans, harrpotterfans, matrix, marvel etc. every time I see dune I think about that day at the amc dobly, my ears drums vibrating, my eyes squinting every time it was bright, the seats shaking, and me smiling ear to ear start to finish. Unforgettable. Can’t wait watch the second one

As I recall the toppling of the Atreides was a combined effort of Harkonnen and Imperial forces. The breakup of that would mean (most probably) the funding and grunt power for the campaign would have been from the Baron, while the precision would have come from the Emperor in the form of his Sardaukar. We know from the book those are not only very skilled fighters but also impressive infiltrators. Once those are removed from Arrakis, the Harkonnen are left to occupy with their own less impressive forces and the tactical brilliance (or complete lack thereof) of Rabban.

I guess i'm the only one on earth disappointed. I mean, I like it. But not as much as the first 1. Everything seems really easy for Paul. There's not even really an antagonist. Chani is huffing and puffing for no reason and for a 3 hour long movie it felt oddly rushed

Florence Pugh seemed like a miscast for Irulan to me, but I liked her portrayal of the character here (always imagined her as a tall icy blonde). She came across as very sympathetic. I have loved the book Irulan since I read the books years ago. Not sure why, just her story resonates with me and I probably loved the twist that the Irulan who wrote fragments of books preceding every chapter turns out to be Paul's official wife at the end, so that's why she chronicled his entire life in such detail. I loved that they showed her dictating chronicles here, a great nod to the book!

Got a content warning from YT when I clicked this video… well done Drinker… Wear that warning like a badge of honor

Great review as always, Drinker. Although there is a reason the Harkonnen's seem incompetent in this movie compared to the first. Frank Herbert wanted to show how empires can rise and how they may be overthrown. He used the fall of Rome as inspiration. The harkonnens represent the complacency, decadence, and deviance of the noble class. While the Emporer represents a centralized government that has lost touch with the very empire, it is supposed to understand and rule. Both sides have grown too comfortable in their positions and underestimate fremen. Who spent generations adapting in harsh terrain and culling the weak from their ranks. It's a brilliant analogy that's especially relevant today.

I completely disagree with your opinion. The movie was dumbed down in comparison to the books content, important aspects have been omitted or butched and pacing was totally off with the biggest disappointment was the final battle which should have taken more of the screen time. Zendaya is a bad actor and was usless in the movie. Saying that this was very faithful to the book is a big misunderstanding.

I kind of felt like the film all just went by with no real struggle... Paul A and team just go around succeeding on every mission over and over until the end and then....well, it ends... For me it was a bit like the last few episodes of Game of Thrones (only in the sense that ... "and they won"). I really felt like they could have added in more set-backs - mad the struggle look harder. But overall - not that big of a deal - the big struggle session was the first film!

"Bring in that floating fat man, the baron." Still in my heart.

Having read Dune multiple times - I still can't decide if the Harkonnens were smart or not. The Baron waivers so much it's still hard for me to tell 😂. I've chalked it up to - the Great House are so wrapped up in their nested schemes, trying to think 20 moves ahead that they're all blind to what's right in front of their faces - which may have been the whole point 🤔

Among all the undeniable good in this movie, I feel there was a lot of (mostly) pacing related bad, which people are neglecting talk about in this fervour of dune love. !!SPOILERS!! The final battle between the fremen and the Imperial guard felt extremely rushed. The Emperor had hardly made an appearance and then him, the Sardaukar and the Harkonnen were all wiped in a 20 minute battle sequence that speedran Paul's takeover of the planet. Even more silly I found that within the same afternoon (unless im missing something), the Fremen who have no spacefaring experience afaik, commandeer the Emperor's ships and seem to be taking off to do battle with the Great Houses in orbit. Overall, the movie left me feeling like many of the big plot points weren't quite earned, and this could have better been done in two separate movies.

Chalamet is not a good Paul Atreides. There was no chemistry or comraderie between the cast. The movie spends far too much time on the offbeat, mystical aspects and the ending feels rushed. The sound track is loud and brash. The final battle is anti-climactic. For all its faults, I still prefer the Lynch version.

Harkonans weren't depicted as smart or tactical even in the first film though. Their victory was assisted a lot by the Sadurkars.

I remember when I was young and went and saw terminator 2 and I was completely blown away. Having just watched Dune part / and read the book series several times. After the film ended I just sat there in stunned silence once again completely and utterly blown away. What an amazing movie!!! This is why I love cinema 😊

One thing that really bugged me is they never showed how they get off the sandworms. That thing is frickin moving, can someone please explain how they get off.

Finally was able to see the movie this week after somehow avoiding watching any of the reviews or spoilers floating around. I had high hopes after the first one (which I never saw in theaters). Boy, was I not disappointed. One of the things that impressed me the most was the amazing imagery, done without a single shot obviously placed in just for the sake of the image and not the plot. I guess you could say the same about the first movie but the restraint just really stood out to me seeing this one in IMAX.

Denis, Nolan, Matt Reeves and Cameron carrying Blockbusters right now.

The mystery of the critical drinker isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. A process that cannot be understood by stopping it. We must move with the flow of the process of the drinker

"Suprisingly faithful to the books" was my exact reaction! My only gripe as a book fan was changing Chani's character to be more of an angry girl boss. In the books she was formidable as a fighter, but Paul loved her and would prioritize her safety in the books, so her as a young woman fighting the Emperor's Sardaukar on the frontlines of the battle for Arakeen was just beyond ridiculous to me! However, the change to Chani's character did not detract much from the story or even from the romance between Chani and Paul, so overall still an awesome movie :D

Timothée had a 'horse stance' in almost every scene TheDrinker showed, its amazing :D

For the first time, I felt a movie passed really quickly and swiftly, given it was a 3 hour film. I like how Denis is one director who has maintained the minimalism in the movies instead of bombarding the audience will all kinds of boring trivia. It's a good story portrayed by visuals and audio, that's it. Proper cinema.

Massive shout out to Greig Fraser for his continued excellent work, and I think Denis Villeneuve is one of the finest directors working today!

Fun fact: Christopher Walken (the emperor) appears in the fatboy slim music video "weapon of choice", wherein he dances to the lyrics which include: "walk without rhythm, it won't attract the worm".

Honestly the only gripe I have with Dune 2 is loosing some dialogue under the dramatic music at times. Yes the score definitely adds to the ambiance, but us deaf old farts want to hear the words too. Something I notice more and more in films these days, you can't hear half the dialogue due to poor sound mixing.

I was obsessed with Dune in the eighties, still am now. So glad they didn't ruin this story. Love it.

I felt the same way about drawn out scenes and runtime that could have been better used to flesh out characters. A case of this happens at the thopter escape scene with the sandstorm in the first movie and how much character was left out, especially with the Baron and Thufir. The meeting scene in the books with the duke showing confidence while hiding the fact that he is super angry and scared cause they tried to kill his son is incredible and is severely cut short in the movie, it explained the state of things.

I've been watching you couple years ago,and today i come back after a while. You've still got it mate !

I wish both films could've been more faithful to the book and less dumbed down. They are still enjoyable and better than the other crap Hollywood has to offer though. Besides the 1984 film adaption there is a much less well known miniseries from around 2000 that actually did an amazing job at staying true to the source material , but unfortunately because of the budget and costumes the series looks incredibly corny and the script and performances are overshadowed. I guess I had hoped that this adaption would retain more of the qualities that made me love the books ( books 1-4 that is, I don't care for the last 2) especially after he managed to do the impossible with Blade Runner and create a sequel that manages to surpass the original and totally exceed my expectations. I really have my fingers crossed that the Dune Messiah adaption will proceed with Dennis V at the helm! It's an exciting prospect to see what he does with Sci fi`s coolest series.

I used to chase hurricanes up and down the east coast to surf the biggest scariest beach breaks possible. My body can’t dare anymore. The sand worm riding is the first thing in my life that gave me that level of exhilaration in at least a decade. I’ve never had so much adrenaline pumping in my body while sitting in a chair in my life. 10/10. Holy fuck.

I missed the tragic story arc of Tufir Hawat particularly. Him playing the Harkonnens in subtle ways, offering his life in the throne room to save Pauls would have been the tear shedding moment the movie needed.

6:32 I disagree. The gladiator-style fight that Feyd-Rautha had established him as being very dangerous which made me very nervous during the final duel. My two complaints about the film are that the romance between Paul and Chani feels a bit forced and I didn't like the way Paul and Feyd's duel ended. He didn't win because of skill, he won because Feyd let his guard down If he hadn't, he would have won. It felt dirty and dishonorable.

Honestly, I don't get the love this is getting. Characters were drastically changed (Jessica, Chani, Stilgar, Feyd) for simplicity and so many extra scenes were added so we could "connect" with characters we already care about, the first half of the film was a hollywood waste, the dialogue was so on the nose it was like being smacked in the face, Show don't tell anyone? Everything important was said, not shown. None of the emotional moments had any impact because all the important scenes were dashed through so more blam blam, boom guns and big speech moments, did anyone care when Chani cried? Did Gurney's revenge matter at all? None of the emotional pay offs felt earned as they had little to no struggle to get there. Who cares when Chani's friend died? Does anyone remember her name? Why not have her be Janis's wife? Anything, christ. And Feyd, FEYD! Feyd is literally the Anti-Paul, his cheating in every arena is what leads to his undoing and what makes him the shadow character and they cut that all away, just for him to be a psychotic, but honourable bad guy, cause ahh, he's bad, but honourable? He was bland as hell here, but hey, better to have Paul get lost in Chani's eyes while she describes wind farming then build Feyd's character, right? No! The Baron had one good scene and that's it. How do you waste so many great characters? So many great scenes? God, this was, as far as adaptations go, an absolute hack job, how the hell did the same guy make the first film and this one? Consider the scene in the first film where Stilgar meets Leto, the tension, the mystery, the presence. It's compelling, it's beautiful, it's impactful, it breathes. No one could take a breath in this film, racing as it did through a lot of nothing and then having the tone lurch all over the place, it was like watching a Marvel film. And did you notice any time anyone had to emote they did it by yelling? That's all anyone did in this film was yell. There was no time for any of the complexity of the first film. Almost none of the good work was carried over. This was a crushing disappointment and while I can admit entirely that this should be seen in the cinema, it is visually striking and stunning and deserves the big screen, it was a chore and a bore to get through. There was 40 good-great minutes tucked away in this film and everything else was lazy decision making and terrible writing. I don't imagine it's easy to create this, or to adapt it, or to give it the full treatment in 3 hrs, but goddamn why waste the first hour and a half? Why not go for another couple of drafts? You had nearly 200 million dollars. Find. A. Better. Way. Just, Ahhhhhhh! Goddamn this was such a let down. Which I truly hate to say, I'm stupefied that everyone loves it so much. I think my feelings about modern cinema, this film and it's response, are summed up by the Braveheart quote, "You’re so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshank’s table, that you’ve missed your God-given right to something better." It should've been better, it truly, truly should have. At least there's always the books.

the virgin "I will make it rain on Arrakis" vs the chad "Lets get this Holy Crusade rolling, my Emperor"

Just imagine a movie without woke pandering, a director and people behind him - fans of the source material and we end up with a great movie! Who would’ve thought of such a formula for success?!

So many scenes reminiscent of so many other movies e.g., ornithopters vs the helicopters shown in Apocalypse Now, desert scenes like Lawrence of Arabia, Freemen riding a Worm with a Flag like the G.I.s planting the flag at Iwo Jima... the list of 'passing-off" scenes on prior creativity goes on and on and on - but modern audiences may not have the memory of Hari Seldon...

Good review of an excellent movie. I actually liked the scene where they were observing the nuclear cache, it gave good insight into the Fremen vs Atreides way of thinking, and looked into the morals of using the weapons.

One of the elements that makes this story so powerful ans timeless - look at how many male role models is Paul surrounded with, he needs them in order to become who he is meant to become. And all if those men are excellent, honourable, each a master of his craft. This movie adaptation stayed true to it, despite the times being as they are - degradation and humiliation of man is almost mandatory in Hollywood productions. Dune delivers what we all need - protagonists we can genuinely look up to and wish we could have had the honour of acquaintance.

The Baron and the Harkonens were not the smart strategical masters. they were merely plotting like any other houses did. And this whole deal with Emperor giving Arrakis to Atreides started because Harkonens couldnt keep the Spice production quotas and it was the Emperor master plan to either destroy or keep both of those houses weak and under his control.

Favorite character is The Baron played by Stellan Skarsgard who did a fantastic job

This was the greatest movie experience ive enjoyed since Lotr ROTK -- the same awe inspiring visuals, mind blowing battle scenes (the worm charge into fremen charge was reminiscent of the Oliphant/Rohan charge combined into a satisfying combo of cheering for both charges)... And yeah wow... Cant celebrate it enough it was amazing

I absolutely agree! I just got back from the cinema, with my mouth hanging wide open. I genuinely love this movie and will be returning to the cinema next week to soak up every last detail, while it’s still playing in IMAX. ❤ But I’d definitely advise a rewatch of the first part beforehand and an extensive supply of fluids for during.

Dude i was part of a conversation in some random Dune fan sub a few months ago and someone said "Anya Taylor Joy would be a good cast for Alia," to which I wholeheartedly agreed. Her facial features alone look somewhat alien (in a cool/hot way tbfh, I don't mean to demean her here) which matches to a T on the outside what Alia is on the inside, and based on past roles I feel she would absolutely KILL the role of Alia in a Messiah/Children of Dune movie. I actually pictured her as Alia while I was reading the books, believe it or not. I was grinning SO HARD when I saw her. Me and that one random guy were right!!

1st I watched your Acolyte trailer commentary, then your Shogun review, now this. SUBBBED!

Still prefer Lynch's 1984 version. Sting was epic as Feyd-Rautha.

I would like the add that "the visuals" are not the "superficial" part of a movie. They are as important as the writing. It's a movie review not a book review.

Perhaps the issue with the Harkonnens is they simply didn't see Paul coming. They had all these well laid out plans that were perfect to take down a rival House. But a messiah leading a holy crusade, one who knew intimately how the Lanstraad functioned, who understood the Harkonnens? That's a threat they likely didn't see coming. Or, that's me coming up with an excuse for poor writing. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the film in theaters now. Thanks, CD!

"mostly faithful?" Not really at all.

I have some gripes with this movie: why did Duke Harkonen and later the Emperor personally go to Dune? Why didn't they just rain the nuclear weapons down on the Harkonen base? How did the Harkonen know which mountain to blow up? Why did the Harkonen think the south was uninhabitable, despite every shot of it being exactly the same as the rest of Dune? If there were thousands of Fremen tribes, why was it so trivially easy to conquer the North? Why didn't Batista's character attack the magic mountain? I get that Drinker likes the movie, but I get a bit of a feeling that he's giving it an undeserved pass just because it doesn't have much of The Message.

The first movie was fantastic, really looking forward to this one.

I have saved so much money on not watching crappy movies for a while, so this time we treated ourselves to a nice dinner first and then Dune2 in a packed theater. This was nice! Thanks Dennis Villenuve

Just saw Cabrini last night. The drinker must review it!

Just watched it. That's a movie that stays with you, way after you have seen it. I am glad I got to appreciate it at an IMAX