Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.4: Progress

Criminal Minds is coming together nicely (or harrowingly, depending on how you look at it) as of episode 17.4 on Paramount Plus.

[Spoilers ahead ...]

Elias Voit now has a good reason to cooperate: his daughter is showing signs of becoming a serial killer, like her old man, and he wants the BAU to help her with their expertise.  But the smile on his face at the end of the episode shows he's also happy about this for other, more nefarious reasons.  I'm half-guesing he's hoping to turn his daughter into an asset.

Penelope is allowing Tyler to come back into the fold.  Good. She still has feelings for him, and there's no point in struggling all season to keep them down.  And, I don't know, I don't think Tyler did anything that terrible, but maybe that's just me.

It's good to see the crew's excursions now actually connecting to the Gold Star case, which happens just as the BAU realizes that Gold Star is not a person but a project.  This of course puts Voit right back in the picture.  In addition to being the serial killer Internet mastermind Sicarius, Voit is no doubt part of Gold Star, and maybe it's chief?   That would be good reason for Voit's smile at the end.

One issue unaddressed in this episode are the fake porn photos of J.J.  We'll no doubt see that center stage sooner or later, as Criminal Minds: Evolution continues its perilous journey this season.

See also Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.1-17-.2 The Elusive Profile ... 17.3: "BAU Gate"

And see also Criminal Minds: Evolution 16.1-16.4: Outstanding! ... 16.5: Assessment of What Could Have Happened at the End ... 16.6-16.8: Better Than Ever on Paramount Plus ... 16.9: Elias Voit and David Rossi ... 16.10: Gold Star

===

Some reviews of episodes from earlier seasons:

Criminal Minds 8.12: Spencer's Burden

Criminal Minds 7.1: "The Is Calm and It's Doctor" ... Criminal Minds 7.3: Meets House and The Unit

Criminal Minds in Sixth Season Premiere ... Criminal Minds 6.2: The Meaning of J. J. Leaving ... Criminal Minds 6.3: Proust, Twain, Travanti ... Tyra on Criminal Minds 6.13 ...Criminal Minds 6. 17: Prentiss Farewell Part I ... Criminal Minds 6.18: Farewell Emily ... Criminal Minds 6.19: Fight Club Redux Plus ... Criminal Minds 6.20: Emily's Ghost ... Criminal Minds 6.21: The Tweeting Killer ... Criminal Minds 6.22: Psycho and a Half ... Criminal Minds 6.23: The Good Lie ... Criminal Minds Season 6 Finale

Criminal Minds 5.22 and the Dark Side of New New Media

 

Podcast Review of Dark Matter 1.8

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 391, in which I review Dark Matter 1.8 on Apple TV+.

Further places:

• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.1-1.2
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.3-1.4
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.5
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.6
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.7
• written blog post review of episode 1.8

Check out this episode!

Presumed Innocent 1.3: Sterling Performances

I was struck by the sterling performance of just about every actor in Presumed Innocent 1.3 on Apple TV+.

[And here let me advise you not so much about spoilers, but that I saw the 1990s movie with Harrison Ford, and I'll try not to in any way indicate the ending of that, because I have no idea if this series will end the same way.]

Here are some of my favorite scenes in this episode:

• Every scene that  O-T Fagbenle as DA Della Guardia is in.  He has a strange, compelling presence that I've never quite seen before, which makes him instantly memorable.
• Noma Dumezweni as the tough-ass judge. Perfect
• The scene in which Rusty ( Jake Gyllenhaal) falls in love with Carolyn (Renate Reinsve), as she gently works to make a little girl who will be testifying feel safe 
• And, yeah, every scene with Bill Camp as Horgan, former DA and Rusty's attorney

But the truth is every character shines in this series, Rusty's wife and their children, the bartender at the beginning of the episode, Peter Sarsgaard as ADA Molto.  I can't recall another series in which every character was so vibrantly portrayed.

It occurred to me that Apple TV+ currently has two series -- Presumed Innocent and Dark Matter -- situated in Chicago.   The only thing missing from Presumed Innocent is maybe a scene with one of the Jasons in the background.

See also Presumed Innocent 1.1-1.2: Presumed Excellent, And So Far Is

See my reviews of Dark Matter

Dark Matter 1.8: A Bevy of Jasons

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Up until Dark Matter 1.8, we had a Jason -- Jason 1 -- visiting a variety of alternate realities.  All of that flipped in 1.8, where we had an onslaught of different Jasons showing up at the worst possible times in World 1. That made for a crackling episode in which all hell broke loose.  And now we finally can see the poster for the series fulfilled.

At first, it looked like Jason 1 killed Jason 2, or maybe versa.  But we soon learned that the victim was Jason 3, or the first of a flood of Jasons, all of whom were at odds with Jason 1's understandable, transcendent desire to be back with his family -- i.e., the family that he knew, and who knew him.

Here let me just tip my hat to the bartender. He's a great science fictional character.  He no longer questions or even seems to wonder about the proliferation of Jasons who show up in his bar.  He just greets them, serves them, and takes them in all in stride.

We already know that all Jasons have a violent streak, and when competing with each other for Daniela 1 and Charlie 1, sheer violence quickly comes to the fore.   Daniela is also willing to be deadly violent to save herself and Charlie from Jason 2, and she pushes him down the basement stairs.

This season could have ended right after that, with Jason 1 finally reunited with his family.  But 1.8 is not the final episode this season -- there's one more -- and there's no way that Dark Matter could end with quite so happy an ending.

See also Dark Matter 1.1-1.2: Break-Neck Action and Philosophic Contemplation ... 1.3 Missing Fingers ... 1.4 The Multiverse Unveiled ... 1.5: The Lesson ... 1.6 "A Bunch of Chicagos" ... 1.7: Obama Tower

The Lazarus Project 2.2: Shag in the Alley

 [Spoilers ahead ... ]

That was my favorite part of The Lazarus Project 2.2, up on TNT in the USA this past Sunday -- Sarah grabbing George for an unexpected, quick shag in the alley.

It was fun to see -- even though it causes George more confusion -- because their love is the truest truth in this series. Sarah doesn't quite see that yet.  She has something going on with Cormac (I agree with George that that's a strange name, though how I would I know I'm not from the UK), and is paired with Michael, whom she can't stand.  But the way her face lit up before she started kissing George in the alley shows the way she really feels.

The Lazarus Project has all the explosive trappings of a hard science fiction story, which it most certainly is.  But for me, what makes the series really unique are the similarities it has to The Time Traveler's Wife and even Outlander, two patently non-scientific time travel love stories.  Romantic love is a key player in The Lazarus Project, as are parents and children.

And George figures in a key scene at the end of 2.2, in which Becky, last seen as a little girl put into a time machine sent back to 2012, presents herself to George as a young lady in the London underground in 2024.  When George asks her how she got so old so quickly, she tells him she's time traveled, "do the arithmetic".

If The Lazarus Project has any problem, it's that it probably has too many moving pieces to put together or even make complete sense of.  But that's time travel, "do the arithmetic," right?

See also The Lazarus Project season 2.1: Shades of Gray

And see also The Lazarus Project season 1: Time Travel Done Superbly Right

=====

my latest novel (with a touch of time travel) -- to be published 8 February 2024

“Paul Levinson’s It’s Real Life is an incredibly unique and captivating peek behind rock and roll’s mysterious curtain. The idea that the story delves into an alternate world adds to its page-turning intrigue. Highly recommended!” 
-– Steven Manchester, #1 bestselling author, The Menu


"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." 
-- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History


get It's Real Life in paperback, hardcover, or on Kindle here

Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.3: "BAU Gate"

I'd say the most provocative element in the provocate episode 17.3 of Criminal Minds: Evolution up on Paramount Plus today is the team's discovery of a site on the dark web, "BAU Gate".

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Actually, they've known about the site since 2014.  But AI has souped up the site with ultra-convincing fake porm, and the star of that porn is Jennifer Jareau, which makes sense, given that she started with the BAU as its media spokesperson.  Emily doesn't want Luke -- who was told about this by Voit in words we couldn't hear in last week's episode 17.2 -- to tell JJ about this, but of course he does. And in one fell swoop, Criminal Minds manages to stay cutting-edge current, bringing AI dramatically into the story, and in a way that ties together many of its numerous threads.

Numerous intersecting threads is what Criminal Minds is becoming increasingly all about.  There's Voit and his family, connected via Voit to Gold Star, and now Voit as an Internet demon tells the BAU about BAU Gate.  Also in episode 17.3, Emily is arrested by local police because a conspiracy nut -- who believes Paul really died in the 1960s and was replaced in The Beatles by someone else -- lies about Emily attacking him.  What this has to do with Voit or BAU Gate is not clear, but you never know.

The specific case that draws David and Tara on a plane out West apparently has nothing to do with the above nexus, and the team finds that refreshing.  I'm not sure about that.  Maybe it would be better if everything was connected.  On the other hand, it's good to see the BAU get an unambiguous win or two in the midst of the web of complications that is increasing drawing them and us in,

See also Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.1-17-.2 The Elusive Profile

And see also Criminal Minds: Evolution 16.1-16.4: Outstanding! ... 16.5: Assessment of What Could Have Happened at the End ... 16.6-16.8: Better Than Ever on Paramount Plus ... 16.9: Elias Voit and David Rossi ... 16.10: Gold Star

===

Some reviews of episodes from earlier seasons:

Criminal Minds 8.12: Spencer's Burden

Criminal Minds 7.1: "The Is Calm and It's Doctor" ... Criminal Minds 7.3: Meets House and The Unit

Criminal Minds in Sixth Season Premiere ... Criminal Minds 6.2: The Meaning of J. J. Leaving ... Criminal Minds 6.3: Proust, Twain, Travanti ... Tyra on Criminal Minds 6.13 ...Criminal Minds 6. 17: Prentiss Farewell Part I ... Criminal Minds 6.18: Farewell Emily ... Criminal Minds 6.19: Fight Club Redux Plus ... Criminal Minds 6.20: Emily's Ghost ... Criminal Minds 6.21: The Tweeting Killer ... Criminal Minds 6.22: Psycho and a Half ... Criminal Minds 6.23: The Good Lie ... Criminal Minds Season 6 Finale

Criminal Minds 5.22 and the Dark Side of New New Media

 

Presumed Innocent 1.1-1.2: Presumed Excellent, and So Far Is

I saw Presumed Innocent -- the movie with Harrison Ford in the lead role -- in 1990.  I shortly after read the Scott Turow 1987 novel from which the movie was adapted.  That was a long time ago, no blogging, and I was a devoted possessor of a Radio Shack M100.  I thought the movie and book were brilliant, with one of the cleverest endings, one of the most unexpected twists, I'd ever come across in a fictitious murder story.   I still feel that way right now.

So I was tempted not to see the series that just went up -- more precisely, the first two episodes -- on Apple TV+ yesterday.   But of course I did.  And as I was watching these episodes, I realized I had no idea if this new series would tell the same story as the novel and the movie.   And I realized that I didn't want to know beforehand, because not knowing that added its own level of suspense.

So far, if my memory from 23 years ago is ago is accurate, the story seems essentially the same.  Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent in the lead role -- Rusty Sabich, an ADA in Chicago, whose colleague and lover Carolyn Polhemus is found murdered.  Rusty is married, so he has some reason to want Carolyn eliminated -- to save his marriage.  

Movies and TV series of course are two very different media -- 120+ minutes vs. 8 episodes of around 50 minutes each to tell a story.  So I think there could be some riveting viewing ahead in the series.  Also, as of the first two episodes, I really liked Bill Camp, Peter Sarsgaard, and Renate Reinsve.  I'm going to review the series episode by episode, and I'll try my very best not to divulge any spoilers.

Podcast Review of Dark Matter 1.7

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 390, in which I review Dark Matter 1.7 on Apple TV+.

Further places:

• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.1-1.2
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.3-1.4
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.5
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.6
• written blog post review of episode 1.7

Check out this episode!

Dark Matter 1.7: Obama Tower

Dark Matter on Apple TV+ continues to get better and better, with episode 1.7 being once again the best episode yet.   Here's why I think why:

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Jason 1 and Amanda finally get to a beautiful Chicago, replete with monorails, an Obama tower (which reached its full height in our reality on this side of the screen just a few days ago -- a nice feat of perfect timing for the TV series), and the soft breath of Spring.  Amanda loves it so much she wants to stay in this reality, and she invites Jason 1 to stay with her, as the two, dressed in the height of fashion, dine in a restaurant that looks like an updated Windows on the World from a World Trade Center that survived and is now in Chicago.  He's tempted but declines the offer.  He wants to go back to his family that Jason 2 has taken from him.  They part.  Amanda takes the elevator down, alone.  She starts crying, but gets out on the ground floor with a smile and a deep determination.  It's a memorable scene, tear-worthy in itself.  But it's worth noting that with the ampules Jason 1 puts in her purse without her knowledge, he has a feeling they'll be seeing each other again. 

Jason 1 goes on to another reality that he hopes will be enough like his that he can live there.  He comes close, but he finds Daniela in bed with another Jason, and Max -- a twin of Charlie who died in infancy in Jason 1's original world -- alive and with some serious problems of his own.  Jason 1 realizes this world won't work, but he finally figures out how to get to his reality, which he does.  He decides to kill Jason 2, tries to buy a gun but settles for a knife and pepper spray ...

Meanwhile, Jason 2 is being pressed by Detective Mason about what happened to Ryan.  He decides to break down the wall he had built last week around the room to alternate realities, and bring Ryan back to Jason 1's world to get Mason off his case.  He also decides to get a gun, and in a final scene that's set to change everything, of course walks into the same gun shop as Jason 1 left less than a minute before.  The gun dealer of course acts as if she's just seen him, and this lets Jason 2 know that Jason 1 has made it back to his world.

So the stage is set for the concluding two episodes of this series (which I hope will be just the first season of this compelling series): Jason 1 back in his world, finally able to get back what was stolen from him.  I have a feeling that's not quite going to happen.

See also Dark Matter 1.1-1.2: Break-Neck Action and Philosophic Contemplation ... 1.3 Missing Fingers ... 1.4 The Multiverse Unveiled ... 1.5: The Lesson ... 1.6 "A Bunch of Chicagos"

What They've Been Saying about It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles (the novel)

"a wild ride" -- Michael McLuhan 🎶

"now I’m desperate to hear songs from the Asimov/McCartney musical" -- Thomas MacFarlane, The Beatles and McLuhan and Lennon and McCartney: Painting with Sound 🎶

"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is an incredibly unique and captivating peek behind rock and roll's mysterious curtain. The idea that the story delves into an alternate world adds to its page-turning intrigue. Highly recommended!" -- Steven Manchester, #1 bestselling author, The Menu 🎶

"one of my favourite moments treats us to a Beatles concert in Central Park" -- Keith Soltys, Core Dump 🎶

"a fascinating tale of what could have been had John Lennon not been murdered ... a passionate celebration of a musical genius whose life was prematurely cut short ... a science fictional celebration [by] a master of speculative fiction and alternate reality, Paul Levinson" -- Chris Cosmain, Novikov Windows and The Amazon Anomaly 🎶

"Such a wonderful story! I grew up as a real science fiction fan and time travel and alternative history has always been a favorite SF genre of mine. The story offers such a speculative piece that keeps one thinking. A detective story mixed with all of this. Just a wonderful story. With synchronicity mixed into it and the mention of Roots of Coincidence, one of my favorite books from long ago. In many ways, a story for our times after Covid as many think we are living in some alternate reality or alternative history." -- John Fraim, Amazon 🎶

"What would you do if you came from an alternate reality in which John Lennon was never killed — and you became accidentally aware of our own universe? This excellent, eerie novel explores that question in ingenious style. It’s a page-turner with philosophical heft and a great sense of rock history (not to mention some surprise cameos by Lennon, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and other luminaries). Highly recommended for fans of Philip K. Dick and/or the Beatles." -- SVL, Goodreads 🎶

"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite (and absolutely non-didactic) meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, A Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History 🎶

=====================

Get the novel on Kindle, paper, or in hardcover here.

The Lazarus Project 2.1: Shades of Gray

When I saw and reviewed the first season of The Lazarus Project on TNT last November, I said it was "the best time-travel series I've ever seen on television, bar none." Having just seen the first episode of the second season on TNT last night, I feel exactly the same.

Time travel as a genre brought to the screen excels in protagonists going back in time and doing the same thing with suitable modifications over and over until they get it -- saving a life or taking a life -- over and over, again, until they get it right, or not.  George is the perfect character for this.  And  Paapa Essiedu's face shows just the right range emotion of someone going through this.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

But George is on the outside of The Lazarus Project now, excluded from the group, and the from the gun-carrying elite, because, as he aptly put it, he put love before loyalty to the project and its all-important mission.  And this is especially hard on George, given that the recipient of his costly love, Sarah, has now taken his place with group.

The other big development in this episode is that a group headed by Dr. Kitty Gray, at first thought to be separate from Lazarus, has developed its own old-fashioned time machine.  Wes, understably worried about what this H. G. Wells inspired machine could do to Lazarus's struggle to save existence, wants someone to keep an eye on Kitty and her work.  All the more surprising, then, to see Wes in a photograph in the audience of a group taking in a lecture by Kitty.  Apparently Kitty and her time machine are not as separate from Lazarus as Wes would want us to believe.

A good set-up for the second season, the rest of which I'm eagerly awaiting!

See also The Lazarus Project season 1: Time Travel Done Superbly Right

=====

my latest novel (with a touch of time travel) -- to be published 8 February 2024

“Paul Levinson’s It’s Real Life is an incredibly unique and captivating peek behind rock and roll’s mysterious curtain. The idea that the story delves into an alternate world adds to its page-turning intrigue. Highly recommended!” 
-– Steven Manchester, #1 bestselling author, The Menu


"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." 
-- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History


get It's Real Life in paperback, hardcover, or on Kindle here

Criminal Minds: Evolution 17.1-2: The Elusive Profile

Criminal Minds: Evolution is back on Paramount Plus with the first two episodes of its new season (17, if you count the original Criminal Minds on CBS).  I saw them last night and they were excellent.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

The story picks up two weeks after the events in the Season 16 finale.  Elias Voit, the mastermind networking serial killer from last season is in jail, but his capture has taken a toll on our heroes.  Rossi is hallucinating conversations with Voit, Emily's on a razor's edge, but the BAU is mobilized to the find the Gold Star killer, whose moniker was introduced at the end of last season.

The only thing that's clear about who and what Gold Star is, well, is that Voit is not Gold Star per se.  Or, to be more precise, he couldn't be the person who actually killed any of the victims in the first two episodes of this new season, because he was behind bars all the time.  Emily thinks Gold Star may be a killer out West, but when she says we're ready to deliver the profile, Rossi tells her no, we're not.  As always, the BAU is rent with disagreement, as well as the FBI Director wanting to get rid of them, but they manage to move forward.

As in the last season, the use of explicit language is refreshing and realistic.  I could do, though, without the explicit gore, but that's just me.  And as long we're talking about how streaming has liberated television from network prudishness, a little nudity -- for our living characters -- wouldn't be bad, either, just sayin'.

The serial killer -- in this case, Voit -- being a necessary but ever dangerous ally of law enforcement is of course something we've seen already with Hannibal Lecter.  But Zach Gilford as Voit was a great addition to the show -- even though every time I hear or write the name I think of Chicago PD -- and it's great to see him back in this new season.

Speaking of which, I'm hoping to see Spencer back before this season is over as well.

See also Criminal Minds: Evolution 16.1-16.4: Outstanding! ... 16.5: Assessment of What Could Have Happened at the End ... 16.6-16.8: Better Than Ever on Paramount Plus ... 16.9: Elias Voit and David Rossi ... 16.10: Gold Star

===

Some reviews of episodes from earlier seasons:

Criminal Minds 8.12: Spencer's Burden

Criminal Minds 7.1: "The Is Calm and It's Doctor" ... Criminal Minds 7.3: Meets House and The Unit

Criminal Minds in Sixth Season Premiere ... Criminal Minds 6.2: The Meaning of J. J. Leaving ... Criminal Minds 6.3: Proust, Twain, Travanti ... Tyra on Criminal Minds 6.13 ...Criminal Minds 6. 17: Prentiss Farewell Part I ... Criminal Minds 6.18: Farewell Emily ... Criminal Minds 6.19: Fight Club Redux Plus ... Criminal Minds 6.20: Emily's Ghost ... Criminal Minds 6.21: The Tweeting Killer ... Criminal Minds 6.22: Psycho and a Half ... Criminal Minds 6.23: The Good Lie ... Criminal Minds Season 6 Finale

Criminal Minds 5.22 and the Dark Side of New New Media

 

Podcast Review of Dark Matter 1.6

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 389, in which I review Dark Matter 1.6 on AppleTV+.

Further places:

• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.1-1.2
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.3-1.4
• podcast review of Dark Matter 1.5
• written blog post review of episode 1.6

Check out this episode!

Dark Matter 1.6: "A Bunch of Chicagos"

Well, I thought the best line in Dark Matter 1.6 on Apple TV+ today came from Jason 1 to Amanda 2 about their having visited "a bunch of Chicagos" so far, and none of them were too good.

But that was only one of many good lines in this episode, and the series has now progressed, in my opinion, from excellent to outstanding.

[And here's the place I'll advise you about spoilers ahead ... ]

I'll bullet some of the best moments:

• Jason 2 gets Charlie 1 some ice cream with nuts, and he has to be rushed to the emergency room where he's saved.  I'm hoping this was just an accident and not something much worse, and I wouldn't put much past Jason 2.  He does give his son who's not his son an Epinephrine shot, and that more than the hospital was actually key to saving him. But Daniela 1 is hit hard by this in any case, the worst in a list of events and characteristics including flossing and leaving keys in the wrong place that's feeding her suspicion.
• To top off Daniela's misgivings about Jason 2, he takes her to an art show where one of her paintings is hanging, and she's moved to tears -- of fury, because she wasn't finished with the painting yet, and the last thing she wanted was to show it to the public.
• But lest you think Jason 2 is a good guy, he strands poor Ryan in one of those infinite Chicagos.
• And here's a thing I really liked in this episode: lots of time for Amanda 2 and Amanda 1.  She's a pivotal character, and Jason 1 may be falling in love with her (he's certainly a consummate gentleman, asking Amanda to leave their bed, though he'd certainly like to sleep with her, in both meanings of that word).
• And last but not least, an at-once high and low scene at the end of this episode has Jason 2 following through on his vow to seal off or lock up his box/corridor to alternate realities.

So I thought this was a top-notch episode indeed, and I'm looking forward to its consequences in what's to come!

See also Dark Matter 1.1-1.2: Break-Neck Action and Philosophic Contemplation ... 1.3 Missing Fingers ... 1.4 The Multiverse Unveiled ... 1.5: The Lesson

Dune Part 2: Not as Good as Part 1

I'm beginning to think I'm bound to be disappointed seeing a science fiction trilogy I love brought to the screen.  Those of you who have read my reviews of Foundation, and/or listened to my discussions of the Apple TV+ series on podcasts, will know my frustration with that TV series.  In a sentence, the part that had nothing to do with the original trilogy, the Cleon clones, was the best, and the series lacked some of the strongest parts of the trilogy (or the extent of the trilogy that has so far appeared on the screen).

Ironically, I thought the first part of Denis Villeneuve's rendition of Dune was excellent on just about every level (here's my review).  But the second part, which I just saw last night, indulged in major changes in major characters, and left others completely out.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Let's start with Chani.  The love that she and Paul had for each other lit up the second half of Dune (Frank Herbert's original long novel).  In the movie, she's annoyed or angry with Paul in just about every other scene of the two, including storming off and away at the end.

Alia, Paul's sister, an extraordinary character in the novel, with all kinds of powers derived from the spice she received in Jessica's womb, is seen in the movie only briefly as a young adult in a vision Paul has of the future.  A child with such wisdom and power was a cardinal element of the novel.  In the movie she's reduced to a voice that Jessica hears, presumably coming from the baby she's carrying.  

And what happened to Thufir Hawat the Mentat?  And the Space Guild?  Their way of bending space with their minds actually received more attention in the Foundation TV series, though they indeed were extensively developed in the Dune novel. 

Meanwhile, Feyd-Rautha had plenty of screen time, but I thought his character was reduced to a cartoonish cliche, complementing one Atreides opponent before he kills him, and Paul himself as Feyd-Rautha is about to die from Paul's superior knife-play.  The actual fight, I'll admit, though, was excellent.

And while I'm on the subject of what was excellent in Dune Part 2, I thought Javier Bardem delivered in every scene as Stilgar, whose part was well-drawn in the movie, as did Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, surprisingly relevant in the movie as in the novel.  Indeed, all the acting was fine or better in Dune Part 2, as was the cinematography.

But I'll end with one more complaint: I don't know, but the scenes of Paul riding the sandworm just weren't as impressive as the scenes required.  All too often, they looked to me as if Paul was riding some kind of undulating carpet made of sand (I was half expecting to hear Steppenwolf in the background).

In sum: see Dune Part 2 -- if only to prepare yourself for the third installment, which will bring Dune Messiah to the screen, which I hope will remedy some of the many problems in Dune Part 2.

See also: Dune, Part 1: Half the Movie, Twice the Power of Most Other Complete Films