Dune Part Two: Not as Good as Part One

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

 

Dune, Part One: Half the Movie, Twice the Power of Most Other Complete Films

The first half of Dune -- over two-and-a-half hours of almost a six hour movie -- came up on HBO Max late yesterday.  It's also in theaters, and an expert critic or two proclaimed that it can't be fully or really appreciated unless you see it on the big screen.  Maybe my mind is prone to see in cinematic vistas, but I liked the movie just fine on my Mac Airbook.

In fact, I thought this first half of a movie was superb, far better than most other complete films, including David Lynch's 1984 brave attempt to do Dune (the only thing I remember about that movie was Sting).  The new 2021 first half of the movie was true in all important respects to the original Frank Herbert novel, very well acted and staged, with desert scenes that made me thirsty.  The sandworm and the Fremen were especially effective, and all the major characters shined (well, I guess you can't say that about the Harkonnen, who were nauseating, but that's exactly what they're supposed to be).

I've told people over the years who are thinking of starting the Dune book series -- I first read the novel in the mid-1970s, about ten years after Frank Herbert's masterpiece was finally published -- that they just need to suspend their judgement for the first third or more of the book, which is dense and often boring, and hold out for the tour-de-force it becomes as the story progresses.  That origin of Dune, that template that director Denis Villeneuve had to work with, makes his accomplishment even more impressive.  And in addition to the movie narrative, the battle scenes and the music are powerful, too.

Jason Momoa was outstanding -- he should talk in his roles in plain English more often.  His character Duncan Idaho has a great future ahead, and Momoa got him off to a good start.  I also liked Jason Bardem as Stilgar, and Zendaya was stirring as Chani the short time she was on the screen.  Oscar Isaac, who was powerful in Scenes of a Marriage, delivered the same as Duke Leto in Dune.

I first saw Rebecca Ferguson in Reminiscence earlier this year, and was struck by her performance.  She was fine in the crucial role of Lady Jessica in Dune.  I thought I saw some cheap shot at Timothée Chalamet in some review I glanced at and didn't read.  He was fine in the even more important, pivotal role of Paul.  I'm looking forward to seeing him with blue eyes.

That will happen in Part Two, when with any luck we'll also meet Alia, (maybe) see what happened to Duncan Idaho, see more of the Bene Gesserit, meet the Emperor, and who knows what else.  And I'll be back here when that movie is released with another review.

See also Dune, Part Two: Not As Good as Part One