A few weeks ago, I wrote about hearing how great Dune, part 2 is. One would think that over the course of my life I would learn my lesson and stop believing the hype.
It’s not that Dune, Part 2 was so bad. I think sometimes however when I hear a lot of hype about something, I set my expectations so high that I am inevitably let down by it.
Of course, maybe this just could have been the inevitable let down of the second act of any trilogy. When people were calling this movie “ Empire Strikes Back levels of greatness” I’m expecting something pretty mind blowing.
I think sometimes it might just be that while I love world building stories, I love the first act of said stories, where I’m introduced to a new world and there’s a certain level of fascination learning all about it. Obviously, with any sequel, you don’t have to tell any back story or origin story and you can really get into the heart of the story you’re trying to tell. That seems to be the case with Dune part 2.
Dune is not a heroic story, at all. Even though I’ve never read frank herbert’s original novel, I know enough about the story to understand this going into the movie. In fact, dune is more the story about what happens when one ascends to a position of absolute rule.
That’s all well and good l. I knew all this going into the movie. What was odd to me is the fact that even though Part 2 is 2 1/2 hours in running time, it’s never really clear at what point Paul decides to follow the prophecies. For the first third of the movie he is dead set against taking certain actions that would coincide with the prophecies he has seen. Then suddenly he’s like “OK. I’ll just go with the flow”. Amazingly enough Dune part 2 manages to be both drawn out and a little bit rash. This is especially striking considering that this is the second part of a story and the film begins literally where part one left off. There is no “previously on Dune” segment at as the movie begins
Dune, Part 2 leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That’s exactly how it was supposed to be. And even though source material is nearly 60 years old itself, it’s a message about succumbing to tyranny as timeless. However I can’t feel like it’s coincidental that the movie came out in the middle of the trump presidency. Part 2, being released just months before the 2024 elections seems like a last ditch warning cry to the public About the dangers of absolute rule.
FINAL TAKE: Recommended, if, for no other reason than to see the conclusion of part one. Dune is epic. It is world building. It is an adventure, but Paul Atreides is no Luke Skywalker. As long as you know that going into the movie, you’ll be satisfied.
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The article “Rob reviews… Dune, part 2“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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