Scott, I"m so glad you liked Dune Part 2 so much! I caught an advance screening on Sunday and was blown away not just by the epic scope, but by how audacious it is in subverting the tropes of hero narratives like the white savior myth. Even the sheer amount of subtitled dialogue in multiple different alien languages is bold in a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster.
Me certainly not going to rush out to see leaden Adam Sandler space movie. But space nerd in me has to make this observation — why someone would name mysterious cloud at edge of solar system Charon, when Pluto's moon/co-dwarf-planet — also at edge of solar system — also named Charon? It like discovering mysterious island off of coast of Madagascar and naming it Madagascar.
Impossible to see ads for this lugubrious, hours-long Adam Sandler space station movie and not think of this extremely funny, minutes-long bit from his Netflix special. Seems like the logical last word on Sandler in space.
But are there any tears shed during Dune 2 so we could have Crying Fremen? And that there is the niche joke of the week for those that remember the weirdly super sexual Japanese comic turned into a Mark Dacascos film directed by Christophe Gans.
Appreciate the spoiler-free review of Dune: Part 2, Scott. Just saw it myself and was amazed by its world-building details. Denis seemed to be as fascinated with the nooks and crannies of Arrakis and Fremen culture as any of the pomp and circumstance of “blockbuster” entertainment. It made this film feel tangible, grounded in humanity. From Incendies and Arrival through Sicario and Blade Runner: 2049, one can see the seeds of this film. If this movie doesn’t represent Villaneuve’s talents and vision in full bloom, I cannot wait for the next one he has in store for us. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but I can’t tell you how many times I whooped, hollered, and watched in silence, basking in its sheer visual and aural majesty. Enjoy on the biggest, loudest screen you can find. Now!
I loved the first one. It was maybe the best sci-fi book-to-movie ever made. They just nailed it.
But Dune 2 felt pointless. Nothing much happens. It falls prey to sci-fi’s giant religious blind spot. The genre just can’t come up with an angle that doesn’t either make prophecy concrete and thus eliminate “faith” as a thing, or it turns religious texts into a video game walkthrough. Battlestar Gallactica was the worst offender on both. Dune 2’s biggest offense is it’s dull repetition of the same conversation over and over:
Person A: prophesy is real
Person B: no it’s not
A: yes it js
B: no!
As Scott points out there’s a conflict between Fremen who believe in prophesy and those that don’t, but it’s the lowest stakes conflict imaginable. It isn’t even in the book- it feels like it was added here to pad the run time. But if there was anything else going on in the movie you wouldn’t even notice this “conflict”. It takes place solely in Chani’s head; she’s the only Fremen who ever rejects even the idea of prophetic mumbo jumbo (she knows the Bene Gesserit planted religion on Dune; HOW she came by that knowledge is never addressed). She keeps claiming that this is part of a wider dispute between her more nationalist people and “southern” Fremen, but you never see it. You never even hear anyone else talk about it, and it never impacts the Fremen during the war in any way. The factions aren’t remotely opposed.
The movie also has amazing sword fighting. That’s about 90 seconds of run time. The rest is 2 hours 15 minutes of “Prophesy is real/no it’s not” discussions, wailing on the soundtrack, and Christopher Walken’s jarring appearance as the Emperor.
I was worried this was going to happen. I love the book, but once it starts talking about religion I start skipping chapters. The movie would have don better to skip it and spend more time with the emperor and his court; Lady and Count Fenrig are interesting characters for instance. But they get shortchanged, as does the emperor. All you really know about the triumvirate of Harkonens is that they murder one of their servants/slaves/soldiers every time they’re on screen in case you need to be reminded that they’re the bad guys. Again.
Alia and Thirfir Hawat don’t make an appearance even though both were critical in the final showdown with the Emperor in the book. The smugglers barely get a mention. Stilgar doesn’t do much other than be A to Chani’s B, though again, without any actual conflict between the two that might threaten to be interesting.
I’d give it a pass, particularly if you liked the first one.
Strong chance I'll be spending my 40th birthday going to see Dune 2, can't wait.
(PS, *Fremen)
🎂
Scott, I"m so glad you liked Dune Part 2 so much! I caught an advance screening on Sunday and was blown away not just by the epic scope, but by how audacious it is in subverting the tropes of hero narratives like the white savior myth. Even the sheer amount of subtitled dialogue in multiple different alien languages is bold in a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster.
Disappointing, I was hoping SPACEMAN was a 30 ROCK spin-off pronounced Spe-CHEM-an.
It's a free country. What was George Washington fighting for that winter at Valley Forge if not your right to pronounce this movie title Spe-CHEM-an?
Me certainly not going to rush out to see leaden Adam Sandler space movie. But space nerd in me has to make this observation — why someone would name mysterious cloud at edge of solar system Charon, when Pluto's moon/co-dwarf-planet — also at edge of solar system — also named Charon? It like discovering mysterious island off of coast of Madagascar and naming it Madagascar.
Impossible to see ads for this lugubrious, hours-long Adam Sandler space station movie and not think of this extremely funny, minutes-long bit from his Netflix special. Seems like the logical last word on Sandler in space.
https://youtu.be/SAooNTv7r9M?si=2EdEuZTHptXkPEiq
But are there any tears shed during Dune 2 so we could have Crying Fremen? And that there is the niche joke of the week for those that remember the weirdly super sexual Japanese comic turned into a Mark Dacascos film directed by Christophe Gans.
Appreciate the spoiler-free review of Dune: Part 2, Scott. Just saw it myself and was amazed by its world-building details. Denis seemed to be as fascinated with the nooks and crannies of Arrakis and Fremen culture as any of the pomp and circumstance of “blockbuster” entertainment. It made this film feel tangible, grounded in humanity. From Incendies and Arrival through Sicario and Blade Runner: 2049, one can see the seeds of this film. If this movie doesn’t represent Villaneuve’s talents and vision in full bloom, I cannot wait for the next one he has in store for us. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but I can’t tell you how many times I whooped, hollered, and watched in silence, basking in its sheer visual and aural majesty. Enjoy on the biggest, loudest screen you can find. Now!
I saw Dune 2 last night. Really, really bad.
I loved the first one. It was maybe the best sci-fi book-to-movie ever made. They just nailed it.
But Dune 2 felt pointless. Nothing much happens. It falls prey to sci-fi’s giant religious blind spot. The genre just can’t come up with an angle that doesn’t either make prophecy concrete and thus eliminate “faith” as a thing, or it turns religious texts into a video game walkthrough. Battlestar Gallactica was the worst offender on both. Dune 2’s biggest offense is it’s dull repetition of the same conversation over and over:
Person A: prophesy is real
Person B: no it’s not
A: yes it js
B: no!
As Scott points out there’s a conflict between Fremen who believe in prophesy and those that don’t, but it’s the lowest stakes conflict imaginable. It isn’t even in the book- it feels like it was added here to pad the run time. But if there was anything else going on in the movie you wouldn’t even notice this “conflict”. It takes place solely in Chani’s head; she’s the only Fremen who ever rejects even the idea of prophetic mumbo jumbo (she knows the Bene Gesserit planted religion on Dune; HOW she came by that knowledge is never addressed). She keeps claiming that this is part of a wider dispute between her more nationalist people and “southern” Fremen, but you never see it. You never even hear anyone else talk about it, and it never impacts the Fremen during the war in any way. The factions aren’t remotely opposed.
The movie also has amazing sword fighting. That’s about 90 seconds of run time. The rest is 2 hours 15 minutes of “Prophesy is real/no it’s not” discussions, wailing on the soundtrack, and Christopher Walken’s jarring appearance as the Emperor.
I was worried this was going to happen. I love the book, but once it starts talking about religion I start skipping chapters. The movie would have don better to skip it and spend more time with the emperor and his court; Lady and Count Fenrig are interesting characters for instance. But they get shortchanged, as does the emperor. All you really know about the triumvirate of Harkonens is that they murder one of their servants/slaves/soldiers every time they’re on screen in case you need to be reminded that they’re the bad guys. Again.
Alia and Thirfir Hawat don’t make an appearance even though both were critical in the final showdown with the Emperor in the book. The smugglers barely get a mention. Stilgar doesn’t do much other than be A to Chani’s B, though again, without any actual conflict between the two that might threaten to be interesting.
I’d give it a pass, particularly if you liked the first one.
Interesting and well-reasoned take.