Given my delight over “Dune: Part One,” it might appear unusual that I didn’t rush out to see “Part Two” as quickly because it opened. However life acquired in the best way, so I managed to see it solely final weekend. It was, after all, terrific, and I anticipated no much less. Between “Dune” and “Oppenheimer,” we’ve realized which you could, in truth, make three-hour epics that don’t really feel overlong and that don’t have you ever saying to your self, “Oh no, not more bombastic C.G.I.”
However “Part Two” additionally startled me in methods considerably completely different from “Part One.” Some spoilers forward, so cease right here if you happen to haven’t seen the film.
What was so nice about “Part One” was that the director, Denis Villeneuve, truly acquired the essence of Frank Herbert’s advanced, delicate, culturally syncretic imaginative and prescient, with its mélange of Islamic, ayurvedic and medieval components. (By the best way, “mélange” is an alternate title for the spice of Arrakis.) And he revered audiences sufficient to depart that imaginative and prescient intact. He simplified the novel in some methods, however in each case I can consider, the simplification improved the narrative circulation, whereas the characters turned deeper.
The identical is true for “Part Two.” However this time Villeneuve not solely acquired the essence of Herbert’s imaginative and prescient; he arguably acquired it higher than Herbert himself.
On the floor, “Dune” traces out the traditional hero’s journey — or on this case, the journey of the hero and his very lethal mom. However as I famous in my e-newsletter about “Part One,” there’s ethical ambiguity on the coronary heart of the novel: The hero is aware of that if he succeeds in his quest, battle and mass slaughter will observe.
After watching the films, I feel that Herbert flinched within the face of that ethical ambiguity however Villeneuve embraces the underlying darkness. The novel acknowledges that Paul Atreides begins a horrible battle however kind of absolves him from accountability — and ends with Girl Jessica reassuring Chani that she is going to stay Paul’s true spouse, regardless of his imperial marriage of comfort. The film ends with Chani leaving in disgust. And if I’m remembering it proper, the final line within the film is spoken by Jessica — who arguably turns into a monster, exploiting non secular fervor for her personal ends — who murmurs in satisfaction, “The holy war begins.”
So the “Dune” motion pictures aren’t for individuals who need completely happy endings wherein the nice guys triumph; the ostensible good guys triumph however find yourself knowingly perpetrating horror. However if you happen to can deal with that, what a journey!
