Dune: Part Two

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two follows Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides as he and the Fremen wage war against the vicious Harkonnen family. Filmmaker Villeneuve, armed with his and Jon Spaihts’ impenetrable screenplay, delivers a ponderous and terminally underwhelming (and uninvolving) endeavor that strikes all the wrong notes right from the get-go, as Dune: Part Two kicks off with a baffling opening stretch that contains exceedingly little in the way of accessible elements designed to capture the viewer’s interest and attention – with the arms-length vibe perpetuated by an episodic, momentum-free narrative that lurches from one head-scratching set-piece to the next with little thought towards cohesiveness or coherence. It’s subsequently not surprising to note that the many (all) of the movie’s accomplished attributes, including Greig Fraser’s impressive visuals and Hans Zimmer’s booming score, are unable to pack the visceral punch Villeneuve has obviously intended, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the various performers, trapped within the confines of barely-developed characters and forced to spout almost hilariously stilted bits of dialogue, remain hopelessly unable to inject any life into the pervasively interminable proceedings. By the time the exhausting, CGI-heavy climax rolls around, Dune: Part Two, despite a final scene that boasts an energy and excitement otherwise entirely absent from the picture, has long-since cemented its place as an aggressively dull misfire that seems designed to appeal solely to fans of Frank Herbert’s equally lifeless novel.

1/2* out of ****