Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube
Continuing where the first “Dune” left off, the sequel once again delivers more of what was great about the first film, along with more of what didn’t work, and that includes more of just “more” as the three-hour runtime starts to feel like an eternity. Like the first film, this one looks amazing. The cinematography masterfully shows the scope of all the ships and creatures while the special effects flawlessly bring everything to life that’s not really there. The score and sound effects compliment all the visuals perfectly. Plot-wise, things feel surprisingly rushed considering how long the film is. There’s a lot of political maneuvering that is set up and most of it doesn’t lead to any kind of satisfying payoff. It feels like it’s going to be some “Game of Thrones”-level political chess, but it just fast-forwards through most of it. There’s also an “Avatar” vibe going on as Paul must earn the respects of the planet’s natives by learning their customs. This also feels a bit rushed as he earns their trust and respect pretty quickly. (This story also contains that element of a character fulfilling some sort of native prophecy.) Ultimately, this film would’ve worked better having an hour cutoff of the runtime, especially with how much time is set setting things up only to end things somewhat rushed and anti-climatically.
*** out of *****