Finally, I got to see my #1 Most Anticipated Movie of 2023 and 2024 after a delayed release due to the two Hollywood strikes, and it was totally worth it! First, I want to say that Villeneuve absolutely knew what he was doing by splitting Herbert’s book where he did which was my hope/ belief after watching Dune. Dune: Part Two picks up just after Paul (Chalamet) and Jessica (Ferguson) have ed the Fremen, and the first Act of the movie deals with them becoming a part of this culture and society. This was a treat as we get to see Paul and Chani’s (Zendaya) relationship evolve, Zendaya and Chalamet have excellent chemistry. I’m not going to deliver a play by play of the movie, but watching this evolving relationship contrasted with the politics and war of the movie is fantastic. 

Another strength of the movie is the cast, each actor is excellent in their role, even if they’re only on screen for a couple minutes like Anya Taylor-Joy. This Anya Taylor-Joy cameo especially intrigued me if Villeneuve’s plan is to use her in an adaptation of Dune Messiah. I also surprisingly liked the addition of Christopher Walken as the Emperor, and this was something that initially worried me when I saw the previews. Everyone shows up to play, everyone uniquely contributes to the movie, and each of these contributions is absolutely essential to the world Villeneuve creates in Dune. It is some of the best casting that I’ve seen since Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. But I think the star of the movie is Zendaya, and if the movie had come out last year, I believe that she would have been nominated for multiple awards… as it is, we’ll see how she stacks up with other performances in 2024. 

Villeneuve also makes a lot of fantastic visual choices when bringing this epic to the screen, some might be considered smaller than others like his choice in displaying the multitude of Fremen from an aerial view to the black-and-white coliseum with Feyd-Rautha… but the word that keeps coming to mind is: intentional— frame to frame. 

All in all, I really loved Dune: Part Two, and I look forward to being able to watch Dune in its entirety as one glorious epic. I could see this being nominated for multiple awards next year.