Few novels have had quite a bizarre journey to the screen as Dune, with the first entry into the iconic series by Frank Herbert having quite a troubled history, including failed projects from over half a century ago, an ill-fated adaptation that has resisted becoming a cult classic despite efforts from all sides, and a mediocre miniseries that tried to be faithful, but ended up being a relic of the past. It fell to Denis Villeneuve to finally give this novel the treatment it deserved, and considering he was the director behind masterful films like Arrival and the highly-anticipated Blade Runner 2049, we seemed to be in good hands. The first of what he intended to be a trilogy proved to be quite a success and proved that this material could be adapted successfully and without the challenges that previous directors had complained restricted them from realizing their vision. Dune proved to be an exceptional start to the trilogy. Unfortunately, nearly half a decade later, we’re returning to that world in the form of Dune: Part Two, which finishes the original novel and sets us up for Dune: Messiah, arguably a book more acclaimed than its predecessor. Without burying the lede too far into this discussion, Villeneuve didn’t strike the same balance that he did before, since Dune: Part Two is an endurance exercise. It is not a bad film, but rather one that loses sight of the majority of its ideas, and through struggling to develop what was an impeccable start to the series, it proves to be far from effective, for several reasons that we will outline in due course. Despite the shortcomings, we can appreciate the sheer ambition behind this film, and while Villeneuve has been doing his best to prevent us from being endeared to him after some questionable comments about writers and their role in shaping cinema, he continues to be the best candidate to bring this novel to life, even if this sequel to a genuinely great film leaves much to be desired, which is a common occurrence for films that follow on from near-masterpieces.

As a concept, Dune is extremely fascinating and it is understandable why it has constantly been considered a sought-after piece of storytelling ever since Herbert debuted the first novel in 1965, an era long before the concept of space operas and science fiction epics were even fathomable. This is a superbly well-written book, and the worldbuilding and development of the characters is impeccable. Translating it to film seems logical – this is a story that is profoundly cinematic in its sensibilities, and with the right director at the helm, it could be extraordinary. It’s hardly surprising that directors like Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott were first courted to direct the initial attempt to adapt it and why David Lynch was ultimately the victor in this fierce bidding war since it is the kind of story that rewards having a director with a very different perspective. Villeneuve is objectively a very talented director, and having proved himself as a master of the genre on a few occasions, it just seemed logical that he would be someone who could do well with the material. The aspects that make Dune interesting are still very much present in these two adaptations, and to his credit, Villeneuve is extraordinarily committed to bringing Herbert’s novel to life in a way that isn’t either overly dense or too flippant in its silliness, since previous adaptations (as entertaining as they may have been) veered towards the absurd. In some ways, this could be its downfall, for reasons that we’ll outline imminently. There are layers to this film that would have been difficult for even the very best filmmakers to handle, and as a result, we find that there are details that Villeneuve has to, unfortunately, leave out for the sake of consistency, even if it does ultimately impinge on the fundamental nature of Herbert’s creation, which was as much about the sprawling, epic scope as it was the intricate, sometimes eccentric details that occur in between. They were more prominent in the first part of this trilogy, but are more scarce here, which leads to an experience that is visually very thrilling, but conceptually slightly lacking, even if there is still merit to be found in certain moments that do prove it to be at least somewhat worth our while.

Like the previous film, Dune: Part Two is primarily a visual achievement more than anything else, and it is clear that Villeneuve approaches it as such. This film is strikingly beautiful, and it is possibly the very best work that director of photography Greig Fraser has ever done, his cinematography being the channel through which the detailed, striking production design, costuming and art direction could be seen, all of which employ some of the true masters of their craft as department heads, and who in turn work closely with their teams to realize the director’s vision as closely to what Herbert intended. No one can put forward an argument that Dune: Part Two isn’t superbly well-made, with every moment feeling like it is carefully crafted to be as striking as possible. The visual effects, while notable and very clear, are never overwhelming to the point where we find the artistry of the other elements disappearing into the background. One quality of Villeneueve’s films is that they make good use of the most cutting-edge technology, but never feel like they exist simply to showcase technological innovation to the point where the heart of the story isn’t present. If anything, Dune: Part Two manages to show just how well the two can work in tandem to create something very layered and complex, drawing back to the overall world-building that we find in Herbert’s original text. Cinema should be accessible to all, and should be able to be watched in any format – but if there is a film that benefits from as big of a screen as possible, it is this one. The visual landscape is helped along by the impeccable sound design, and the score by Hans Zimmer and his team is bizarre but very captivating and matches the overall intentions of the film in sometimes peculiar ways. The details that go into the creation of this film are staggering, and by working with some truly impressive artists, the director puts together a film that is extremely beautiful to look at and which will encourage any viewer to want to actively be immersed in the world in which this film takes place – but whether or not the accompanying story matches it or even comes close to honouring the legacy of the novel is a different matter entirely.

Dune is known for its many complex characters, with the ensemble of important figures throughout this story being almost as sprawling as the scope of the narrative itself. This allowed Villeneuve to put together a very impressive cast. However, it is important to note that very few of these actors are doing their best work, quite simply because this film doesn’t pay much attention to developing the roles more than just using them as pawns in the overall narrative. This isn’t a flaw of Dune at all, but rather a result of the science fiction genre as a whole, which isn’t always known for its strong character development. Returning from the previous film, we have     Timothée Chalamet as the heroic Paul Atreides, as well as Rebecca Ferguson as his mother, Zendaya as his friend and eventual love interest and Javier Bardem as the leader of a group of insurgents with whom Paul soon trains, all of which have expanded roles. New additions include Austin Butler as the iconic villain Feyd-Rautha, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulen and Christopher Walken as the morally ambigious Emperor Shaddam, all of whom are perhaps the standouts of the film, alongside the always reliable Charlotte Rampling, returning from the first film in a smaller but not any less substantial role. No one is at their peak here, but they’re all doing solid work, with only Butler and perhaps Ferguson being given anything that tests their skills as an actor, which aligns with the kinds of roles they are playing. Chalamet is a gifted actor but he doesn’t have the necessary heroism to fully sell Paul as this valiant, complex protagonist, whereas the normally charming Zendaya does nothing other than be extremely brooding, which feels like an immense betrayal of her skills as a performer. For most of these actors, they are merely elements of the plot rather than factors that guide it from one place to another. There was not enough time to expand on every character considering how large the cast was, but the overall structure does make us wonder how much better the film could have been had more focus been placed on different characters, particularly in how they occupy different roles within this universe.

Unfortunately, Dune: Part Two has some severe shortcomings, and while they may not be damaging enough to entirely derail the film, it does become far less impressive when we realize just how much work it takes to comprehend this film. Acolytes of Herbert’s work will likely be mostly satisfied by the film and how it honours the legacy of the original text, but for outsiders, there are complicated elements that don’t always pay off. A great director would be able to make a film that both captures the layers of the novel and makes it accessible to everyone. Any film that requires the viewer to have read the novel to understand what is being conveyed on screen already loses some value, since it becomes less a matter of enjoying the film, and more scrambling to put connections together. This film is not entirely impoverished of context, but it does lack some consistency, and it is far more about the spectacle than it is the narrative, which is an immediate problem. It is objectively very beautiful and has a strong sense of direction, but the writing is bordering on poor. This is somewhat understandable – the screenplay was written by Jon Spaihts, who has written a couple of well-received films but has yet to show his mettle as someone who can do something more high concept, and Villeneuve, who has expressed his belief that dialogue in a film is not nearly as important as the images on the screen. It often feels as if they threw several of the most cliched cinematic phrases into a blender and just filmed the results – the dialogue feels stilted and unimportant, and it lacks the richness and brilliance of some of the better entries into this genre that pay as much attention to the writing as they did the direction. The result is a film that makes its underlying commentary obvious to the point of being overwrought – the allegory of Jesus Christ, the inspiration taken from Arab culture, the social and political elements are all far too heavy-handed and leave virtually no room for thought or interpretation. Its the refusal to have any sense of ambiguity that ultimately derails this film and makes it such a middling, unconvincing effort, as well as the fact that it has about a dozen moments where it felt like it was leading to an ending, only for us to realize it was building up to yet another climax that makes this already very long film feel more exhausting. All the good work done by the director and his team threatens to be derailed simply because of the mediocre writing that doesn’t capture the richness of Herbert’s source material, which is done something of a disservice by this film.

Dune: Part Two will probably be most valuable to those who have yearned for a proper, straightforward adaptation of Herbert’s work for decades, which is understandable – what he accomplished with Dune and its sequels is incredible and should be celebrated. Unfortunately, the film based around the first novel has proven to have quite an underwhelming series of results, primarily because it was made by someone who realized the potential to create a memorable visual experience, but lacked the foresight to pay attention to the writing, which could have been massively improved, and made the narrative seem far less stilted. There is an argument that cinema should be a primarily visual medium and that writing is not nearly as important – Villeneuve himself has put forward this argument, which has shown just how incredulous he feels towards language as a form of artistic communication, and which has never shown on screen quite as starkly as it did here. Bordering on three hours, and feeling twice as long, Dune: Part Two is a middling effort that is visually striking but quite vacant in every other way – good performances from great actors will always feel partially disappointing, especially when a more attentive director would have realized that he could still allow his cast to have fun while maintaining the overall decorum that was integral to the development of this film. As a whole, Dune: Part Two sits in an awkward position – it brings an end to the adaptation of the first Dune novel, but it also sets us up for the third part in what Villeneuve is designing as a trilogy, to be bookended by Dune: Messiah in a few years. Therefore, it is both a conclusion and a continuation, and this shows throughout the film, which feels restricted by the weight of its ambition, which is never a good position for any film to be in. Overall, it’s a solid film that is visually striking but narratively deficient, and while it is probably going to be the definitive version of Herbert’s work based on the effort that went into it, we can’t help but feel underwhelmed by what has been marketed as a major work of science fiction storytelling, when in reality it is merely enchanting at best.