Dune: Part 2 starring and Timothée Chalamet, along with , had a lot to live up to after the roaring success of the first chapter.
But as reviews begin flooding in, it appears fans can look forward to a spectacle .
The 2021 sci-fi adaption of Frank Herbert’s classic novel arrived to but was instantly adopted as a must-see by fans all over the world.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, as Paul Atreides, son of a powerful duke (Oscar Isaac) in the far future of humanity, who is given the stewardship of the dangerous and unforgiving desert planet Arrakis, aka Dune, home to giant sandworms, a hostile native people and the precious substance spice.
He is haunted by visions of the future, including of Fremon girl Chani (Zendaya), who spent much of the first film as visions, but in the new chapter arrives in flesh and blood.
The first critics’ reviews are in for Dune: Part 2, and as things currently stand it boasts a hugely impressive 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Overall the reviews are incredibly positive, with the only recurring complaints being that not quite everything is wrapped up despite the 330-minute runtime between the first and second installment. But it’s not really a criticism when it just means that people want more – and Villeneuve has heavily hinted he wants it to become a trilogy if the interest, and funds, are there.
Some reviewers practically wept over the awe they felt while watching the newest instalment: heaped praise on the ‘hallucinatory’ second chapter, describing it as ‘a real epic … it is exhilarating to find a film-maker thinking as big as this.’
lauded Dune: Part 2 as ‘a weightier, more muscular chapter’ that was ‘breathlessly exciting.’
But they warned – as did other outlets – that ‘you might feel somewhat sandblasted by the end,’ thanks to its politics-heavy plot and two hour 46 minute runtime.’But overall, it remains a remarkable display of desert power.’
accepted that the film ‘may ask for a lot of your time and focus, but it’s nearly impossible to look away from.’
The effects of the world, too, was praised as ‘a superlative, seamless blend of practical and visual effects [that makes] these distant worlds feel vibrant and tangible.’
assured fans the new chapter offers ‘dramatic payoffs’, as director Villeneuve ‘treats each shot as if it were a painting’, and even labeled it as giving ‘a satisfaction few films can offer.’
It wasn’t all praise however, as gave the film a grade C in its review – not ideal.
It praised the ‘Sand blasted spice opera’ as a ‘movie that shimmers with the patina of an epic myth’ … ‘an awesome spectacle,’ but one that ‘flattens characters into the sets around them until they start to feel like part of the scenery themselves’.
While describing parts of the film as ‘heart-wrenching,’ the critic described ‘feeling unmoved by the climactic sight of Willy Wonka riding a 400-meter sandworm into battle against a Manhattan-sized disco ball … a much weirder and more uncomfortable kind of disappointment than anything the last chapter had to offer.’
It also pointed at its ‘shrug of an ending’ – something fans will likely be hoping for a potential third film to resolve.
Dune: Part 2 also welcomes iconic actress Florence Pugh to its star-studded cast, as she joins the franchise to play Princess Irulan – the daughter of Emperor Shaddam IV.
She is not the only new face to add their name to the roster as is also due to act in the second instalment.
Dune: Part 2 hits cinemas on March 1.
