On March 1, the highly anticipated newest installment in the popular science fiction series “Dune” was released. This movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is about the war for the planet Arakkis, following quickly after the events of the first movie. In all, this movie is exciting to watch. Critics complimented the acting and effects in the film which is evident in its 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating. The film is currently highest-grossing film of 2024 at worldwide box offices. Before this review continues, be warned that this article contains many spoilers for the “Dune” series as a whole.
The “Dune” franchise did not start on the big screens, in fact, it started in the mind of a man, Frank Herbert in 1965. Later the first “Dune” novels, stories, and comics were created. Immediately, the stories were a large hit with the general public, and, eventually, the franchise was taken to television in the form of mini-series. The story would finally be reimagined into the aptly named movie “Dune” by David Lynch in 1979. Recently, it was reimagined once again into the thrilling movies, “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two,” both of which were created by Villeneuve, in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
The movie opens with two of the main characters, Paul Atreides (Timotheé Chalamet), the “duke” of Arrakis, and Chani (Zendaya), a warrior of the Fremen people, spying on enemy forces over a dune in the vast desert. Soon, the group is attacked and fights back. In the end, they win and take the body of their fallen comrade back to their camp to honor him by giving his water back to the planet. This entire scene picks up where the first movie ends and introduces the religious practices of the Fremen people and how they honor their dead.
Later on, Paul’s mother is made to drink poison taken from a juvenile sandworm. During this process, his mother changes mentally, soon becoming a Reverend Mother, a person who holds one of the highest powers among the Fremen and is an important religious figure to them. She no longer acts fully like herself, and, just after she is made to drink the poison, the people around her exclaim about what they have done and are worried for her baby. This entire scene also shows more of the religious practices of the Fremen in this specific area of Arakkis and the entire opening to the situation.
During this story there is always the looming threat of the Harkonnens, the overall “villains” of the series, being the people that killed all of House Atreides and have put the lives and cultures of the indigenous folk on the planet in danger. The Harkonnens have caused a devastating war on the planet that forces the characters to retaliate against them and fight, of course not without struggle and also causing Paul to fall out with the people he cares about. Paul is eventually forced to change as a person during the finale in ways that may help him win although, possibly for the worse. However, there is no telling exactly what happens until part three comes out, which could take years.
This movie excels in almost every way, the visual effects are stunning and the world is even more fleshed out than it was before. The environment of the desert was portrayed in a way that showed even more detail and not only made the arid landscape feel beautiful but also daunting in some ways. Every prop and costume on set is incredibly detailed and beautifully designed. Not to mention the CGI and practical effects on the environment and the sandworms as fans get a much closer look at them than ever before in this new movie. Fans also get to see many more details on the sandworms themselves that reinforce ideas about them already brought to light in the series prior to this movie.
In conclusion, this movie is astounding to watch and was definitely worth the wait. This film is perfect for fans of the Dune franchise as a whole and is a good extension of the story. The movie is only out in theaters but is coming to streaming services around the world soon, so fans shouldn’t have to wait long to get their fill of this movie and hopefully not fall asleep throughout the nearly three hour duration of the film. In the meantime, fans can watch the first “Dune” movie on Max, Prime Video, Hulu, and other popular streaming services, to catch up on the story of the movies.