Three firm thumps into the Arrakis sand is all you need to summon a sandworm in It鈥檚 almost as easy as hailing a cab or calling for the check.
The big buggers can鈥檛 resist the sound, which is a little like how I feel taking in all the vibrations of Villeneuve鈥檚 adaptation of Frank Herbert鈥檚 1965 science-fiction novel. Whispers, incantations and guttural sounds buzz throughout 鈥淧art Two,鈥� a hissing hulk of a sequel that fluctuates between ominous silences and thunderous booms.
released in 2021 when movie theaters were still humbled by the pandemic, tackled just the first half of Herbert鈥檚 opus, saving the second half for the sequel. That split can be owed in part to the enormous amount of plot contained in the novel, but it can also be attributed to the operatic rhythms of Villeneuve鈥檚 solemn spectacle. Sober as they are, 鈥淒une鈥� parts one and two are almost drunk on their own sense of atmosphere.
And with good reason. Like its predecessor, 鈥淒une: Part Two鈥� thrums with an intoxicating big-screen expressionism of monoliths and mosquitos, fevered visions and messianic fervor 鈥� more dystopian dream, or nightmare, than a straightforward narrative.
That filmmaking prowess sometimes comes at the expense of other things. Humor, for one, is in shorter supply on Arrakis than water. Javier Bardem, returning as the Fremen leader Stilgar, alone seems to want to breathe a little laughter into all the fiery red sands and mammoth machinery of 鈥淒une.鈥�
鈥淧art Two鈥� primarily follows the rise of Paul Atreides ( ), who, after seeing his father killed and House Atreides routed from the Arrakis capital by House Harkonnen and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (a monstrously good Stellan Skarsg氓rd), is now living among the Fremen, the desert-dwelling peoples of Arrakis, with his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).
The myth of Paul is already growing among the Fremen, who call him Muad鈥橠ib. (A great feature of these movies, like Hebert鈥檚 books, is the exquisite names.) Is he the chosen one or a false prophet? Doubts are gradually erased by his accomplishments (leading strikes against Harkonnen spice harvesters; quickly learning the ways of the Fremen); the cunning maneuvering of Lady Jessica; and the worshipful zeal of Stilgar.
The Fremen warrior Chani ( ), though skeptical of the hype, believes, with some reluctance, in Paul. 鈥淧art Two鈥� is significantly propped up by their , a relationship that gives a deserving wide-screen canvas to two of the most exciting young movie stars of their generation.
For a while it鈥檚 fun and games in the desert, blowing up stuff and learning how to ride sand worms. Oh, there鈥檚 the matter of the 鈥渉oly poison鈥� forced on Lady Jessica, a neon-blue liquid extracted from sand worms that looks like it would produce a fine , but, if it doesn鈥檛 kill you, confers a frightful clairvoyance of the universe.
Blue is an important color in the otherwise darker shaded 鈥淒une.鈥� It lights up in Lady Jessica鈥檚 eyes and, later, Paul鈥檚 too. If you thought Peter O鈥橳oole鈥檚 eyes blazed in 鈥淟awrence of Arabia,鈥� Paul鈥檚 look like they鈥檝e been pumped through with windshield-wiper fluid. As his following swells, Paul grows increasingly aware, and fearful, of his god-like power.
鈥淒une: Part Two鈥� spends much of its energy with Paul wrestling with this supposed messianic destiny. Like 鈥淟awrence of Arabia,鈥� he鈥檚 a white protagonist from the West (or, here, the 鈥淥uter World鈥�) on a Middle Eastern-like desert, leading the revolution of a dark-skinned population against oppressors whom he, himself, has deep ties to.
Herbert鈥檚 metaphor-rife book has sometimes been interpreted 鈥� 鈥� by the alt-right for its racial politics. Villeneuve鈥檚 film, scripted by the director and Jon Spaihts, appears highly conscious of this legacy as well as that of the white-savior trope. And often 鈥� as in so much of these two films 鈥� the movie expresses itself most through imagery and movement.
The Harkonnens, universally white, bald and violent, are served up as the symbol of colonist rule. In the middle of 鈥淧art Two,鈥� the film introduces the Harkonnen prince Feyd-Rautha (a hairless Austin Butler, looking a bit too much like the albino protagonist of 1995鈥檚 ) who is a kind of opposite to Paul. He, too, could take command of Arrakis.
When Villeneuve temporarily switches to Feyd-Rautha's story and away from Paul and Chani, the film鈥檚 richly orchestrated sense of momentum falters. But the comparison is illuminating. In a massive colosseum, Feyd-Rautha ruthlessly battles a trio of Atreides survivors in a scene, bleached in monochrome, that looks like supersized.
There鈥檚 an earnest reckoning here in the power dynamics of the source material and previous Hollywood tales of first-and-third world confrontations. There鈥檚 plenty of doubt to go around for all involved, too. The movie鈥檚 perspective ultimately resides in the drained, shrouded face of Charlotte Rampling, who plays the matriarch of the Bene Gesserit (again, the names!), a mystic order that pulls the strings behind the galactic politics of 鈥淒une.鈥� For her, it's a game of raw calculation and 鈥渘o sides.鈥�
As 鈥淧art Two鈥� brings all parties together for the final act, it begins to loose steam. The Emperor (Christopher Walken) and his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), seen sporadically from afar debating the events on Arrakis, turn up. But while Walken鈥檚 company is always welcome, he might be too warm a presence for 鈥淒une鈥� 鈥� too much of the Earth despite so often seeming on a planet of his own.
Yet the limpness of the finale, despite all of the expert build-up of Hans Zimmer鈥檚 score and Mark Mangini and Theo Green鈥檚 sound design, goes to something deeper. Villeneuve's great talent lies, I think, in invocation. He may be less perfect when it comes to conclusions but he's brilliant at summoning 鈥� a sense of doom, a suddenly appeared spacecraft, a sandworm. Even better than those serpentine sand creatures (the runaway stars of 鈥淧art Two鈥�) is that thump, thump, thump that precedes them.
鈥淒une: Part Two,鈥� a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material and brief strong language. Running time: 165 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
