Dune: Part Two

Screened at Regal Cinemas IMAX, Rancho Mirage, California.

This "sequel" is where they aim to separate the women from the girls, the men from the boys, and the Doonies from the casual viewers. I am a casual viewer.

I enjoyed Part One a lot. Visually brilliant, fantastic score, casting on-point, and knowing, as a non-Dune reader that it's a DENSE novel, and series, and proven near-impossible to put on screen, large or small. And yet somehow this Denis dude unlocked the secret of translating this sci-fi classic from the written to the visual. For example, me, with no emotional investment in this world whatsoever (even as a massive David Lynch fan, director of the infamous, and now cult 1984 adaptation), enjoyed the hell out of it. I suddenly felt invested.

Now, after having seen the follow-up two weeks after its release, I no longer feel invested. Not because there is anything wrong with this film. Like the first, there really isn't anything to criticize here. But as a whole, it's more for the die-hards, whom I'm of course genuinely happy for. I can see it - if I was a die hard, I'd be in heaven here as the care and detail here of the source material is obvious. My main example is the dialogue; there is a LOT of conversation in this one. For the uninvested, it can drag, and I felt myself fighting off the head nods. Not severe though, it wasn't too extreme. But it showed to me, as someone who had a decent nights sleep the evening before, as the story gets deeper and the details more fine-tuned, the less I'm on board.

I'll still be there for Part Three; it feels like it may be an actual, traditional Act III. Again, I'm no expert and perhaps this particular story in this universe won't wrap up. I'll still go and find out, I'm willing. The signs though, they're already there. For this casual viewer, the respect remains - it really does feel like an achievement - but no longer is the potential for my level of fandom to reach a point where I feel I've personally achieved something the more I'm devoted. LOL.

My feelings for Part Three will likely have a big impact on solidifying my take on Part Two, as the full story here will (hopefully) come together and become clearer, and it can be judged more fairly.