Given my delight over “Dune: Half One,” it could appear unusual that I didn’t rush out to see “Half Two” as quickly because it opened. However life bought in the way in which, so I managed to see it solely final weekend. It was, in fact, terrific, and I anticipated no much less. Between “Dune” and “Oppenheimer,” we’ve discovered which you can, in actual fact, make three-hour epics that don’t really feel overlong and that don’t have you ever saying to your self, “Oh no, no more bombastic C.G.I.”
However “Half Two” additionally startled me in methods considerably totally different from “Half One.” Some spoilers forward, so cease right here in the event you haven’t seen the film.
What was so nice about “Half One” was that the director, Denis Villeneuve, really bought the essence of Frank Herbert’s advanced, delicate, culturally syncretic imaginative and prescient, with its mélange of Islamic, ayurvedic and medieval parts. (By the way in which, “mélange” is an alternate identify for the spice of Arrakis.) And he revered audiences sufficient to depart that imaginative and prescient intact. He simplified the novel in some methods, however in each case I can consider, the simplification improved the narrative stream, whereas the characters turned deeper.
The identical is true for “Half Two.” However this time Villeneuve not solely bought the essence of Herbert’s imaginative and prescient; he arguably bought it higher than Herbert himself.
On the floor, “Dune” traces out the basic hero’s journey — or on this case, the journey of the hero and his very lethal mom. However as I famous in my publication about “Half One,” there’s ethical ambiguity on the coronary heart of the novel: The hero is aware of that if he succeeds in his quest, conflict and mass slaughter will comply with.
After watching the films, I believe that Herbert flinched within the face of that ethical ambiguity however Villeneuve embraces the underlying darkness. The novel acknowledges that Paul Atreides begins a horrible conflict however roughly absolves him from duty — and ends with Girl Jessica reassuring Chani that she is going to stay Paul’s true spouse, regardless of his imperial marriage of comfort. The film ends with Chani leaving in disgust. And if I’m remembering it proper, the final line within the film is spoken by Jessica — who arguably turns into a monster, exploiting non secular fervor for her personal ends — who murmurs in satisfaction, “The holy conflict begins.”
So the “Dune” films aren’t for individuals who need joyful endings by which the nice guys triumph; the ostensible good guys triumph however find yourself knowingly perpetrating horror. However in the event you can deal with that, what a experience!
