Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Timothée Chalamet | Zendaya | Rebecca Ferguson | Josh Brolin | Austin Butler | Florence Pugh | Dave Bautista | Christopher Walken | Léa Seydoux | Stellan Skarsgård | Charlotte Rampling | Javier Bardem
Released: 2024
Rating: ★★★★
Starring: Timothée Chalamet | Zendaya | Rebecca Ferguson | Josh Brolin | Austin Butler | Florence Pugh | Dave Bautista | Christopher Walken | Léa Seydoux | Stellan Skarsgård | Charlotte Rampling | Javier Bardem
Released: 2024
Rating: ★★★★
I watched this back-to-back with Dune in one epic session, and the sequel suffered slightly in comparison. Still epic, still beautiful (in 70mm which added a lovely grain to the desert), but less focussed than the still-astonishing first chapter. The story wanders a little, gets a bit lost now-and-then, and makes some strange character choices: Duncan becomes too central as a one-note warmonger, but the change of Stilgar from a wonderful complex desert-leader to a semi-comical Paul-believer was a real disappointment. Still, the ascension of Maud’dib and climactic scenes more than make up for the wayward middle.