Movie Review- Dune: Part Two
Gratuitous Grace the Dog photo that has nothing to do with the movie, except that she really needed to go out when we got home.
It took a couple weeks, but The Captain gave in to my constant pestering, and we made a trip to an actual movie theater, IMAX even. It has been the better part of a year since we saw a movie in a theater, so I was excited to see an offering that might be worth while.
Quick review on the movie review categories from my last post about movies (https://www.timothymsavage.com/blog/top-gun-okay-boomer): It was worth full price. See it as a matinee. See it at home. Don’t bother. There are also automatic mark-downs for remakes, computer generated images, and casting age-inappropriate talent.
The Dune movie franchise is based on the 1965 Frank Herbert sci-fi novel of the same name and roughly follows the originally published two part serial. If you haven’t read it, put it on you list. Dune: Part Two picked up where the 2021 released Dune: Part One left off. Basically, it’s about a planet called Arrakis that produces an essential product that everybody wants. Unfortunately, nobody but the locals want the planet, which results in a lot strip mining, fighting with the locals, and politics between colonial-type powers. Out of the fighting comes the film’s hero, leading the locals in a liberation movement.
The two films were made for the big, big screen. The producers spent a lot of money to immerse the viewer in all things Arrakis, and for the most part, it worked. The 2021 film was 155 minutes long and the new 2024 Part Two is even longer at 166 minutes. In a world that has gotten used to 100 minute or less story telling, this seems like a long time to spend in the seat. I felt like that wasn’t a problem, but there were folks taking individual intermissions.
While I really enjoyed the experience, Dune: Part Two is a remake of the 1984 film Dune. The story telling is better this time around, but it still gets the mark-down.
The visuals in this rendition are massive and played well on the IMAX screen. Unfortunately, there is a whole lot of CGI. Well executed, generally, but some of it was distracting. I though the worm riding represented the best and worst of the CGI scenes.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. Even if everything else is perfect, it is already down to “see it at home.” Unfortunately, that’s the breaks, and that’s where I’m going to rank it. It was immersive, and entertaining, and I loved the execution, but considering the price tag for the theater experience, it can wait until it’s on the home screen. I will add this little caveat: if you don’t have a decent TV and speakers, you might consider the theater just for the visuals and sound.
Now you know what I think. Decide or not.