Herbert’s novels are very juicy chunks of books, meticulously detailed, fun and absorbing fantasies about faith and doubt, survival and struggle, idealism and nihilism. . Herbert is a masterful world builder, creating a fantastical world based on incredible references. The result is unusual enough to arouse curiosity and, at times, a sense of wonder, even as the story retains a connection to reality outside the page. It’s a dense palimpsest of influences ranging from Greek mythology to Shakespearean tragedy to Jungian psychology. Many times, especially in hostile environments or expressions of religious fanaticism, it can seem like a warning to modern times.
Villeneuve’s approach to adapting the novel is, in effect, one of clever distillation. Like the first film, “Part 2” advances the plot fluently through sequences of both dialogue and action that stay true to the spirit of the book, its overall story arc, atmosphere, and weirdness (understanding ). The dialogue sounds natural, even when the characters are bouncing around names like the Bene Gesserit, a mysterioso religious sorority that becomes more prominent in “Part 2.” Very importantly, the action sequences never stop the movie or make the rest of it seem unrelated. Mainstream adventure films often shift tediously and predictably between expository scenes and action sequences. Everything flows here.
“Dune,” like many modern spectacle films, is ultimately a war story, and bodies start falling as soon as we get into “Part 2.” In the fast-paced opening, Harkonnen soldiers, led by a bald screamer called Laban the Beast (Dave Bautista), descend from flying machines onto the desert floor. Wearing heavy uniforms that make them look as listless as old-school deep-sea divers, the soldiers look too clumsy to take on the Fremen, agile fighters with the moves of parkour and the balance of billy goats. But Villeneuve is a master of surprises, and knows how to create intrigue and suspense by juxtaposing contrasts: light and dark, enormity and meanness. Soon, Harkonnen begins to move, rapidly moving through the air with his jetpack.
“Part 2” moves with equal deftness, despite all the heaviness, Byzantine complexity, and messy plotting shared between the various factions. The sequel will see the return of many familiar faces, including Josh Brolin as Atreides loyalist Gurney Halleck and Stellan Skarsgård as the Monster Baron. The Baron, the leader of House Harkonnen, spends much of his time killing his minions or soaking their massive, exposed, spherical bodies in baths of crude oil. His incompetent nephew, Laban, is quickly overshadowed by the most impressive addition to the “Dune” detachment, another nephew, Fayed Rausa. Fayed Lausa is a malignant tumor played by the unrecognizable and downright creepy Austin Butler.
Ghostly white and seemingly hairless like his uncle, Fayed Lausa looks like an enlarged insect. He is a warrior and in every way as evil as his uncle. But despite Butler’s muscular curves and sultry pout, he’s not your usual sexy antihero, and the character still leaves some disturbing narrative question marks. Fayed Rausa serves as Paul’s challenger, but also as a counterpart to the giant sandworms that travel beneath the surface of Arrakis and produce Earth’s precious natural resources known as melange and spices. As important as oil and tingly and addictive, spices sparkle like fairy dust, change minds and turn eyes bright blue, but primarily they drive and stir the universe.
