Dune: Part Two (PG13)

166 minutes, opens on Feb 29
4 stars

The story: Following the events of Dune (2021), Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), having survived the attack by House Harkonnen, are now travelling with the Fremen, the natives of the desert planet Arrakis. The Harkonnens believe Paul and Jessica are dead. The signs that Paul is the one promised to free the Fremen from tyranny are growing, though Paul resists the idea, as his premonitions speak of widespread suffering should he take on the role. The two films are adapted from Frank Herbert’s 1965 science-fiction novel Dune.

By the end of the first Dune film, the elaborate world-building has boiled down to a simple revenge story: Paul has seen his family massacred and his bloodlust will spur the action of Part Two.

This being a Denis Villeneuve film, Paul’s journey will not be punctuated by one fight scene after another.

That said, there is one satisfyingly staged attack on a gargantuan Spice Harvester – the walking machines that extract the sought-after compound from the sand – that sums up the Villeneuve storytelling style.

The Harvester fight is split into small moments of tactical action, reflection and reaction, rather than the screen-filling pyrotechnic pandemonium found in other space fantasies.

Elsewhere, computer-generated graphics are kept to backgrounds in the far distance – one sees spaceships hanging silently in mid-air and massed troops on parade.

The only exception made for digitally created exotica is the adult sandworms, the beasts with which the Fremen share a mystical connection.

Care has been taken to make them strikingly large and awe-inspiring. Villeneuve knows audiences are eager for a close-up of the creatures and he delivers, but in a way that does not rob them of their mystery.

The director’s preference for using wardrobe, cinematography and action to convey meaning reaches its peak in the scene introducing new villain Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), nephew of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard).

Feyd is not just selfish and cruel, he is also a psychopath.

In a scene of gladiatorial combat, he glows with an otherworldly luminescence through the use of special lenses. The tasteful use of camera technology says more about Feyd’s creepiness than dialogue ever will, which is a blessing, given the film’s running time of almost three hours.

In addition to Feyd, other new characters include Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh); Lady Margot Fenring (Lea Seydoux), a member of the matriarchal religious order of the Bene Gesserit; and the Emperor, Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken).

They appear just long enough to tease their importance to the overarching story. Audiences will be eager to see more of them.

Hot take: The revenge story comes to a satisfying conclusion here, while leaving the door open for more in the saga of Paul Atreides and his journey to becoming the chosen one.