“Power over spice is power over all.”
This is the eerie first line of Denis Villeneuve’s 2024 sci-fi masterpiece “Dune: Part Two.” As a sequel to “Dune: Part One,” released in 2021, it expands upon the action and great plot and characters of the first movie. The film is set on Arrakis, the only planet in the “Dune” universe with Spice, a hallucinogenic drug that allows for intergalactic travel.
One can’t help but root for Paul Atreides, the new duke of House Atriedes, in his journey. In the first film, Paul’s entire house, the Atreides, are all killed by House Harkonnen, the rival Great House of House Atreides, after the Emperor takes Arrakis from the Harkonnens and gives it to the Atreides.
Paul and his mother have to flee into the desert to find & attempt to befriend the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis. He has visions of a horrible holy war in his name throughout both movies, and attempts to prevent this horrible destiny in this film.
The sound of “Dune” envelops you; the wide variety of well-crafted effects perfectly captures the action, proved by its Oscar in 2025 for Best Sound. The sounds of battle in particular are absolutely amazing, like when the Fremen attack the Harkonnen spice harvester and the sounds of the ornithopter (a large, dragonfly-esque aircraft used for battle and transport) attacking the Fremen, as well as the knife fights between Paul and Harkonnen soldiers.
The most powerful scene of Paul’s journey is when he finally learns to ride a sandworm, the 500 meter long beast of the Arrakis sands. The sandworm are responsible for the creation of the Spice, but are also an immense danger to any human who comes across one. The scene starts with some light and playful banter with Stilgar and his Fremen, before immediately starting to take a more serious view as he sets his thumper, the device used to call a sandworm(sandworms are drawn by rhythmic noises) and waits for it to arrive. The scene intensifies when Paul is racing to catch the sandworm and is ultimately able to latch onto it. When he finally stands up and controls the worm, the score climaxes and all of the Fremen watching him erupt in joy. The two separate reactions from Chani and Stilgar add another aspect to this amazing scene, as Chani is just relieved that her partner survived the sandworm, and Stilgar sees it as another sign that Paul is the Lisan Al-Gaib, the Fremen messiah.
The actors here absolutely capture the screen, especially Timothée Chalamet, who plays Paul Atreides, Austin Butler, who plays Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Zendaya, who portrays Chani and Javier Bardem, who plays Stilgar.
Chalamet is the star of the film, and he does not disappoint. He captures the essence of a man afraid of his own legend and the harm it may cause. This fear grows after he chooses his Fremen name Muad’Dib, which in their culture means “the one who points the way.”The name only makes the Fremen worship him more.
Paul’s relationship with Chani takes center stage in “Dune: Part Two,” as their romance grows alongside his rising legend among the Fremen. As he becomes a leader within the group, Paul is reluctant to accept the Fremens’ worship of him and worries about the harm that fanatical belief — especially in the hands of fighters as good as the Fremen — can cause to the universe.
Butler plays the monstrous, psychotic Feyd-Rautha and his introduction is nothing short of both terrifying and mesmerizing. He is brought out into the Harkonnen battle arena for his birthday knife battle, the entire scene is solely in monochrome, which adds an extra creepy tone to this inhumane world that slaughtered the Atreides. His portrayal is wonderfully done, as Feyd-Rautha is a perfectly insane and unhinged character. He treats nothing with seriousness, but is a deadly serious fighter and ruthless leader.
Bardem does a fantastic performance portraying Stilgar’s arc from friend to follower. In the beginning, he is more of a comic relief character and mentor of Paul. But after momentous events such as the first worm ride, Paul’s numerous victories in battle against the Harkonnens and his awakening from the Water of Life, Stilgar slips deeper into worship of Muad’Dib. At the end of the first film, Stilgar let Paul into his group due to his potential to be the Lisan Al-Gaib, the Fremen’s messiah. He then becomes Paul’s mentor and teaches him how to survive the desert and become one of the Fremen. But as time passes by, he slowly becomes more of a fanatic follower of Muad’Dib.
Zendaya serves as the film’s moral compass and heart. The contrast with Stilgar’s worship is particularly striking. Her character is the constant of Fremen pride and is steadfast in her belief in the Fremen, not in a savior from another world, in spite of her romantic relationship with Paul. This contrast of her love for Paul and her distaste for the religious fervor surrounding him is a wonderful addition to the main theme of this movie, the danger of a charismatic leader who is painted as a messiah.
With Gurney Halleck’s return, presumed dead since the Harkonnen massacre of the Atreides in Part One, he returns back to the desert with Paul & the Fremen. His arrival brings a new militaristic viewpoint to Paul’s persona by showing him the Atreides family atomic bombs, as well as pushing Paul to use the Fremens’ religious belief in him to take over the planet. Halleck’s arrival also coincides with Feyd-Rautha’s attack on Sietch Tabr, the home base of Paul’s Fremen faction. This attack pushes the Fremen to move south, where Paul’s mother Jessica, now a Reverend Mother, has been spreading his legend with the religious factions of the South.
After someone’s first watch of the film, they may just be rooting for Paul to beat the Harkonnens. But as they watch it more and more, they start to realize: Was his victory worth it? Did he do the right thing by turning into the Fremens’ messiah?
