Dune Part Two Review

Give Denis Villeneuve his 2025 best director academy award because, wow. denis choosing to visually craft the story over directly addressed dialogue to make things clearer for the audience was something i admired so much. A director using his true craft of directing and storytelling visually instead of just relying on the dialogue of the characters.

The cast, who all so beautifully crafted and portrayed their characters flawlessly. every single cast member kept your attention captured, so many films in the last decade have this incessant use of dialogue whether it’s for reasons of wanting to be humorous or leave some sort of remembrance; i find that the silent moments within dune part 2 spoke so much more? there was no unnecessary filling dialogue, the cast members all perfectly understood and engaged with the emotions of their characters that dialogue simply wasn’t needed.

Timothée chalamet, from the moment he drinks the water every single scene he was in gripped you completely. a powerhouse of a performance as paul atreides. to a man who simply wanted to ensure the safety of his mother and the woman he loves, to become the very person he was trying so desperately not to be. Lisan Al-Gaib. Focusing particularly on the scene where Paul finally addresses all the Fremen people, directly addressing and accepting this title. I had chills. The parallel between the scene in the first film where he is silenced by the Bene Gesserit, to a roaring silence he commands himself in the second film. Timothee’s entire aura as the character of Paul changes, testament to his incredible performance i truly believe this is the best role of his career so far.

Austin butler as feyd ratha was menacing and magnetic. Going into the film i was truly curious about how well he would bring this character to life and now i truly don’t believe anyone else could’ve captured this character as well as he did. What fascinated me the most was the emotional depth he brought to the character, he wasn’t just this psychotic murderer, his reactions towards the moments of others full of intrigue and calculation. Ranging from amusement, insanity, fury, arousal and of course this murderous desire. What stuck out to me the most was the scene before his fight with Paul, silent yet saying so much as he took him in. His physicality reminded me slightly of a cat, a black panther of a sort, silently stalking and assessing his prey.

Rebecca ferguson, you are one insanely talented woman and she deserves everything for her portrayal of lady jessica. A terrifying, and ruthless performance, conveying her transformation so perfectly from a fearful mother  part of the bene gesserit, to essentially the catalyst and coloniser of the fremen people. The scene where’s she’s talking to alia in her womb about targeting the weakest fremen people in convincing them of the prophecy on Paul being their Lisan Al-Gaib while staring at the women and the children in front of her, slightly hidden in the shadows. Truly one of the most powerful and intriguing characters in the film, and Rebecca embodied the role so perfectly.

Zendaya’s subtlety and quiet yet powerful emotions serving as a perfect representation of someone fighting to refuse oppression but at the same time feel betrayed. truly cannot get over how zendaya expressed every single emotion chani was feeling literally through just her eyes. the last scene in the film gave me chills, the anger, heartbreak, pain. zendaya elevated the film so much as chani. Once again the silence within Dune prevailing significantly over the use of dialogue.

Florence as princess irulan, even with little screen time has had, she was so intriguing and the layers of irulan already made visible. Noticing already in the final act of the film the love shared between paul and chani, and the life that she will be entering into with paul. looking forward to her development in messiah and seeing the rest of her story alongside paul and chani evolve.

Dune part 2 was a masterpiece and will definitely be booking myself another ticket to the cinema to rewatch. Also 2025 oscar’s, i would be highly surprised if this film didn’t bag itself several nominations.