Has Denis Villeneuve’s road always been leading into Frank Herbert’s desert? In 1998, his debut August 32nd on Earth showed a poetic feel for character and sandy landscapes; fish-eyed follow-up Maelström, meanwhile, revealed a surreal flair. His clout as an action director emerged later, but be assured: with outsized pomp, punch and weirding business, Part Two positions his Dune duology as one of the great mind-melds of director to material in modern fantasy filmmaking.
Blockbuster as grand tragedy? War movie as political, psychological and romantic fable? Sci-fi spectacle as colonial, conspiratorial allegory? However you cut it, Villeneuve wrangles coherence from Herbert’s unruly elements to deliver a sequel that ranks alongside The Dark Knight, The Empire Strikes Back – and Blade Runner 2049. No mere expansion pack for the dreamier Part One, it’s a completion (maybe…) of a story that might have appeared misleading, certainly incomplete, without it.
