This was a movie that I kind of looking forward to as it served as conclusion to the successful film that I liked 3 years ago. As usual, I would wait for the weekend to see this kind of movie since I could enjoy it better without thinking I had to work the following day. Anyway, here's more on the film.

Brief Story Line

After the events of the first film, Paul Artreides (Timothée Chalamet - Wonka, Don't Look Up etc) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson - The Greatest Showman Silo TV series etc) were escaping from the chase of Harkonnen together with a tribe of Fremen led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem - The Little Mermaid live version, Before Night Falls etc), including the girl Paul had prior visions of, Chani (Zendaya - Spider-man trilogy, Space Jam: A New Legacy etc). As Paul tried to learn the ways of the Fremen so he could help save Arrakis, Jessica was convincing the tribe's people that her son was the prophesized savior.

Meanwhile Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista - Glass Onion, My Spy etc) who took over from the Artreides, had difficulties in growing spice due to the constant fights by the Fremen. His uncle Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård - Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Chernobyl TV series etc) decided to appoint his other nephew Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler - Elvis, The Carrie Chronicles TV series etc) to stop the Fremens. News of the growing increase of the Fremen's power led by the messiah Muad'Dib, a title hold by Paul unbeknownst to Harkonnens, also reached the Emperor (Christopher Walken - The Dead Zone, Hairspray etc) and his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Black Widow etc).

With the Harkonnens and the whole empire wary of the threats in Arrakis, the planet that provided the important spice, it looked set for a great war. So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

Well that was a bit unexpected. Once again I did not read the information on the movie properly and was under the wrong impression that this would have a proper conclusion of Dune saga. During the whole film that felt like a build up to a grand war, I felt the ending did not exactly satisfy me. After further reading on the internet, I finally realized that the two part movies were only to conclude the first novel of the series. There were 6 novels altogether in the Dune series by Frank Herbert which would explain an ending that could lead to more stories. If I had known about this info, I would have managed my expectation and saw this as a filler for the next film.

However, as a space adventure movie, this one did not disappoint. Even though it still had a detailed story of Paul's journey to become the Fremen leader, there were some exciting scenes shown occassionally which made it more interesting (probably the reason why my wife was able to enjoy this better compared to its predecessor). The scenery of planet Arrakis wonderfully created by the visual effects team were just breath taking. It was so awesome seeing the sandworms, the desert view, and the intense fight scene between Fremen and Harkonnens. And I was really satisfied with the Dolby Atmos sound system in the studio which really added the element of joy for me, especially with the wonderful musical score, again done by the multi awards winner Hans Zimmer. 

In addition, the cast did great job as well and I had no complaints on their performance here. Aside from the names I mentioned above, there were also support cast such as Josh Brolin (Avengers: End Game, No Country for Old Man etc) and Charlotte Rampling (Red Sparrow, Restless TV series etc) who reprised their roles as Gunner Halleck and Gaius Helen Mohiam respectively, Léa Seydoux (No Time to Die, The Beast etc) as Lady Margot, Souheila Yacoub as Chani's friend & warrior Shishakli and few others. This sequel was still directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario etc) who was said to be interested in making the third movie (based on the novel Dune Messiah) to complete the trilogy. It is looking quite likely due to the great appreciation from both critics and audiences, unless somehow it perform disastrously in the box office. 

Overall it was an amazing experience seeing this movie in the cinema with large screen and good sound effects. Although the story still felt very detail with long duration (165 minutes without any mid or post end credit scene), the more frequent adventurous and fights scenes did make it more entertaining. But the finale was not too satisfying personally to me as it did not provide the spectacular war that I hoped for. Oh, there was one rather shocking twist that I did not see coming which totally surprised me and made me respected Frank Herbert more for his ability to include this in an already complex and visionary story. So if you had seen and enjoy the first movie (which is available on Netflix, HBO Go and Catchplay), then you would definitely love this second part. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars