“Dune: Part Two” Reactions: A Modern-Day Sci-Fi Masterpiece

The first reactions for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two are swelling across the internet from critics like so many sandworms across the country. The overall gist? Dune: Part Two delivers in a major way.

Villeneuve and his co-writer Jon Spaihts had boldly decided way back when they were working on the first film to break Frank Herbert’s colossal, iconic source material into two parts. That meant they left a lot of meat on the bone and many of Herbert’s most thrilling set pieces and action sequences for the second film. Now that critics have seen the film and are able to share their reactions online, it looks as if the tactic has paid off.

The second installment picks up where Villeneuve’s first film left off, with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), relying on the desert-dwelling Fremen to help them survive the brutal dunelands of Arrakis and help them plot their revenge against their enemies, which include House Harkonnen and, possibly the leader of the entire galaxy, Emperor Saddam IV (Christopher Walken, a new addition).

After a long wait, Dune: Part Two is finally upon us, coming to theaters on March 1, with its stars, including Chalamet, Zendaya, and newcomers Florence Pugh and Austin Butler, finally able to promote the film. The cast also includes returning stars Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Rabban Harkonnen, and Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam. Newcomers joining Walken, Pugh, and Butler include Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.

Let’s take a quick peek at what some critics say. Dune: Part Two arrives in theaters everywhere on March 1:

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET as Paul Atreides and AUSTIN BUTLER as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE: PART TWO,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise

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The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.