For a moment there it felt like people were only booking tickets to the cinema for the MANY Marvel films and letting the smaller releases save up in the watchlist of their chosen OTT platforms. Not to say I want to court controversy by saying this but the big budget, almost-formulaic Marvel movies did end up leaving a lot of cinema goers disillusioned with the while theatre experience. So much so that people stopped going to the cinema. But as someone who considers the theatre as her safe place, I still went - for blockbusters, indies, short films and even anime re-releases. Which is why when I happened to catch up with the second instalment of Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two on the big screen, I thought, cinema is back.
Given that the core book series, written by Frank Herbert, we can expect to get a new Dune film every two years or so. It holds the potential of becoming a true modern classic and adapt the legacy of other long running series like Star Wars Or The Lord Of The Rings. It's not an easy feat to make such a film in a sea of CGI-filled releases, yet it remains an outlier in the genre. Why? Let's take a look!
The captivating visuals
Unless we happen to stumble upon an alternate universe where people ride sandworms and massive brutalism-coded architecture exists on your way to work, the movie uses A LOT of CGI. But it's so seamless and fool-proof, you cannot tell a CGI spy-bug to a real one (not that we know what a real one looks like!). The world-building in the film is impeccable, every frame looks like it's picked straight from the author's imagination and put up on the screen for people to witness in all its glory. Cinematographer Greig Fraser infuses his shots with just the right movement that makes the viewers feel like they are moving with the characters, rather than sitting beyond the fourth wall watching them. The visuals are filled with sincerity, never underestimating the audience's intelligence to tell if certain imagery feels lazy; it's a perfectly shot and framed film and worthy of commanding large audiences globally.
A special shout-out to the costume briefs of the film; they're a bit part of making the film look unique. Costume designer Jacqueline West borrows from her lustrous career of dressing A-listers for big budget films to ace the costuming on Dune: Part Two. She revealed in an interview that she enlisted a global team to contribute to the expansive realisation of the expanding Dune universe in the second instalment. This involved acquiring armour in Budapest for the ‘Harkonnens’, collaborating with a London printer for the embellishment of Lady Jessica's (Rebecca Ferguson)' Fremen' robes, and engaging shoppers to scour markets throughout the Middle East for unique jewellery pieces. Including set designers, the crew of the film are the true heroes who brought this vision to life. Even Zendaya, who plays Chani, admitted to the fact in a recent promotional appearance.
A cast that leaves no room for doubt
A huge problem with blockbusters in the past decade has been the fact that the scope and scale of a film takes centre stage so much so that the actors are left with barely any opportunity to, well, act. The Transformers franchise has been notorious in this regard, with the actors giving their “career worst” in the films. Formulaic portrayals and rigid character arcs leave no room for nuance in performances. But such is not the case with Dune: Part Two. First of all, whoever did the casting for this film needs a MASSIVE raise. The actors are perfect in their roles; not just realising a character written on the page but infusing their performance with their own quirks and charms to further make them likeable, believable or in Austin Butler's case, absolutely despicable. You'll be rooting for Zendaya in her singular quest for maintaining sanity in the world around her. You'll be enticed by Rebecca Ferguson in her unapologetically ‘grey’ nature, a layered portrayal of a woman on a mission of world domination. And you'll be absolutely confused by Timothée Chalamet, whether you like his character (no spoilers for Paul Atreides) or don't want him anywhere near our girl Zendaya, regardless of how pretty he is (seriously Timmy, dial it down a bit!).
So if you haven't already, make sure to catch a showing of this epic the first chance you get. Carry a jacket, this film is a long one!