By 96five NetworkWednesday 6 Mar 2024MoviesReading Time: 2 minutes
Aiming to hold anyone’s attention for nearly three hours in a cinema is a bold undertaking these days.
If the story isn’t engaging or our minds wander away from the action for too long, you’ll lose us to a second screen and our own inner worlds.
Remarkably, at 2 hours and 46 minutes Dune 2 remains compelling on all fronts and, in fact, leaves you wanting more.
Following on immediately from the first film, Dune 2 continues the saga of Paul Atreides, a reluctant messiah who’s leading the Fremen rebellion against House Harkonnen on Arrakis. Some believe Paul to be the prophesied saviour of the desert planet and its people, while others think the prophecy is just another power play to control the inhabitants.
With that storyline, anyone viewing this movie through a faith lens will see clear overlaps between Paul’s position and the Biblical narrative, and while not exactly like-for-like, Dune 2’s spiritual depth adds personal relevance to the movie that some sci-fi releases lack.
As people debate whether Paul truly is the man they’ve been waiting for and whether some of his attributes are coincidental or miraculous, there’s an inviting relatability to the characters of Dune 2.
Governor of Arakis Stilgar (Javier Bardem) is convinced Paul is “the One”, and gasps in wonder as he behaves “as written”, whereas Chani (Zendaya) questions the origin of the prophecy and the power it gives to those who wrote it.
Between the two of them, Dune 2 provides a platform to consider how the truth of prophecy is determined, why people crave a messiah, and the impact our beliefs have on our approach to the future.Dune 2 is rich with big ideas, but even if you set them aside, the on-screen spectacle of giant sand worm riding, Gladiator-esque battles and Elvis aka. Austin Butler becoming the villainous Feyd-Rautha make it completely thrilling.
Dune 2 is rated M and is in cinemas now.
Feature image: Photo by courtesy of Warner Media