Dune: Part II

 This Thursday, my Mom and I went to the cinema together and watched the second part of Denis Villeneuve's Dune adaptation. Here are my brief (largely spoiler-free) thoughts on it.

As an adaption, Dune: Part II, is not completely accurate to its source material (though that was, perhaps, to be expected). Among other things, it reduces one fairly prominent character to a cameo and drops another completely. The Movie also diverges from the book in some significant ways, particularly in its depiction of Paul's and Chani's relationship. As a result, the film also ends on a different note from the novel.

Would the purist in me have preferred it if the film had stuck closer to its source material? Yes. Did I enjoy the film in spite of these liberties? Absolutely. 

Though I personally believe that the ideal format for a Dune adaptation would be an animated series, Villeneuve's films are the best adaptation of this classic work of science fiction that I can think of. 

Like its predecessor, Dune II looks great (this is a movie that demands to be watched in theaters) and, taken as a whole, the duology does capture the epic scope of Frank Herbert's novel. Acting is uniformly good and the only character who feels significantly different from their literary counterpart is Chani.

One quick final note: Part II does nothing to make sure that the viewer is up to speed. If its been awhile since you've seen part I, I recommend that you either re-watch it, read the novel (or, if you already have, re-read it). Alternatively, if you are feeling lazy, you can just look up a synopsis online.