Amazing adaptation of the second half of the book. As expected, the cinematography, set design, and music are all beautiful. I was skeptical when Denis said a large focus of the film would be the love story, but was pleasantly surprised they were able to pull off a believable romance between Paul and Chani while trying to fit everything else in this huge story. Stilgar was amazing. I think they also pulled of Alia well, which is understandable since it's kinda hard to have a child character like in the books translated into film without making it cartoonish.

Now for my (minor) criticisms:

We all know how dense the book is, and even with only half the book remaining for this film and almost 3 hours, certain parts still felt rushed; which is understandable because there is only so much you can cram into a movie.

For example, the time Paul and Jessica spent in Sietch Tabr felt so quick, without having a reference/barometer to let audiences know how long it took for them to turn the Fremen to their side and Paul and Chani's relationship to develop. This took years in the book, and book readers will obviously know that, but I feel like non-readers will complain how "fast" it happened. It also doesn't help that since they cut child Alia in this version, this means all the events in the film happened in less than 9 months, which is pretty short for someone to integrate into a planet's native population, train in their ways, and rise up as a messianic figure for an entire planet.

The final big battle also felt rushed. I know it was generally glossed over in the book, but it would have been great if the film took a few more minutes to show some battles before Paul reaches the emperor. Gurney and Rabban's fight scene should've also been a little longer, give Gurney had to emphasize the scar Rabban gave him, which was kinda implying there was a big fight scene ahead.

While I love Christopher Walken, the emperor in this film had barely anything to work with such that you could've cast any other decent actor and it wouldn't have mattered. I was hoping for something special from Walken's portrayal given how unique of an actor he is.

All that being said, it was an amazing film and I was pretty satisfied. It needed 30 more minutes to flesh out the events more, but I understand you can't make a 3.5 hour movie without making general audiences bored. Now on to Messiah to complete a trilogy!

Watched part 2 yesterday and I dare to say it's the Lord of the Rings/Star Wars of this era. 2h45 min from title to credit were absolutely breathtaking. Can't wait for Messiah aka part 3.

Alia is a tough character to film, not many child actors that can pull that off, so the choice to keep her in the womb is one I'm okay with. As a consolation, they do show her in Paul's future visions, which is a power of Alia's you only see with her and no other prescient in the series--the ability to leave future memories and messages for another oracle.

One line of concern from part 2 is Reverend Mother Mohiam's admission to Irulan that the BG were behind the Atreides destruction, not the Emperor. It conflicts with Mohiam's ask in part 1 to the Baron that Jessica and Paul be spared. I think the writers for the films added Mohiam's line in part 1 to balance Yueh's role being downplayed (since he largely saved Jessica and Paul), then added the line in part 2 to match the expanding role of the BG as the antagonist, and missed it on further passes to see if the characters' goals still aligned.

I greatly enjoyed part 2, I like what they did with Irulan, Feyd, and Chani. Looking forward to reading the discussions and bringing new fans into the series!

Loved it. I found the pacing was pretty much perfect. And I found the portrayal of Paul as the reluctant... hmm.. protagonist (can't quite bring myself to use the word "Hero") to have been done very well. I didn't love how it was left with Chani, but eh, and I found the wrap-up to be a bit ... rushed. But I thought Denis did a wonderful job.

I also loved the depiction of Geidi Prime. It was nice to have a bit more context for that part of the story.

Not as good as the first. Source material may be to blame, but did any actor make a real impression? Skarsgård, the Baron, stole the show until his final scene. Planning for the assault and the subterfuge for luring the emperor was lost too.

Visually stunning, and imax audio blew me away, the training and raids some of the best scenes.

I really liked Stilgar's Monty Python's Life of Brian moments. "LISAN AL-GAIB!"

Post is fine since you clearly marked it. Thanks!

Enjoying it more than the first, but I'm in the group of people who don't like the majority of Villeneuve's work (certainly his blockbuster stuff other than Prisoners). Soundtrack is much more subtle but still lacking melody. Dune probably works better as a series. Zendaya's acting is jarring, as usual. Timothy is an OK Paul.

Not a bad movie at all but not something I'll want to rewatch again and again.