Dune: Part Two

House Harkonnen, aided in secret by the Emperor and his elite Sardaukar terror troops, has destroyed House Atreides and taken back control of the desert world of Arrakis, source of the spice melange, the most valuable substance in the universe and the cornerstone of the galactic economy. Unbeknown to the Harkonnens, Paul Atreides has survived and struck an alliance with the Fremen, aided by a prophecy deliberately seeded millennia earlier by the Bene Gesserit. Paul and the Fremen strike at spice production, threatening to throw the galaxy into chaos. The Emperor has no choice but to personally intervene.

Two and a half years ago Denis Villeneuve delivered his first take on Frank Herbert's Dune, the most popular science fiction novel of all time (if only just, with The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy always sniffing at its heels). Two prior adaptations of Herbert's 1965 novel had been arguable failures, stymied by a lack of run-time (David Lynch's 1984 movie) or a lack of budget (John Harrison's 2000 mini-series).

Villeneuve's effort was undeniably superior, with a visual eye that made almost every frame a work of art and the time to allow the story to breathe. However, Villeneuve made the curious choice to eschew his superior run-time's allowance for greater worldbuilding and characterisation in favour of epic imagery and mood shots. This meant greater emphasis on shots of the sandworms destroying harvesters or Zendaya walking on sand dunes, but also meaning that vital character arcs - like Dr. Yueh's betrayal of the Atreides - are given short or no shrift.

This successor - less of a sequel than a direct continuation of the first film, picking up minutes later - does try to course-correct. The latter part of Frank Herbert's novel, focusing on Paul amongst the Fremen and his unifying of them into a huge army, is curiously underwritten, giving Villeneuve a tremendous amount of leeway in telling this part of the story in more depth. He refocuses the story tightly on four protagonists: Paul as he struggles with the need to unify the Fremen into a fighting force to destroy the Harkonnens, but desperate to avoid becoming a religious figure who will abuse them; Chani, as Paul's love who believes in his leadership but despises the idea of him becoming a religious figure; Stilgar, as Paul's greatest believer and first apostle; and Jessica, Paul's mother who becomes a Reverend Mother of the Fremen and fanatical in her manipulations of raising the Fremen in the name of her son. The interaction and intersection of these character arcs gives the film a lot of tension: Paul's internal debate, externalised in the debates and arguments between Chani and Stilgar, is very well-played, if different from the novel (where Chani harbours relatively few, if any, doubts about Paul's path).

Villeneuve also skirts the weirdness of the book which Lynch jumped into with enthusiasm. Dune is in an incredibly internalised book where the major, game-changing moments happen inside characters' heads whilst they look vaguely constipated, staring into the middle distance whilst coming to mental realisations about how to proceed. Lynch addressed this issue by allowing us to hear characters' thoughts, a somewhat cheesy device that feels outdated in 2024. Villeneuve has to externalise these debates through dialogue, although he does hit on an interesting halfway house by having Jessica debate strategy with her unborn daughter (Alia, although perhaps better known as "Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film," for the most part).

Dune: Part Two remains visually powerful, with some outrageously fantastic imagery like the gladiatorial fight on the bleached black-and-white surface of Giedi Prime. Like the first film, there's lot of fantastic imagery, and Hans Zimmer's score is somewhat less intrusive than in the first movie meaning you can enjoy the film without worrying about your skull bursting like that THX gag in The Simpsons. Also like the first film, there's a lot of excellent actors giving superb performances. Timothee Chalamet gives great Paul Atreides, and Zendaya excels in having to pick up a larger amount of the plot as Chani then in the novel. Jessica Ferguson gives 150% as Jessica, and Josh Brolin's world-weariness as Gurney Halleck remains compelling. Léa Seydoux gives a superb performance and steals the scenes she's in (possibly channelling her "weird WTF" energy from Death Stranding) despite only being in the film for five minutes. Austin Butler is the stand-out of the newcomers, with an outrageously charismatic, evil energy as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Florence Pugh is also great as Princess Irulan, despite having not a lot to do.

Javier Bardem has some of the film's best moments as true believer Stilgar, and is responsible for the majority of the film's surprisingly not-non-existent humour, although I worry that he and Villeneuve go too far and make Stilger a little bit too much of an avuncular comedy figure, something he very definitely is not in the books. Stellan Skarsgård remains imposing as the Baron, but doesn't have much to do, and in the finale he feels too much like a chump (to be fair, a problem of the book and the Lynch movie as well). Also, casting an actor of Christopher Walken's stature as the Emperor only for him to have maybe four lines and just look imperious feels a little like a waste. Also, those looking forwards to seeing Thufir Hawat again will be profoundly disappointed.

The first half of the movie is excellent, with some great character beats and action sequences. A scene where Paul and Chani team up to take down a Harkonnen harvester under fire from a sniper in an ornithopter is outstanding. But the film's epic finale feels rushed, bordering on the implausible. A bit more explanation of why Paul's plan works would not go amiss. A lot of these problems have obvious causes: the total absence of the Spacing Guild from the second movie when their machinations drive a lot of the background events causes way more problems than simply including them. The absence of Alia also causes story issues, even if the reasoning is sound (i.e. having a two-year-old wandering around killing people and talking weirdly looked deranged in the Lynch movie).

Part of the problem I think is Villeneuve skirting around the edges of Dune's fundamental weirdness but not fully engaging with it, and the rest is the realisation in the making of Part Two that he'll probably adapt Dune Messiah, so either punts off some elements to that story or even engages in a lot of setup work for that story that feels incongruous here.

As a result, Part Two feels a little bit undercooked from a character and thematic angle. But, as sheer cinematic spectacle, it is preposterously impressive. Huge (and real!) desert landscapes, crazy gladiatorial arenas, vast sandworms, immense Fremen hideouts and a massive (and not unnecessarily-drawn-out) concluding battle all combine to mount a sustained assault on the senses. Dune: Part Two (****) is worth seeing on the biggest screen possible and enjoying the sheer wonder of it. But the weaker elements are irritating, and make a persuasive argument that, despite Villeneuve's successes, we have still to see the definitive version of Dune in live action. Fourth time lucky?

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Confusion over plans to release DUNE to home streaming as well as cinema

Warner Brothers have potentially reignited a disagreement with Legendary Pictures over the release of their upcoming science fiction epic, Dune.

Dune was originally set for release in December 2020, but the COVID19 pandemic made that impossible and the release of the film was rolled back ten months to October 2021. However, Warner Brothers subsequently confirmed their plan to simultaneously release Dune, along with the entirety of their 2021 release slate, on streaming service HBO Max. This resulted in immediate pushback from Legendary, who threatened legal action should Warner Brothers attempt to proceed with that plan.

Nothing more was heard on the matter until yesterday, when Deadline reported that Dune will now debut at the Venice Film Festival in September, followed by a limited run in cinemas ahead of its streaming bow on 1 October. However, Warner Brothers have forcibly pushed back on that today, stating that Dune will hit cinemas and HBO Max on the same day.

The battle over Dune represents a second tussle between Legendary and Warner Brothers. In 2020, the two clashed over release plans for Godzilla vs. Kong. Netflix offered a $250 million deal to get exclusive streaming rights to the movie, which would automatically put the film into profit. However, Warner Brothers apparently vetoed the idea without consulting Legendary and then put the film onto HBO Max without consulting with their production partner. This resulted in far less money for Legendary than the Netflix deal, to the production company's fury.

The company is determined not to let the same happen with Dune. A major tentpole film for the production company, Legendary see Denis Villeneuve's Dune as a film with both big box office appeal (as a widescreen, SF epic with a top-tier cast of modern stars and cutting-edge effects) and a potential awards contender at next year's ceremonies. Dune is also more desperate than most films to make enough profit to justify a sequel: the movie only covers the first half of Frank Herbert's expansive, 500-page novel, with the rest contingent on the film doing well. There are also a further five novels in the canonical Dune sequence (as well as a plethora of prequels and sequels of lesser standing by other writers, which have a risible reputation among fans and critics alike). In the case of Dune, diluting the film's box office take by simultaneously releasing it for home streaming may be disastrous. The director has also voiced his opposition to the move.

The fact that, at least in the UK and US, the entire adult population should be vaccinated against COVID by October makes the argument for a home release less convincing.

Whether Legendary follows through on its threat to use legal action to stop Warner Brothers taking this move, or backs down (perhaps in the face of not wanting to make it so they cannot work together again in the future) remains to be seen.

Dune is currently slated for release, in one format or both, on 1 October 2021.

Legendary Entertainment considering legal action over move of DUNE and GODZILLA VS. KONG to HBO Max

Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind Denis Villeneuve's Dune and Adam Wingard's Gozilla vs. Kong, is considering legal action over Warner Brothers' unilateral decision to simultaneously release both films on its streaming service, HBO Max.

As related last week, Warner Brothers have decided to simultaneously release their entire 2021 slate of films on the streaming service, citing the difficulties in getting audiences back in theatres as the vaccination process rolls out for COVID-19. With the estimated time to vaccinate the entire population of the world extending well into 2022 (if not later) and vast numbers of people refusing to be vaccinated, Warner Brothers believe disruption to cinema releases will continue for the foreseeable future. Simultaneously releasing their slate of films on a home streaming service for a premium charge is seen as a way of overcoming the problem.

However, in the case of Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong, Warner Brothers are the distribution partners and have only part-financed the film, so only partly owe them. In the case of Godzilla vs. Kong, Legendary hold 75% of the rights and WB the other 25%, although this appears to include a distribution veto. Legendary was approached by Netflix several months ago and offered a $275 million distribution deal to debut the film on their service. Legendary were apparently keen, as it would recoup the $160 million production costs almost immediately. However, Warner Brothers refused to consider the move and vetoed it. Legendary asked for a counter-offer from WB to host the film on HBO Max, but WB refused to negotiate. Legendary were taken by surprise by last week's announcement, as apparently they do not believe that WB has the legal right to unilaterally put Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong on their streaming service without Legendary's permission and without offering restitution to Legendary and to the talent involved.

Director Denis Villeneuve is also apparently extremely disappointed with the movie of Dune to streaming, believing the film should be seen on the big screen first. There is also apparently some confusion amongst Warner Brothers partners, who believe that films releasing near the end of 2021 like Dune, when mass vaccination should be in full swing, are much less likely to suffer the impact of the COVID epidemic than films released in 2020 and early 2021.

It's likely that Legendary and Warners will come to an agreement, especially since other directors like Christopher Nolan have blasted the move, believing it will damage the cinema industry further.

Pacific Rim: Uprising

2035. Ten years have passed since the destruction of the dimensional rift, through which an alien race was sending biological war machines - kaiju - to weaken humanity's defences. Although Earth appears to be safe for now, humanity has not rested on its laurels and has rebuilt the Jaeger programme, giant war mecha capable of taking the fight to the aliens. Jake Pentecost, the estranged son of the late Stacker Pentecost, is drafted back into the Jaeger programme to help teach a new generation of students, but moral is low when it is revealed that the the Pan-Pacific Defence Corps are developing a new generation of drone Jaegers that do not need human pilots. When a rogue Jaeger attacks a PPDC conference, Pentecost realises that the aliens are not the only enemy...

The original Pacific Rim is one of favourite movies of the last decade on the level of being a purely entertaining action flick. It didn't make a colossal amount of sense and the story was hardly deep, but Guillermo Del Toro made the "big robots fighting big monsters" story he'd always wanted and had a huge amount of fun in the process, making sure that viewers joined in with that fun.

Del Toro spent years trying to get the sequel made and, unfortunately, by the time the wheels were turning on it, he'd already moved on to other projects. Stepping into the breach - so to speak - was Steven S. DeKnight. DeKnight is hardly on the same level of reputation as Del Toro, but is also no slouch, having been a writer-producer-director on shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and the first season of Daredevil.

Unfortunately, the loss of Del Toro was only the first setback for the movie. It was quickly followed by the discovery that leading actor Charlie Hunnam was also going to be unavailable. With several of the other leads of the original Pacific Rim having been killed off in that movie, it left the sequel with a lot of storytelling void to fill. Still, the movie rallied by casting hot man-of-the-moment John Boyega (Finn in the Star Wars sequels) as the new lead and setting up a strong new story about the Jaegers becoming obsolete. The movie also undercuts expectations by leaning into a human-vs-human struggle based around Jaeger technology and kaiju bio-technology. This makes the movie feel a bit "smaller" than the first movie, with less of an omnipresent sense of dread and instead more of a mystery angle. I quite like it when a sequel goes cleverer rather than bigger for a sequel and was pleasantly surprised when Uprising took that route.

I was even more surprised when Pacific Rim: Uprising decided to also double down on characterisation compared to the first movie, which painted its characters with a fairly broad (to the point of transparent) brush. Uprising spends far more time setting up its characters and their motivations, particularly in the key subplot about a new team of cadets where all the characters are established in more detail compared to the first movie (where we didn't even learn the names of some of the Jaeger pilots). Again, no great shakes here (stereotypes and cliches abound), but the fact that I could tell which character was which and why they were doing what they were doing was an improvement over the original film.

Part of the problem with this approach is that it's perhaps a little wasted: Pacific Rim was a film about giant robots fighting giant monsters, not an in-depth character study, and it wasted no time in telling that story. Uprising's greater character focus proves to be structurally problematic, meaning we're 45 minutes into the movie - almost half its runtime - before the stakes and main storyline become clear. The second it does become clear, the movie slams the accelerator down and bombards the audience with a series of impressive set-pieces, including mecha-on-mecha battles in Sydney and in the Siberian wastes, and a truly impressive daylight slugfest rampaging through the streets of Tokyo before the movie ends at under the two hour mark (a clear twenty minutes shorter than the first movie). This makes the film feel a bit lopsided: the first half is a little too slow, the second half a bit too fast, especially when several plot twists (and the old plot twist that is itself then twisted five minutes later) undercut expectations superbly, but a little confusingly.

Still, Uprising ended up being far better than its mixed reception had led me to expect. Del Toro's defter hand on the directing tiller is missed, but DeKnight does reasonably well (even if he's a bit too in love with slow-mo action shots). I actually cared about the characters a bit more than in the first movie, although the somewhat brusque offing of some of the first movie's characters (on and off-screen) felt a bit off. In terms of plotting, the movie was surprisingly clever, adding meat to the fairly thin worldbuilding of the original and setting up a lot of plot directions the franchise can take in the future. The script had a fair few clunkers, sharing with the original an often inappropriate-feeling level of humour, but then this was never going to be an Academy Award-troubling film. The performances are all fine to good - John Boyega is clearly enjoying himself immensely - and the action sequences satisfyingly chunky.

Pacific Rim: Uprising (***½) is an enjoyable and fast-paced sequel to the original. Like the original, it's a B-movie with a huge budget and, on that level, delivers what it set out to do, and in some areas (like plotting and characterisation) is actually better than the first flick. Unlike the original, the pacing is not as strong and DeKnight, although perfectly solid, lacks Del Toro's directorial confidence, meaning the film occasionally flags a little when it should be ramping up and goes too manic during moments when it could do with slowing down. Still, a surprisingly decent sequel.

Pacific Rim: Uprising did not set the box office on fire on release and a third movie is unlikely at the moment, but the franchise is continuing with an animated Netflix show, due to air in late 2020.

Stellan Skarsgård cast as Baron Harkonnen in the new DUNE movie

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård has joined the rapidly-filling cast for Denis Villeneuve's two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel Dune.

Skarsgård will be playing the primary villain of the novel, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The ruler of the dark, industrial world of Giedi Prime and the sworn nemesis of Duke Leto Atreides, Vladimir Harkonnen is a debauched, cruel and monstrous tyrant, but also a clever and manipulative one.

Skarsgård is best-known for playing Bootstrap Bill Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Bill Anderson in Mamma Mia! and its recent sequel, and Dr. Erik Selvig in four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers: Age of Ultron).

Skarsgård joins Dave Bautista - who will be playing his nephew, Rabban - Timothée Chalamet, who is playing Paul Atreides, and Rebecca Ferguson, who is playing Jessica Atreides.

It is anticipated that the first Dune movie will shoot later this year for a likely 2021 release.

Denis Villeneuve confirms that DUNE project is moving forwards

Last year it was confirmed that Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve was developing a fresh film adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal 1965 SF novel Dune. Villeneuve indicated he might take a break or even direct a smaller movie before tackling another SF monster, but a new interview this week confirms that Dune is moving forwards (but not formally greenlit yet).

Frequent Villeneuve collaborator Peter Konig's take on sandworms.

At the moment Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Forrest Gump) has written a script and that's what's being developed at present. Only Dune itself is being adapted, with the five canonical sequel novels off the table unless the first movie is a major success.

There are also discussions going about making one film or splitting the story across two movies. David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of the book struggled to contain the whole story in two hours, with vast amounts of material from the book cut and more material filmed but edited out.

Villeneuve admits to being fascinated by Alejandro Jodorowsky's unfilmed version of Dune, but will not be taking any inspiration from that version or any of the filmed versions of the movie. This will be a completely new take on the source material.

The new film version is being financed by Legendary Entertainment. I wouldn't expect it before late 2020 at the earliest.

Legendary Pictures acquires film and TV rights to DUNE

Legendary Entertainment has picked up the film and television rights to Frank Herbert's classic 1965 SF novel Dune. Previously, Paramount Pictures had an option but that lapsed several years ago.

Dune has been filmed several times before. In 1984 David Lynch released a very weird and stylised take on the film, whilst in 2000 and 2003 the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy) released two mini-series that adapted both Dune and its two sequels, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Oddly, the franchise has had much greater legs in video games, with several popular titles released based on the books.

The rights were let by the Herbert Estate with Frank Herbert's son Brian involved as a producer. It is unclear if the rights are for just Dune or also its five canonical sequels. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have also released an interminable series of terrible prequel and sequel novels to Frank's work.