Summary
On the distant Planet Kaitain, Princess Irulan Corrino secretly journals that Paul Atreides may still be alive. While en route to Sietch Tabr on Arrakis, Stilgar’s Fremen troops, including Paul and the pregnant Lady Jessica, fight and overcome a Harkonnen ambush. There are suspicions that mother and son Jessica and Paul are spies, while some others see signs of the Fremen prophecy that the two from the “Outer World” will bring prosperity to the fictional desert planet, Arrakis. Stilgar then informs Jessica that their current Reverend Mother is dying and that Jessica must be her replacement, meaning she must drink the “Water of Life”, which is fatal for both males and the untrained. Jessica survives the poison, and then gains the memories of each and every female ancestor in the lineage. The water also prematurely wakes the mind of her unborn daughter, Alia, meaning the two can communicate with each other, and they decide that Northern Arrakis must be convinced of the prophecy. Chani and her friend Shishakli believe the prophecy is fake and unbelievable, but when Paul makes a convincing speech about not seeking power and only wanting to fight alongside them, Chani develops a respect for him which also later leads to deeper romantic feelings between the two. Paul then embraces the Fremen ways and learns their language, as well as taking part in Fremen activities such as riding a sand-worm. Paul and Chani then develop an intense romantic relationship, he becomes a valuable Fedaykin fighter, and assists in raids on Harkonnen spice harvesters, then earning the Fremen names “Usul” and “Muad’Dib”. As the Fremen continue to disrupt spice production, Baron Harkonnen replaces his nephew Rabban as Arrakis’ ruler with his sociopathic and murderous younger nephew, Feyd-Rautha. Margot Fenring, a Bene Gesserit, is sent to seduce and have sex with Feyd and secure his bloodline, in the case that Paul’s bloodline may be unsalvageable. Jessica then travels South to commence with more fundamentalist Fremen, and Paul fears his visions of a holy war will come to life if he goes South as a messiah. Paul ultimately decides to travel south with the rest of the Fremen, where he drinks the Water of Life and slips into a deep coma before he is awakened by Chani, who mixes her tears with the Water of Life and applies the mixture across his lips. After he wakes, he attains a clear sense of both the past and future, seeing a vision of Alia and realizing the Baron is his grandfather. The Southern Fremen leaders urge Paul to challenge or compete Stilgar for leadership, but Paul refuses and instead claims himself the Lisan al Gaib. He later proves his abilities by reciting the life of a Fremen spectator, then securing his position as the leader of the Fremen. He mails a letter challenging Shaddam, who arrives on Arrakis with Irulan, Mohiam, and his Sardaukar troops. The Sardaukar end up overpowered, and Paul then kills the Baron and takes both Shaddam and his entourage captive. Paul then challenges Shaddam to an intense duel, who ends up choosing Feyd-Rautha as his champion. Feyd-Rautha originally has an upper hand in the fight and nearly kills Paul, before Paul fatally stabs and kills him. Paul insists on marrying Irulan, all whilst claiming to Chani that he will love her until he takes his last breath. Jessica and Alia agree that this is in fact the beginning of Muad’Dib’s holy war, while a heartbroken and distraught Chani rides off on a sand-worm to escape her feelings of deep pain and betrayal from Paul.
Review
Although I did not watch the first movie, I still somewhat enjoyed this movie and look forward to the release of the third movie in the Dune series. This movie included an absolutely loaded cast with many notorious actors and actresses that are personal favorites of mine such as Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan), Austin Butler (Feyd-Rautha), Christopher Walken (Emperor), Timothée Chalamet (Paul Atreides), and Zendaya (Chani). One of the highlights for me was the absolutely stunning cinematography that pretty much left me in awe. Although I may not have completely understood what was happening at times, the gorgeous scenes and landscapes really made up for it. I watched this movie in the Imax theater, which I think was totally necessary with the huge screen and really great sound which left the seats shaking or vibrating at certain points due to the intense volume. Personally, I am not much of a fan of action movies or science fiction, but for me, the cast was definitely the selling point. Honestly, I was left really confused after finishing the movie until I did some research after watching for some explanations. But again, that is probably just because I generally have a hard time understanding almost anything sci-fi. The best part of the movie for me was definitely the development of Paul and Chani’s romantic relationship. I am a natural lover of romance movies, and I left the theater still thinking and reflecting on both Timothée and Zendaya’s portrayal of Paul and Chani. Personally, these celebrities pretty much nail every role they portray. With some notable and gripping performances by Timothée being “Beautiful Boy” and “Call Me By Your Name”, this guy really knows how to encapsulate an audience. As well for Zendaya with her emotional performances in a couple of my favorites, “Euphoria” and “Malcolm & Marie.” The directors totally knew what they were doing because these two are definitely a dynamic duo when it comes to emotional appeal. Their relationship was both so beautiful and so heart-wrenching, which for an extreme romance lover, will always pull on my heart strings. Although Paul was completely and utterly devoted and in love with Chani, he decides to marry Irulan for only political reasons including maintaining peace and becoming the new emperor, ultimately betraying Chani and leaving her understandably heartbroken. For me, this is the kind of relationship dynamic that will always hit me where it hurts, the man ultimately choosing power and control over the woman he loves. Overall, I would say that this movie is definitely a must-see just for the cinematography and acting alone.
