Lawrence of Arrakis meets Dr. Sandworm, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bene Gesserit. Paul Atreides, who left the green and pleasant land of his home planet for the desert wastes of Dune, finds himself eager to avenge the death of his royal father at the hands of the rival House Harkonnen (with a little help from a subtle and sinister Emperor). The best way to do that is to harness the “desert power” of the native Fremen. And the best way to do that is to convince the religious skeptics among them that what he wants is their freedom, and the true believers that what he wants is to fulfill the prophecies about a savior from another world. Yes, his visions warn him that the latter might spark a holy war that kills billions, and yes, he’s pretty sure that the prophecy is just something cooked up by his mother’s religious order to further their own ends — but dang if he doesn’t keep doing stuff that makes him look like The Man. He chooses the right name, he rides a huge sandworm, he…well, he does what saviors do. By this point, it should come as no surprise to learn that director Denis Villenueve is very good at shots and scenes that capture scale and scope — big images for big stories for the big screen — and he keeps the long and layered story rolling along like windswept dunes in a desert. He’s a little less sure-handed when it comes to getting up close — maybe too many close-ups of stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, and maybe too few conversations to illuminate Paul’s (gradual?) acceptance of his destiny — and the action at the very end saps the impact of what’s come immediately before. (It plays almost like a TV teaser: tune in next time!) Anyway, about those references to ‘60s classics at the outset: the real news here is that our hero is not exactly a good guy. His father may have been noble, but his father was also defeated. The result is a blockbuster space opera that plays like a downbeat drama — we’re a long, long way from that famous galaxy far, far away. (2024) — Matthew Lickona
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