Promises made. Promises kept. Mostly.

Following the destruction of House Atreides, Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are taken in by the the desert Fremen led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem), a believer in the prophecies the Bene Gesserit have seeded upon the planet Arrakis. The Harkonnen still search for anyone who might have escaped the massacre while resuming spice harvesting for the empire. The Fremen have not-so inexplicably become more capable of interrupting the harvest, earning the ire of the Baron (Stellan Skårsgard) and the concern of the Emperor (Christopher Walken). Trained and encouraged by Chani (Zendaya) while trying to outmaneuver his mother’s wishes, Paul gains skills and earns leadership among the Fremen to seek something his father would never contemplate: revenge.

Director Denis Villeneuve unleashes the slightly delayed follow-up to his vision of Frank Herbert’s saga, promising a third installment in the near future. Part Two is upon us, introducing new characters and expanding the sweeping narrative established in the first film. For those who remember or have seen the 1984 David Lynch film, Part Two appears to build toward an end matching up with the duel against Feyd Rautha, previously played by Sting and now reimagined with Austin Butler in the archrival role. Part One felt as big as the universe while only touching on tiny corners of it, so it’s expected the sequel will not only meet that expectation but push beyond it while setting up the end of the proposed trilogy. Fans of the original novels may be less enthusiastic knowing how the later books end up, but the more limited scope of these films might redeem some of those later missteps by simply stopping at a better point… but is something missing?

Viewers made comparisons to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers following early showings, and while there’s some truth to that, Dune: Part Two goes further, confronting kismet and karma head-on. If the path forward is inevitable, even one dictated and planted by false prophets, is choosing one’s destiny or avoiding it what brings it to fruition? Embracing the core elements of the fable “Appointment in Samarra,” the part of Death is played by Paul Atreides himself, making it clear why Chalamet is more than just this generation’s Willy Wonka, evolving from the son of an assassinated duke into a force of nature. When the dust settles and the bodies are counted, there’s no longer a question of whether Paul can be stopped… but whether he can stop himself.

Possibly done for time or maybe to hold back for the inevitable Part Three, there are notable absences, especially for fans of the original novels and 1984 film. Jessica never has to defeat Stilgar to prove her worth to him; the weirding ways taught to the Fremen and the need to create modules to channel them are nowhere to be found. While the director made claims of going “by the book,” the details of the current incarnation of Dune has been boiled down to statecraft, religion, and court politics with a hint of romance. With no signs of the Spacing Guild driving home the importance of spice or much representation of the all-important Mentat, it can’t help feel like when Star Wars tried to reduce the Force to midichlorians, choosing hard science fiction over fantastic and beloved story elements.

Oppenheimer can go right on bragging about their practical special effects; in an age where three seasons of “The Mandalorian” television rivals most visuals of the Star Wars films, this Dune sequel fills every inch of IMAX screens with believable spectacle on a nigh impossible scale. At the same time, the personal stories and rivalries giving meaning to all the digital destruction are portrayed by an incredible cast. The edit wastes no time on minutiae, making 166 minutes go by as if it were half as long. This isn’t Peter Jackson’s King Kong where it’s practically identical to the original but bigger; while Lynch’s compressed version of Dune had its charms, Villeneuve’s vision takes as much time as it needs to work and keeps the fat trimmed, but it would have been nice to embrace more of the unique trappings of the novels.

It’s no secret Herbert’s inspiration for the Fremen was rooted in Arabic culture, but Hollywood continues to play it safe describing Paul’s “holy war” as anything but the novel’s very specific jihad, a word historically demonized over the more odious term “crusade.” Roughly set 20,000 years in the future, the author was quoted that his idea was to share what was carried with humanity out into the universe. While it’s all well and good to wish Paul Muad‘Dib Atreides a fulfilling retribution, the true test for both the character and his director is what yet lies ahead: sticking the landing.

Dune: Part Two is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material, brief strong language, and doing it simply and directly — nothing fancy.

Four skull recommendation out of four