DUNE: PART II (2024)
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Label: WBDHE
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 166 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem
Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) picks up right where the first film abruptly ended, the violent fall of the House Atreides by rival House Harkonnen at the hands of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and his brutal nephew Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista, Guardians of the Galaxy), who slaughtered without mercy, killing Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina). House Atreides survivors Paul (Timothy Chalamet, Bones And All) the would-be heir, and his pregnant Bene Gesserit witch mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, Doctor Sleep) have been taken in the Fremen tribe led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem, Perdita Durango) and are travelling to the Sietch Tabr settlement deep in the Northern lands, the tribe are split with distrust over the arrival of the outsiders, but some are swayed in favor of Paul, not only because of the support of Stilgar and Chani (Zendaya, HBO's Euphoria), but also fueled by the centuries long Bene Gesserit campaign that has painted Paul as prophesized savior that will lead them to freedom.
The film opens with a stunning scene of Paul, his mother and the Freman encountering a Harkonnen patrol in the desert, it dazzles from start to finish, the orange tinted and deeply shadowed desert looks breathtaking, as does a scene of the Harkonnen warriors using some sort of gravity-defying technology to "climb" a mountain to avoid a sandworm being called in by a ground-thumper. It's so convincing, I believed that what I was seeing surely must have been done in-camera, and it's the first of many gorgeous SFX scenes throughout. The ensuing spat of violence as the Harkonnen invaders are dispatched packs quite a punch. Later arriving at the Sietch we discover that their spiritual leader the Reverend Mother is dying, and Jessica is tasked with succeeding her by drinking the Water of Life, a potentially lethal poison extracted from juvenile sandworms, which she survives, and which has the effect of not only allows her to inherit the memories of past Reverend Mothers, but allows her to communicate with her still in-utero child Alia.
Introduced in this second installment is Princess Irulan Florence (Pugh, Black Widow) and her father Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken, The Prophecy), the latter of whom secretly engineered the Harkonnen assault on House Atreides, and perhaps the most intriguing new arrival, the psychotic Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler, Elvis), the youngest nephew of Baron Harkonnen, who makes Rabaan look pretty tame by comparison.
Even more visually stunning than the first film this entry, highlights include well-staged raids lead by Paul and Chani against the Harkonnen spice operations, and a gladiatorial scene of the Harkonnen home planet of Giedi Prime, a celebration under the "Black Sun" that renders everything in eye-searing monochromatic black and white, it's another stunning scene with incredible visuals and imagery.
Dune: Part II is a solid sequel to the first film, it feels moree whole as it does not have the abrupt seemingly random end-point as the first, the middle sections slows down a bit but I loved the exploration of how Northern and Southern Freman have differing opinions about the prophecy of the messiah, some like Stilgard about are religious fanatics about it, others like Chani see it as the a form of control created by the Bene Gesserit, while Paul himself seems a bit torn about it all and his place among the Freman, while haunted by visions of a dread-future with billions left dead in his wake, unwilling to accept his seemingly foretold fate, but eventually embracing it. The way it ended had me on the edge of my seat, even at 166-minutes I found it flowed briskly, even with the slower middle third, and what it sets up looks like it's gonna be a banger.
Audio/Video: Dune: Part II (2024) arrives on 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in 2160p Ultra HD widescreen (2.39:1), like the first film it's a gorgeous presentation that captures cinematographer Greig Fraser's (The Batman, The Creator) painterly textures throughout, the Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grading affording the golden and sand-blasted highlights quite a bit nuance, and the ultra-blue freman eyes look fantastic with the WCG contrasted against the usually earthen looking color balance. The 4K resolution offers splendid fine detail in the close-ups of the intricate costuming, pores of skin and texturing look phenomenal. The superior blacks are deep and inky, with excellent shadow detail, and the white are not only crisp, but brilliant as showcased during the phenomenal Black Sun gladiatorial scene. Unlike the first film WBDHE have chosen not include the Blu-ray with the 4K edition, which I think is just cheap cost-cutting, and a crock of a shit, and that's all I have to say on the matter. Also of note, the film is presented uniformly in 2.39:1 widescreen and does not change aspect ratios when the IMAX sequences kick in, which was also the case for the first film when it arrived on 4K UHD.
Audio comes by way of English Dolby Atmos (Dolby True HD 7.1) with optional English subtitles. Like the video the layered sound design elements sounds superb, with crisp cleanly delivered dialogue, the affected sound of the "voice", and the soundstage feels epic and the desert sounds of swirling sand, the acoustics of the sietche caverns, and moments of hand-to hand combat are quite impactful with fantastic low-end, especially during the scene of Paul riding the sandworm, and any scene with the Thopters, as well as bombastic scene of ordinance and the use of atomics. The impressive score from Hans Zimmer also wows thanks to the powerful Atmos track.
Extras include just over an hour of featurettes that explore the many facets of the film, from adaptation to special effects, costuming, and score; there's plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, some cool SFX shots, and test footage, plus interviews with Denis Vileneuve, producer Tanya LaPointe, production designer Patrice Vermette, cinematographer Greig Fraser, costume designer Jacqueline West, editor Joe Walker, visual effects co-producer Brice Parker, SFX supervisor Gerd Nefzer, composer Hans Zimmer, and actors Timothée Chalamet, Dave Bautista, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Zendaya Coleman, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Stellan Skarsgård, and more.
The single-disc release arrives in a standard black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork. The first-pressing includes a metallic finish slipcover that incorporated the gold/orange themes of the film quite nicely.
Special Features:
- Chakobsa Training (4:50)
- Creating the Fremen World (11:41)
- Finding the Worlds of Dune (6:24)
- Buzz Around the New “Thopter” (3:51)
- Worm-Riding (9:23)
- Becoming Feyd (7:33)
- A New Set of Threads (7:40)
- Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune(12:59)
- Creating the Fremen World (11:41)
- Finding the Worlds of Dune (6:24)
- Buzz Around the New “Thopter” (3:51)
- Worm-Riding (9:23)
- Becoming Feyd (7:33)
- A New Set of Threads (7:40)
- Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune(12:59)
Buy it!
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