This will probably become more beloved than Dune for being a bigger, more action driven film. Personally I prefer the first film by a long shot, but there's a lot to like here. I loved Paul's new journey for this installment as it doesn't develop in the way you'd expect based on the ending of the first film. The themes of colonialism, false prophecies and religion reach a level of depth that cannot be found in other sci-fi/fantasy contemporaries like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars; this film certainly made me understand why this story is taken so seriously as a piece of literature. Despite the source material being so old, there's still something new and refreshing about it. You don't often see major Hollywood productions calling out religion as a manipulative force helping the people in power. On top of that this brilliantly subverts the concept of the hero's journey we've become accustomed to by everything that was in one way or another inspired by Dune. The acting is pretty great, Timothée does a great job at playing the transition Paul goes through. Despite his boyish looks I was sold on his performance as the leader of the Fremen. Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem are also scene stealers. The visuals are once again mindblowing, in terms of set/costume design, cinematography and CGI this is as close to perfection as you could get to right now. The vision and scope of this movie are truly unmatched, which leads to some breathtaking sequences that I'll remember for a while (sandworm ride; the black/white arena fight; knife fight during the third act).
However, for all the praise I have for Dune: Part 2, I think Denis is being uncharacteristically sloppy with this film. First of all, Bautista and Butler feel like they're ripped from a different franchise altogether. Their over the top, cartoonish performances are more suited for something like Mad Max than the nuanced world of Dune. The bigger cracks start to appear when you look at the writing. The brief moments where the movie pokes fun at religious zealots through Javier Bardem's character, while funny, probably won't age very well. Like the first movie, it has a tendency to rely too much on exposition and handholding, a problem which might be worse here. I feel like a lot of the subtlety is lost in order to make the movie more normie proof, and that's quite annoying for a movie with artistic ambitions like this one. For example, there's this scene where Léa Seydoux seduces Austin Butler's character, and everything you need to know as a viewer is communicated through Butler's performance. Cut to the next scene, where Seydoux is all but looking at the camera saying "he's a psychopath, he's violent, he wants power, etc.". I just feel like compared to Villeneuve's precise work on Blade Runner 2049, he's consciously dumbing it down here. It's understandable and somewhat excusable for a complex story like Dune, but he occasionally takes it too far for my liking. Then there's the love story subplot between Chani and Paul, which almost entirely misses the mark for me. It feels rushed, there's no chemistry between the actors and some of the lines are painfully cheesy. Because of that, the emotional gutpunch their story eventually reaches during the third act did little for me. Finally, I'm a little dissatisfied with the use of sound. I loved the otherworldly score Zimmer came up with for the first Dune, however this film is so ridiculously bombastic and low-end heavy that it starts to feel like a parody of his work with Christopher Nolan. For the final action beat of the film Villeneuve cuts out the film's score, and it becomes all the more satisfying for it.
Overall, I recommend this film, however maybe temper those expectations if you're expecting a masterpiece. There's a lot to admire, but it's flawed.
6.5/10
Very rarely do I give sub-5 ratings, I tend to find some positives. This is a 2 and that's generous. The only good thing in his episode is the costume design (and some of the production design - they clearly ran out of budget when it came to the Sea Devil's machinery thing, so tacky).
The editing was the biggest offender (I suppose coupled with the direction), nothing flowed right. The fight scenes were laughably bad. I don't think there was a single shot where the attacker and defender were in the same frame, it always cut from one to the other as they attacked. So bad. And then there's the plot, or lack thereof. It's weird, the episode simultaneously felt like it had parts cut out of it but also was struggling to fill its runtime. I don't know how they managed that, but trust Chibnall to find a way, I guess. But yes, the threat was hilariously nonsensical (poles swapping would cause the ice to melt and flood everything? Both of those consequences are entirely wrong).
Oh and they couldn't even get the little things right? The phone ringing despite him using it for an outgoing call at the same time? For crying out loud, does no one check the script at all?!
I'd say that in general this season had some of the best Jodie episodes for me, and Dan quickly became my favorite of her companions... but nothing changes the fact that there was just too much going on. Too many characters, too many plots to tie together. I shouldn't be very surprised by my disappointment... but I was surprised anyway, there was so much wasted potential.
In the end, there was zero pay-off with Swarm, Azure, and Passenger, they were gone in seconds and there was never any big revelation. Swarm loved to talk as if he was secretly someone tied to the Doctor's past (in the same vein as The Master or another past Time Lord), but was just someone going up against "Division" I guess? (I'm starting to think they're overestimating how interesting the "Division" plotline is.)
The Grand Serpent was absolutely of no consequence other than to bring back Kate Stewart I suppose, yet her interactions with the Doctor were small, and not really as fun as they could've been? And also... so... many... Sontarans. Why so much focus on the Sontarans and their plans, when they already had an entire episode about their conquest, and were defeated before? I don't know if it's because COVID affected the amount of episodes, but everything just fell flat as hell.
I hate being so negative - I really did enjoy these episodes more than the past couple of seasons and there were plenty of memorable moments, including great supporting characters. But it feels so frustrating that they didn't capitalize on all the buildup. I'm definitely looking to the Thirteenth Doctor's specials though - maybe we will see some of it come back and get a better resolution. All I hope is Jodie gets the sendoff she deserves, because even though I had plenty of issues with this era of Doctor Who, she's a great performer and wonderful Doctor.
I had started watching this show about eight years ago and the thing which connected me to the show for fifteen seasons was the brotherhood bond they had created in the beginning. I would like to thank for it. For a perfect story, writers must never change. It had some poorly developed seasons, holes and mistakes because of it. But despite all of it, they managed to prevent me from stopping to watch it by not turning this into a romantic story and they also managed to keep brotherhood bond, which was the most important thing.
The ending was the most logical and happiest one this show could ever have: Sam lived that life he had always wanted to live, and Dean died simply fighting, as he always wanted. Castiel's death scene could have been much better, but everything was as it should have been there, too. Thank you for not making a character bisexual at the last minute just because it is something popular. And please don't take my words like I am homophobic. I am just saying that everyone who gets along well does not have to be in a relationship. People can be just friends and since it was not a fairy tale, the world is something like that. It can be cruel. Sometimes you can't find a response to your love the way you want it to be. Dean hasn't made a single statement about being bisexual for fifteen seasons. And the statements people are claiming that he did are just not logical. They just see everything the way they want to. We all watched the same thing and Castiel wanted something he knew he couldn't have. This should tell you something, too. But it was an emotional scene for both of them. In the end of it, we know Cas died happy and we know Jack brought him back as well. So they can be friends forever now which is a better fit for them.
It started with two brothers searching for their father and it ended with two brothers who learned they will always have each other. No matter what anyone says, it was a series worth to watch. I know that I will always remember this show with amazing characters and brave stories. I am sorry it had to end. I knew this day would come but still...
Me: "I can't do that without you."
Supernatural: "No, you can."
Me: "I don't want to."
