Dune: Part Two (2024) ***1/2

A definite step up from Dune (2021) (review) and another immersive IMAX experience (though I think the sound is a bit too loud in those theaters), Denis Villeneuve's sequel is difficult not to appreciate, but I still find these films (this one in particular) to be hyperbole machines. Some may think I'm hesitant to get caught up in the zeitgeist, but I can honestly say that, outside of the (at times) impeccable filmmaking craft, I just don't connect to these movies in the same way that everyone else seems to. They are perfectly fine and entertaining pictures, and I definitely like the darker tone of this sequel, but neither one has hit me the way that Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 (2017) [review] (which I've seen four times since its release) does. Very tropey stuff and I felt like I was watching a video game a lot of the time.

Denis Villeneuve Feature Films Ranked