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