Steven Spielberg's Dune 2 Review Might Change Your Mind About Seeing It
"Dune: Part Two" has come out swinging. It blew everyone away at the box office on opening weekend and steadily dominated a sleepy theater scene in the weeks following its release. Its Rotten Tomato score continues to unite critics and audiences alike. Heck, the movie even has us rewatching "Dune: Part One" with a totally different perspective.
For many hesitant moviegoers, these are reasons enough to give the movie a shot (especially while it's available in all of its IMAX glory). And if you're still fighting the peer pressure and clinging to the fences, brace yourself. Steven Spielberg has provided yet another compelling reason to see the second half of the "Dune" saga in the form of an over-the-top glowing endorsement of the film's director, Denis Villeneuve.
Both Villeneuve and Spielberg appeared on Episode 471 of DGA's "The Director's Cut" podcast (via Deadline). Naturally, the conversation turned to Villeneuve's most recent blockbuster project, and the overly accomplished Spielberg proceeded to give the French Canadian filmmaker his flowers. "You have made one of the most brilliant science fiction films I have ever seen," Spielberg said of the "Dune" sequel. He went beyond the basics, too, adding that the movie is a visual epic with deeply drawn characters.
Spielberg puts Villeneuve in rare world-building air
Steven Spielberg's high opinion of Villeneuve as a sci-fi creator goes beyond his admiration for his ability to create compelling characters and wow with visuals. The legendary director (whose accomplishments include sci-fi classics like "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind") puts his peer on an exclusive list of directors who are uniquely qualified to build worlds on screen.
"There are filmmakers who are the builders of worlds," Spielberg explained. "It's not a long list, and we know who a lot of them are. Starting with [Georges] Méliès and Disney and Kubrick, George Lucas. Ray Harryhausen I include in that list. Fellini built his own worlds. Tim Burton. Obviously, Wes Anderson, Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Guillermo del Toro." The director clarified that there are a lot of names that make the cut. However, he followed this up by saying, "It's not that long of a list, and I deeply, fervently believe that you are one of its newest members."
The accolade is well deserved. Many would argue that this isn't even the first time Villeneuve earned the honor of world-builder extraordinaire. The man is also responsible for a slew of modern sci-fi movie classics, including "Arrival" and "Blade Runner 2049." He's also reportedly already lined up to adapt another epic sci-fi classic: Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama." If a story has aliens or A.I. characters or takes place at some point in the future, you can bet Villeneuve can turn it into a majestic, believable on-screen adaptation.
Spielberg specifically called out that scene
When "Dune: Part Two" comes up in conversation, it takes half a second for someone to start talking about the scene when Paul (Timothée Chalamet) rides a sandworm for the first time. It's far and away one of the best shots in a film filled with grand sequences, and Steven Spielberg struck right at the heart of what makes the scene so special.
"This is a desert-loving story," he said, "but for such a desert-loving film there is such a yearning for water in this movie. For all the sand you have in this film, it's really about water. The sacred waters that are yearning for green meadows and the blue water of life." Spielberg proceeded to connect this to the biggest moment in the movie, saying, "You film the desert to resemble an ocean, a sea. The sandworms were like sea serpents. And that scene surfing the sandworms is one of the greatest things I have ever seen."
The scene is, indeed, exhilarating. Paul calls a flowing "sand serpent" to himself and ends up getting one of the biggest worms of them all. This adds a unique sense of tension as he determinedly catches, mounts, and rides the granddaddy beast through the desert sands of Arrakis, cementing his position as the Fremen's messianic Lisan al Gaib in the process.
Mr. Spielberg may be a titanic figure in the film industry, but he knows when he's met his equal. His words for the decorated sci-fi director are as true as they are emphatic. They're just another reason that those who are still hesitating should go and see this "Lord of the Rings"-esque experience in theaters while they still can.