Dune 2 Got Ripped To Shreds By Honest Trailers - Was It Justified?
Every blockbuster film has a slew of entertaining commentary that follows in its wake. One of the pillars of this engrossing opinion-driven experience is the "Honest Trailers" franchise. From calling out the endless walking sequences in The Lord of the Rings to making fun of "Bird Box" replacing "Daredevil," the hyper-aware, sarcastic commentary takes on some of Hollywood's best and worst IPs. They're always a hoot, and, of course, they couldn't resist releasing an Honest Trailer for "Dune: Part 2."
While the name of the game here is usually having fun through an impartial tease, the Honest Trailer for "Dune: Part 2" comes on particularly strong and stays hyper-critical throughout. Most of the jokes have some basis, but many are a bit of a reach, amounting to what feels like an unjustified barrage of criticism lobbed at a franchise that currently stands tall in the hearts of Frank Herbert fans around the world.
Before we get on to the more critical bits, let's make one thing clear. We're talking about a deliberate attempt to poke fun at something — and many of the jokes in the clip fit those parameters. Referring to Timothée Chalamet's character as Space Gentrifier Paul Atreides, for instance, is a clever take on Paul's seemingly wide-eyed approach to universe domination. There are plenty of other well-crafted titles, like Paul's "Magic Wizard Mom" and "The Galaxy's best hype man" (referring to Rebecca Ferguson's Lady Jessica and Javier Bardem's Stilgar, respectively). Comparing the Dune world to the classic computer game "Civilization" is another good jab. The comment about Baron Harkonnen's (Stellan Skarsgård) disgusting bathing habits driving people to purchase bidets is pretty good too.
Where did the Dune 2 Honest Trailer go too far?
In some areas, the Honest Trailer for "Dune: Part 2" goes too far. Some are harmless but feel unnecessary. Criticizing director Denis Villeneuve as someone who is "still not sold on the talkis" is an odd angle to take, considering "Dune: Part 2" isn't even his most popular sci-fi film. Claiming that Paul agrees with everyone for two straight hours is also out of context. He's a diplomatic politician making connections and networking — who doesn't want to come across in agreement in those scenarios?
Other points seem to overly pander to book critiques. Joking about Chani's (Zendaya) dramatic shift from a passive girl in Paul's dreams to a different real-life version plays on some of Dune 2's biggest changes to the character from the books (where she's less autonomous) but doesn't make much sense in the context of the film. Attacking the lack of the Spacing Guild is another case of unnecessarily picking on adaptive decisions. The Spacing Guild is a critical political group from Frank Herbert's books, and yes, they don't have the same presence in Villeneuve's movies as they do in the nearly impossible-to-watch Dune miniseries from 2000. But the movie is already stuffed with characters. Would more faces and names have really been a positive?
Other "Honest Trailers" critiques border on insulting, including the commentary that Paul's relationship with Chani and the Fremen is similar to Timothée Chalamet's real-life experience. The video jokes about Paul's only real challenge, saying it's "Seducing an 'it' girl and charming her Mid-Eastern adjacent family." (The comment makes fun of Chalamet's real-life relationship with Kylie Jenner.) Dragging personal behaviors and relationships into the jokes is always a dicey proposition at best.
Dune 2 is a naturally limited movie — and an adaptation, to boot
While it has plenty of good laughs, the "Dune: Part 2" Honest Trailer comes up short in more ways than one. It even has a few jokes that feel half-thought-out. For instance, it makes fun of the question of the Fremen worm riding by asking the question, "How do you get off that thing?" This would be a great point, except for the fact that this isn't really news. Plenty of outlets (including Looper) have thoroughly addressed Frank Herbert's explanation for how the Fremen get off the Sandworms. It's not that complicated, either. You just roll off.
"Dune: Part 2" isn't a perfect adaptation. It leaves plenty of details out and makes some major adjustments to the source material. Nevertheless, it's a fairly air-tight cinematic experience. It world builds phenomenally and establishes compelling characters that closely echo their written originals. Between the two parts, Denis Villeneuve's Dune franchise takes viewers on a five-hour experience that is interesting, engrossing, and pays off in the end.
There are plenty of elements that are ripe for criticism (as is always the case with an adaptation), but the Honest Trailer really drills down on some points that feel unnecessary and over the top. From jokes that are easy to answer to borderline insensitive comments, the clip has the potential to leave viewers feeling more uncomfortable than entertained.