The two movies end where the first book ends basically. Essentially what RiP says is correct, it's about Paul learning and accepting his position in the world.
Film Dune
- Thread starter duffer
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Some of this is an issue with the source material, it's always been a bit anticlimactic because the Harkonnens get dispatched somewhat easily and then the Emperor is in and out of the picture quickly. This is probably magnified in this version since Feyd is not in the first movie. So basically he gets a long introduction, doesn't do much afterwards, and then dies.
The movie feels a bit more open because the whole 'Chani leaves' thing is a Villeneuve invention.
I think that actually makes it work though. The movie ends with Paul gaining absolute power and setting in motion a freightful Fremen assault on the galaxy, while Chani leaves him. That's what he foresaw and what he tried to avoid by refusing to travel south. In that sense, it's a drama in which Paul fights the pressure of those around him that want him to become God Emperor of Dune because he knows it won't be pretty - but eventually succumbs and indeed loses himself in the process. That's a narrative arch that can satisfactorily end exactly where it does. (And in which the final battle is a trifling detail that can go only one way, and therefore cannot reasonably be stretched out into some epic cinematic happening.)
(Or do we still need spoilers here?)
I thought it resolved pretty well - Paul's journey through the 2 films seems to be basically what Anakin was supposed to do through the prequels, except that Paul's motivations and decisions make a lot more sense.
For the film itself, it was good but I preferred the first, remember it feeling more spectacular, but that could be because it was my first post-covid theater movie.
For the film itself, it was good but I preferred the first, remember it feeling more spectacular, but that could be because it was my first post-covid theater movie.
Paul also doesn’t have a problem with sand.
