Yeah, I agree with this. The first movie had this in spades. So many wonderful and sometimes weird moments of world building, like the introduction of the Sardaukar or that creepy spider pet that the Baron had. I guess it's partly a matter of this one being a follow-up with no real new locations. In the first one we saw the concept of of the Gom Jabbar for the first time, and an ornithopter for the first time, so they are not really as memorable in this one.
If I remember it right, the first one also had more examples of striking cinematography. There are some shots that I can remember quite vividly, especially related to the Baron. This one, of course, had more set pieces that were great. They are really two quite different movies in many ways.