Lawrence of Arabia without the depth.
The pacing was the problem. It was far too slow for the first 3/4 then rushed at the end. It meandered with little sense of what the point was at times.
Chalamet just became a megalomaniac quite abruptly with very little development. And there was no surprise that he was going to become a messiah. His big challenge of riding a sand worm - "the biggest ever seen" (of course) - was predictably successful
Why was Jessica chosen to be the Fremen mother superior when outsiders were so distrusted?
Too little explanation, even though there was plenty of time to do so.
Baron Harkonnen became quite ineffectual.
The Emperor was just a feeble old man. Where did his power come from? His fighters seemed quite average. He landed on the Arakkis and was defeated easily.
I enjoyed Part 1 more because the characters were fresh and were more engaging. In Part 2 they seemed a little empty and caricatured. Part 2 seemed more of a grind.
The exploration of religion, fanaticism, freedom fighting vs terrorism, was interesting and unusual for a sci-fi movie. It does stand head and shoulders above most blockbusters.
Of course, the visuals were stunning, as was the teeth-rattling sound.
Although I admire the Director's more measured approach, i.e. Not just churning out a sequel, I'm not sure I'm excited enough for a part 3.
ADDENDUM: On reflection I am even less impressed by this movie. The pacing would have been ok - I thought it was ok at the time - EXCEPT it was all ruined by the last 30 mins.
The big climactic fight is a dud. The soldiers waving their teeny swords at the sand worms is ludicrous. Why all the sword fights when lasers and machine guns have been used earlier? Paul just marches into the Emperor's super-tech ship. The guards are impotent. The suddenly pathetic Harkonnen is just stabbed. The Emperor looks bewildered and tired. The big knife fight is predictable and quite pointless.
And then ... Paul sends his ragtag Taliban desert warriors, who have never been off-planet, off to fight space armies in part 3. But I guess if they're all as ineffectual as the Emperor and his elite guard and the entire Harkonnen clan, then I'm sure they'll do just fine.
I won't be watching.
The pacing was the problem. It was far too slow for the first 3/4 then rushed at the end. It meandered with little sense of what the point was at times.
Chalamet just became a megalomaniac quite abruptly with very little development. And there was no surprise that he was going to become a messiah. His big challenge of riding a sand worm - "the biggest ever seen" (of course) - was predictably successful
Why was Jessica chosen to be the Fremen mother superior when outsiders were so distrusted?
Too little explanation, even though there was plenty of time to do so.
Baron Harkonnen became quite ineffectual.
The Emperor was just a feeble old man. Where did his power come from? His fighters seemed quite average. He landed on the Arakkis and was defeated easily.
I enjoyed Part 1 more because the characters were fresh and were more engaging. In Part 2 they seemed a little empty and caricatured. Part 2 seemed more of a grind.
The exploration of religion, fanaticism, freedom fighting vs terrorism, was interesting and unusual for a sci-fi movie. It does stand head and shoulders above most blockbusters.
Of course, the visuals were stunning, as was the teeth-rattling sound.
Although I admire the Director's more measured approach, i.e. Not just churning out a sequel, I'm not sure I'm excited enough for a part 3.
ADDENDUM: On reflection I am even less impressed by this movie. The pacing would have been ok - I thought it was ok at the time - EXCEPT it was all ruined by the last 30 mins.
The big climactic fight is a dud. The soldiers waving their teeny swords at the sand worms is ludicrous. Why all the sword fights when lasers and machine guns have been used earlier? Paul just marches into the Emperor's super-tech ship. The guards are impotent. The suddenly pathetic Harkonnen is just stabbed. The Emperor looks bewildered and tired. The big knife fight is predictable and quite pointless.
And then ... Paul sends his ragtag Taliban desert warriors, who have never been off-planet, off to fight space armies in part 3. But I guess if they're all as ineffectual as the Emperor and his elite guard and the entire Harkonnen clan, then I'm sure they'll do just fine.
I won't be watching.