Dune: Part Two features outstanding casting and sand for 166 minutes.

Envision a world devoid of warmth or color, collapsing under the weight of environmental disasters and ethnic rivalries that pose a threat to push humanity over the brink of deadly fanaticism.

Enough about politics in an election year. Now, let's discuss "Dune: Part Two."

We rejoin Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides and Zendaya's Chani in this massive, basso profundo sequel to 2021's first installment, as they battle their way to a redoubt of the Fremen, a motley crew of freedom fighters attempting to defend their homeland from invaders who are envious of their most valuable resource—the universally coveted substance known as spice—while fending off a Harkonnen ambush. Following the assassination of Oscar Isaac's Duke Leto Atreides in the first film, Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), who is expecting his younger sister, joined the Fremen. Paul is currently battling the belief held by some Fremens that he is the leader sent to save them, while others, like the tough, cynical Chani, consider

Don't worry if you've already lost the storyline. Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve adeptly brings viewers back up to date in "Dune: Part Two," albeit some may need to be reminded of the distinction between a crysknife and a T-probe. Those that don't need refreshing will want to rush to the closest multiplex so they may relive novelist Frank Herbert's breathtakingly inventive universe, which Villeneuve has brought to life with an abundance of space and sand. After the first two hours, "Dune's" thundering insistence on its own importance might start to wear thin if it's all making you feel as chilly as a dying ice world. In that case, cheer up! There are just forty-six minutes left!

Dune: Part Two features outstanding casting and sand for 166 minutes.

Like in "Dune: Part One," Villeneuve infuses a project rich in legend and cinematic history with his passion and attention to detail. The abandoned "Dune" film by Alejandro Jodorowsky from the 1970s is still a fascinating hypothetical feature; David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Herbert's science fiction epic was a valiant but mostly forgotten attempt. It didn't help that George Lucas seemed to take a lot of the plot and general atmosphere from the novel and apply a lot of nostalgia and lighthearted humor to create "Star Wars." Villeneuve's "Dune" films are admirable, if only for their ambition and loyalty to Herbert's original work. The filmmaker's reverence for the source material is evident in every frame of these massively ambitious yet painstakingly detailed films.

Furthermore, he has done a masterful job of casting: Zendaya, despite her generally grim appearance, manages to convey moments of convincing tenderness as she teaches the tender-footed Paul the ropes of mercenary warfare and Arrakis survival. Chalamet, on the other hand, is the ideal actor to play a character who starts off as something of a callow princeling before evolving into someone more charismatic and sinister. "Dune: Part Two" features a lot of fancy desert walking and sandworm riding, along with a good deal of blue-eyed glaring. While Ferguson's Jessica goes crazy about Paul's messianic future (wearing some amazing costumes and makeup in her role as a newly minted Reverend Mother), Javier Bardem offers the only real laughs in the film with his endearing and humorous portrayal of

The newest members of the cast are all excellent: Austin Butler completely banishes Elvis — at least for the time being — in his bald, blank-eyed portrayal of the psychotic Feyd-Rautha, whose gladiatorial exhibitions for his uncle Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard, returning in all his prodigiously padded glory). Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken, playing Princess Irulan and her father, the Emperor Shaddam IV, transition into their roles with ease.

Dune: Part Two features outstanding casting and sand for 166 minutes.

"Dune: Part Two" is a bustling movie that is strangely inert at the same time. It is heavily laden with biblical themes of prophesy, sacrifice, redemption, and resurrection—with Shakespearean grace notes of fate, family, and revenge. Certain things happen in a plot where Paul has to choose between being a hesitant demigod and an all-out revolutionary; Villeneuve sets up the necessary amount of fight scenes and battles, which get progressively more explosive with each encounter. A subplot regarding the sibling who will probably be joining Paul in the next chapter is served by showing the audience more views of a baby in utero than might be totally comfortable. Although everything is beautifully designed and performed, it eventually gets boring and repetitive, losing its appeal to those who aren't fully invested in it.

submerged in the "Dune" cosmos into a murky soup of sand, smoke, flames, and orange and orange dust.

A ton of sand. Similar to its predecessor, "Dune: Part Two" creates an indisputably magnificent universe while condensing a vast, nearly unfathomable plot into a seamless narrative delivery system (while Villeneuve's clumsy editing approach takes some getting accustomed to, it keeps things moving quickly). Fans of "Dune" will receive the magnificent treatment their beloved books have long earned; others may have to struggle through the Arrakis elements and the fog of canonical arcana in order to find a glimmer of escape. If we have to wait for "Part Three," it's somewhere in there.

Dune: Part Two features outstanding casting and sand for 166 minutes.