As a sequel, it works for the same reasons that make The Empire Strikes Back so many people’s favourite Star Wars film: there’s a darkness, a bleakness, that makes the fist-pumping moments feel all-the-more earned.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 1, 2024

As different from the first film as [Ridley Scott's] Alien is to [James Cameron's] Aliens. Same stuff, totally different genre!

| Mar 22, 2024

There is little character development and it’s not for the literal-minded -- or anyone who has, despite their best efforts, paid some attention.

| Mar 14, 2024

An epic and spectacular sci-fi allegory with mass appeal.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 8, 2024

You know Villeneuve will get the spectacle right. The question is about the human drama… It almost all connected in Part Two.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Mar 8, 2024

As in all of these sci-fi epics, there are plenty of scenes in which computer-generated characters drive computer-generated vehicles past computer-generated backdrops but, in "Dune," it feels human, slightly messy and organic.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 6, 2024

What is really impressive about Part Two, is that despite how complex and like a miasma the plot becomes... the storytelling is so clear.

| Mar 6, 2024

Exceeds expectations in every way—except humanity.

| Mar 4, 2024

The film is all exhilarating buildup leading to an unsatisfactory, and even somewhat perfunctory, payoff.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 3, 2024

The second Dune instalment is jaw-on-the-floor spectacular. It elegantly weaves together top-tier special effects and arresting cinematography; it layers muscle, sinew and savagery on to the bones of Part One.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 3, 2024

Lawrence of Arrakis meets Dr. Sandworm, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bene Gesserit...The result is a blockbuster space opera that plays like a downbeat drama — we’re a long, long way from that famous galaxy far, far away.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 2, 2024

As a feat of project management, Dune: Part Two is undeniable. But given how fundamentally bizarre the world of Dune is—or should be—critical consensus seems like an odd goal. Shouldn't it be weirder?

| Mar 2, 2024

One of the year’s most anticipated films is nice to look at, but is let down by bland acting and a script that does no great service to its impressive cast.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 2, 2024

Even as we marvel at the stunning and immersive and Oscar-level cinematography, editing, score, visual effects, production design and sound in Denis Villeneuve’s Part Two, we’re reminded at every turn that this is an absolutely crazy story...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 2, 2024

In an age of ever-increasing runtimes, it’s a rare achievement that the film’s 166-minute length feels earned.

| Mar 1, 2024

Instead of a theme park, it's more of a cathedral -- solemn, sober, beautiful and forbidding. Greig Fraser's photography and Hans Zimmer's score are full of majesty.

| Mar 1, 2024

I was a fan of first Dune in this series, although I logged similar complaints about its self-seriousness. This one is a little better; the action is just as thrilling but the characters are given more depth.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 1, 2024

Who knew it was possible to be so amazed and so bored at the same time?

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 1, 2024

Ultimately, we end up with an abundance of craft and a forest of lore wrapped around personal narratives too flimsy to sustain marching feet.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 1, 2024

The year’s first surefire blockbuster is a sequel that outdoes Denis Villeneuve’s first epic 2021 sand opera. OK, it’s a tad long and solemn, but Chalamet and Zendaya are destiny-kissed lovers to die for, and the thundering spectacle is off the charts.

| Mar 1, 2024