re: Dune: Part 2 (96% RT) SPOILERS pg 3

Joke I thought of today

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Dune 2 summarized by the luminaries Bloodhound Gang:

But would I be a good Messiah with my low self-esteem?
If I don't believe in myself would that be blasphemy?
Just sport some crummy holier than thou facade
Yeah that's what I would do if I were God

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As a rabid defender of all things Dune related you have to admit that, through no fault of the filmmaker, the story is deluded and vague in alot of areas. Again Villeneuve and the performances are outstanding but the studio wasn’t in position to green light the full story right away and cost us a lot of important world building aspects of the story which decreased the weight of what’s happening. For example, the Sardaukar aren’t as formidable as they should be because of time constraints. The Harkonnens are one dimensional for the same reason. The emperor, Thufir, Duncan and a lot of other things as well. This should’ve been a Harry Potter length franchise but because of previous failures the setup had to be cut down to assure a return so we could get to the second movie. All these cuts takes away from the gravity and payoff in the story. You don’t have any pity for Paul’s enemies like in the books. You don’t understand how big of a feat it is to defeat the Sardaukar. You don’t feel the political pressure from the Guild. Those things take Dune from great to unquestioned greatest. I think this franchise will get better as it ages and the success of 2 could create an opportunity to flesh out the entire Dune universe.

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I think is a reasonable take. However, I’d contend that in film making it’s better to err on the side of letting the audience fill the gaps as they see fit versus trying to over explain/keep up with the book in terms of what it can unload on a readership. DV’s whole aesthetic was minimalistic in these films so it suits having the political intrigue reduced to a minimal level for accessibility of a wide audience.

Too, it’s ok to admit that Herbert wrote a successful novel that was not infallible (his characterizations, for example, are pretty bland and wooden). I think DV put more emphasis on the individual characters while still conveying the same basic plot and philosophy of the book, at the expense of characterizing the larger groups. And as someone who is reading the books right now, I’m ok with that choice. I like both works in their respective mediums.

Yes. The Dune nerds online have been squealing about that ever since she showed up to premiers and such

In my opinion its a bit of a mess. I've read a lot of the extended universe stuff, but this book stopped me in my tracks. Haven't gone back.

Worth it if you're big into the extended books, but don't set expectations too high.

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And no Count Fenring?!?

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People think he was the character being played by Tim Blake Nelson but that was cut too.

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"I don't think I'm at liberty to say what the scene was ... [Villeneuve] had to cut it because he thought the movie was too long. And I am heartbroken over that, but there's no hard feelings. I loved it, and I can't wait to do something else with him and we certainly plan to do that."

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Apparently Spice gives you visions and the ability to see through time, but Water of Life gives you super DUPER powers.

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When I read the book, the way I paraphrased it to myself is that Humanity 10,000 years into the future has evolved 3 main aptitudes: Mastery of mind/body (Bene Gesserit), Computation (Mentat), Prescience (Spacing Guild).

Spice will enhance your aptitude. Paul, through a 1000 years of genetic "engineering", has all 3 aptitudes.

The Water of Life gives you hereditary memories. With Jessica, she inherited the memories of all the reverend mothers before her. So in a way, it just gives you wisdom. Alia received these memories as a fetus which is why she was sentient in the womb.

No water of life allows him to access all the strength and memories of thr patriarchal side of his genetic code. The first man with such powers in the Dune universe.

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As a rabid defender of all things Dune

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I loved the first two films. I read the first book years ago, but it wasn't my favorite read, to put it nicely, so I didn't continue with the series.

Is Dune Messiah worth reading, or has DV gone too far off the plot for Messiah to even make sense?

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My problem is Chani’s demeanor about everything. She was ok with the situation within Irulan in the book.

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Chani was basically just a one dimensional way for Paul to access the Fremen and have kids in the book. DV gave her an actual arc in the movie. I think it’s an improvement, frankly.