Is 'Dune: Part Two' The Movie Messiah That Was Promised?
#263: Dune: Part Two, My Oscars Ballot
Edition 263:
Hey movie lovers!
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This week: While I stop short of proclaiming Dune 2 as some kind of savior for movies, it definitely sets the blueprint for big box office swings in the next 10 years. Then, I unveil my official Oscars ballot and highlight what categories to watch for on Sunday night. Join my Oscars pool before Sunday night!
Dune: Part Two
On May 5th 2023, I made a very hot take in this newsletter. Based solely on the release of the first trailer, I was calling my shot — Dune: Part Two was going to win Best Picture. Between the movie’s ambition and the talent involved, the potential ceiling here was higher than any movie in years.
Then came the Hollywood strikes, and Warner Bros. pushed the movie back six months to come out this past week. As the first (and in many ways the only) major release of 2024 so far, it was received like a messianic figure — rapturous reviews and $200 million at the box office in its first full week.
Had it been released back in September, it would’ve been fascinating to see how Dune would’ve competed head to head with Oppenheimer for the Oscars’ top prize. The two movies have a similar appeal, what I’ll call “smart spectacle,” and received rare critical and commercial consensus. Now safe from competition, the two filmmakers, Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan, have spent the last few weeks patting each other on the back and taking a collective victory lap (‘you’re the best…no you’re the best!’).
What those two do better than anyone else, and the reason for everyone to go see this movie in theaters, is creativity and execution at the most epic scale. If I called the first Dune movie an “overwhelming audiovisual experience” that “awes viewers into submission,” it was merely an appetizer for what Villeneuve produced the second time around. It’s one of the most impressive visual movies of all time to date, everything from those epic, Lawrence of Arabia-inspired dessert vistas down to the little creations of the “thumper” device and “ornithopter” aircraft.
The very fact that so many Dune words have entered the lexicon is a testament to the franchise’s effectiveness. Think about it — 15 years ago, no one knew what “multiverse” or “vibranium” meant until the MCU came along. Now with Dune you’ve got people online and in real life dropping “Lisan Al-Gaib,” “Arrakis” and “still suits” in casual conversation. There has been no better or more complete example of large scale world-building in movies since Star Wars, and the visual effects at play here would make George Lucas pee his pants with glee.
Still, those who have been reading my reviews for the past five-plus years know that the movies of Nolan (and to a lesser extent, Villeneuve too) often leave me cold. While I think they are incredibly talented filmmakers, I don’t often think they’re the best storytellers. Villeneuve all but admitted as much in a recent interview, saying “I’m not interested in dialogue at all. Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema.”
That philosophy is pretty clear when you watch this movie, which hopes that its impressive images are worth a thousand words to fill in the blanks on a strained narrative. Dune 2 suffers from a “Games of Thrones” final season problem, trying to shove in a massive amount of plot from a 900-page novel into just (just…) 2hr46min. There’s so many characters and tribes and customs and prophecies to follow, and that’s even without a humongous action sequence every 10-15 minutes. If the movie doesn’t feel long, it’s because it needs every second to whizz from one event to the next, at the expense of things like character development, humanity, or fully realized character motivations.
Of course, we don’t ask too many questions when each passing moment is both so rewarding to look at and so enlivened by a ridiculous cast that includes basically every promising young movie star in Hollywood: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler and, briefly, Anya Taylor-Joy. Each of them has that can’t-take-my-eyes-off magnetism (though hot take alert, my takeaway from the movie is that Butler will be the biggest movie star of all of them when it’s said and done).
With that in mind, my complaints about the movie are sort of like a beautiful bright red Ferrari rolling down the street, and there’s a supermodel in the driver’s seat…are you really going to care whether it’s driving in the lane lines or going the speed limit? What are you, a cop?!
Back in 2021, I had very similar complaints about the first Dune after my first viewing. My review was not super positive. But the movie turned out to be very re-watchable, and each time I appreciated it more, to the point where going into this movie I would say I really loved it. I don’t think this sequel will be as enticing on a second viewing, mostly because without the exposition leg work done by the first movie the second has a lot of blockbuster mumbo jumbo, but maybe it too will age like fine wine.
Seriously, if my choices for blockbuster entertainment are between Nolan and Villeneuve’s spectacle-first-humanity-second style movie and another Marvel CGI punchfest, it’s not even a question what I’d pick. I am actively cheering for Dune’s massive commercial success, in the hopes that it will inspire more big, ambitious swings in the future.
My Oscars Ballot + What To Watch For
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One hazard of following awards season closely is that I get to the end of it and can’t help but make my Oscars ballot extremely chalky. Boring I know, but these things are favored for a reason!
Still, every year there are surprises, and this year specifically there are several races that are too close to call. I’ve sorted these by most interesting to least.
Note: Each reference to a movies is linked to my full review!
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Score: Oppenheimer
The story of the night will be the crowning of Christopher Nolan as the king of Hollywood. It’s got 13 nominations and I’ve got it winning in eight categories, including four of “The Big 6.”
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone
The most interesting race of the night is Best Actress, which is dead even between Emma Stone for Poor Things and Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon. I’m hoping Gladstone wins, because otherwise Scorcese is going to get shut out (again! The Irishman went 0/10).
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Faithful readers of this newsletter know that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was my No. 1 movie of last year, and The Boy and the Heron was my No. 4. That makes this category an absolute slugfest, but out of loyalty, I’ve got to go Spider-Man.
Best Production Design, Best Costume Design: Poor Things
These two wins are notable because the other favorite in each category is Barbie. If Poor Things beats it out in both, as I predict after running an incredible campaign and riding surprising box office success (over $100M!), that means Barbie will likely go 1 for 8 on the night. Which I’m sure everyone will overreact to on Monday.
Best Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall
A helpful rule of thumb for the Oscars is to think of the Original Screenplay category as the one for the nerds. The winner is often the movie the critics and hardcore movie fans love most (for this reason, if you’re looking for movies to watch, it’s better to watch the winners of this category than Best Picture).
Best Original Song: “I’m Just Ken,” Ryan Gosling (Barbie)
They’re getting Gosling to perform this song live during the show, so he must know something we don’t (or maybe he’s just trying to promote The Fall Guy…). A win here would be an upset, over Billie Eilish’s credits song from Barbie…but come on, wouldn’t it be hilarious of Gosling’s first Oscar (and the movie’s only Oscar) came because of this song?
Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction
This would be Oppenheimer’s one major defeat of the night, and those who have gotten me going with my anti-Nolan takes know how I feel about his writing style. It’s very cynical of me to think this way, but it’s hard not to believe this movie — which is absolutely deserving on its merits — is benefitting from a lack of diverse (specifically Black) winners in other major categories.
Best Visual Effects: The Creator
Super close race with Godzilla: Minus One, which I admit I didn’t see, but The Creator’s effects were nothing less than incredible. If only it had the story to go with it.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Maestro
No one fell on their face harder than Bradley Cooper this awards season. But his failed campaign did successfully get one message out there — that fake nose. It’ll be enough, barely, to edge out Poor Things.
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
Best International Feature: The Zone of Interest
Best Documentary Feature: 20 Days in Mariupol (at the top of my watch list)
Best Shorts! Live Action: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar | Animated: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko | Documentary: The Last Repair Shop
When are the Oscars? One hour earlier this year!
4 p.m. Pacific / 7 p.m. Eastern on ABC
Join my Oscars pool before then, and best of luck!!