Watch: Zendaya wears a full metal suit to the Dune premiere
The sequel to the epic sci-fi film Dune received largely rave reviews from critics.
The long-awaited sequel was scheduled to premiere last fall but was postponed due to an actors' strike.
Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, expectations have risen for the sequel to the saga following the success of 2021's Dune: Part One.
The Independent gave the new film five stars and said it was “unlike any other film in existence.”
Critic Clarice Loughrey added that the film was “the ultimate reward for the great gamble of 2021, when director Denis Villeneuve chose to adapt half of Frank Herbert's foundational sci-fi novel, with no guarantee of ever producing a sequel.”
Dune: Part One received 10 Academy Award nominations and has grossed more than $400 million (£315 million) globally at the box office.
Image source, Warner Bros
Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya play the main characters in the film
David Fear of Rolling Stone said the nearly three-hour second film is “what a true sci-fi epic looks like” and is “bigger, bolder and better than the first film.”
The film follows the journey of Paul Atreides (Chalamet) as he teams up with his lover Chani (Zendaya) and the people of the Fremen Desert as they face a massive army of enemies.
In the sequel, Chalamet's character learns his own way to survive on the barren desert planet while seeking revenge on the conspirators who destroyed his family.
“XXL scene”
The Hollywood Reporter review praised Chalamet's performance and noted that he “does away the boyish innocence of the first film in favor of a darker, more complex character.”
Esquire added that “now making the leap to battle-tested hero, Chalamet really lets him soar, calling for a more interesting performance.”
Image source, Getty Images
Zendaya and Chalamet attracted attention in matching suits at a promotional press conference in South Korea
Newspaper critic Peter Bradshaw also praised cinematographer Greg Fraser, production designer Patrice Vermette, and composer Hans Zimmer “for showing us a fully created world, one that is now so distinct and unmistakable that it is likely to be much imitated.”
Image source, Warner Bros
The film was praised for its cinematography
Empire's four-star review noted, “There are plenty of panels going around – and, for the most part, Villeneuve displays remarkable control over them all. Beyond that, he orchestrates stunning sequences to knock you into the back of your seat.”
The second film expanded the cast and received Florence Pugh and Austin Butler, whom Empire called its “MVP.” [most valuable player] Of the new arrivals.
Butler was also mentioned in a review by BBC Culture. “In a cast that includes an incredible number of contemporary cinema's best actors, it is Butler who steals the show as a vampire sadist with some of the rock 'n' roll charisma that the actor had in Elvis,” the report said.
While most critics hailed the film as a triumph, David Ehrlich of IndieWire was less convinced and said that the saga is “stunning to look at but painful to watch.”
“The relative intensity of drama that Villeneuve musters in this film is diminished by a corresponding increase in the grandeur of the spectacle that surrounds it,” Ehrlich wrote.
Dune: Part Two will be released in UK cinemas on March 1.
