The Reel Rejects - Just Watched DUNE PART 2!! Instant Reaction & Review

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Starting point is 00:01:06 We are here right now at IMAX headquarters as we just had our real Rejects private exclusive Dune Part 2 event. This was something that we were so excited to be a part of. I'm not like a shill for studios, but if there's one thing I would be a shill for, it's IMAX baby. It's probably the IMAX experience. Oh, 100%. I saw like the Dark Night and IMAx like 10 times.

Starting point is 00:01:28 There's before the channel ever existed on IMAX. The way I would explain why it's important to see this movie on IMAX is because there are films that are converted to be able to be screened on IMAX. And then there's the other camp. There are movies that are specifically shot with IMAX cameras. Dune Part 2 is one of those films, meaning this is the version it was meant to be seen in. Definitive. They shot this whole movie with IMAX cameras.

Starting point is 00:01:54 So you get that expanded aspect ratio. You get the best quality, the best sound. This is not me just doing the hype trend. This is literally the version that our director, our director, Captain, my Captain. Daniv Villeneuve, I still don't pronounce it last name. He intended for us to see it in this format. And for a movie like this, which is so much about sensory immersion experience,

Starting point is 00:02:17 it more than delivers an enthralling you in that experience. It envelops you in the frame. We want to talk about the visuals. We want to talk about the story. We want to talk about cast. There's a lot that we got to dive into, but we only got a limited amount of time we're going to be here for. Let's just dive right into it, guys.

Starting point is 00:02:32 So, yeah, it picks up immediately, I would say like two and a half minutes after the first movie leaves off where you have Paul Atreides, Timothy Shalame, and Rebecca Ferguson. They're venturing off to learn the ways of the Fremen people. And then you got the Harkkonins or Harkinens. I hear two different pronunciations. What is it? Is it Harkinans? I think Harkinen is what people agree upon. We're on a limited amount of time.

Starting point is 00:02:56 We've got to get this right. Harkening. Final answer. So we got the Hurricane N's. They want to continue spice production, but they also want to wipe out the frame. There's a whole lot of political warfare and all these things happening right now. I don't know where to begin because the movie is so overwhelming. So let's just get the most obvious thing out of the way.

Starting point is 00:03:10 The visual experience here. The visuals here, they're carrying over from what we got from Dune Part 1. Whatever you saw from there, they are expanding upon it, and you get to see some other parts of the galaxy. I just want to talk about the writing the sandworm scene. Like, this sequence, I think, is going to be taught. about for such a long time. The way I would liken it, and it's strange to say, but you know whenever you see Tom Cruise doing these crazy stunts and you're like, wow, they got the camera there, you get to really feel like you're with.

Starting point is 00:03:38 Really feel the perspective of this death-difying actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It evokes that exact same visceral response as an audience member, yet it's not real. But it feels real, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Like that, it speaks to just that level of immersion and the way that the movie does take its time to really live in these events and things like that so that you can feel the struggle, the growth

Starting point is 00:04:01 of the character in a physical form because it's not, you know, the talkiest of movies necessarily, especially when it comes to the content, and that's what partly is so great is you do have these breathtaking, scopic moments of action that also, you know, are rousing in a character sense, and the sandworm

Starting point is 00:04:17 sequence is movie magic. It's movie magic, and there's more movie magic to be had. There's a little bit more action than the last movie, and there's a variety of different kinds of action set pieces, but they're always grounded and the emotionality of the characters. Everything is so much about the emotion first and foremost, and that's what makes for the most rewarding action scenes. So while you're getting these, like, beautiful visuals

Starting point is 00:04:36 laced throughout with this impeccable sound design, I don't know who the cinematographer is. I always think everyone's Roger Deacons when it looks good, but I know it's not Roger Deacons. I wanted to commit his name to memory because he shot, I believe, in this. Oh, well, you get those vibes there. The first Dune, so, like,

Starting point is 00:04:52 there's such a beautiful palette of colors and visuals across this frames. obviously as augmented by the scope of IMAX, but really like the composition and the way it brings you into the world is impeccable. I haven't read the book. You've read the book or you've read most of the book? I've read the book, but I mean, there are people who know the book much better than I do. I've shotgunned it the once and did my best to hold on, you know?

Starting point is 00:05:14 Well, when the credits were rolling, you said something, John is the best at putting into words what I'm trying to say. That's what usually happens in these discussions. I ramble. John says it efficiently following after my ramble. You give me everything to work with them. and then I spit out a cue that we worked together. The first movie, this is how he was saying,

Starting point is 00:05:32 I'm just trying to say what you're saying, here we go, is that the first movie has, like, a lot of political angles and there's a lot of political commentary while you have, like, the Benogessori and a little bit more of the magical stuff, a secondary or third, and this movie is a bit of an inverse. Now, the political stuff is all still there. The magical side and the mysticism is way more at the forefront.

Starting point is 00:05:52 And at the same time, it surprised me because it's so much of a deconstructed, of prophecy and religion. Deals so much with power, how religion can manipulate, take control of people. It deals with fanaticism. So much on its mind that is not in a black and white context, even though there's some great black and white scenes in here, but it's not all orange. There's so much on its mind that it's kind of crazy to see a blockbuster that follows

Starting point is 00:06:19 up of the first one while doing themes that can be controversial to touch on because, you know, religion is a very sense of thing, but this is a made-up religion, so maybe there's a way they can do it. But you could see all the metaphors and allegories, and I love how the first movie ends off on this note of, all right, I've seen this movie before, especially someone hasn't read the book, like, this is Chosin. This is Timothy Chalini. He's going to rise to be the special and, you know, lead some new age of salvation for these people or whatever, reset the balance of life in this galaxy. Denis Villeneuve has talked a lot about how he wanted to honor the original intention of Frank Herbert,

Starting point is 00:06:52 which was to make it a cautionary tale, to make this more of a tragedy. To deconstruct that myth rather than just give you a direct translation of it, you know? And weirdly being prepped for that before watching it, I thought actually made the film more effective. The movie is long. In the first hour of this film is so much with really showing

Starting point is 00:07:12 Paul Atreides earning his way with learning the culture of the Fremen. When occasionally you cut back to the Harkonans on their planet, you could really see it like light side, dark side, you see you know? But there's so much beauty with the Fredman that you're like, oh, wait, but Dani keeps saying it's a tragedy. So you kind of just like have this worry. And the way it does come upon you, it's an insidious way it creeps up on you. It is tragic and it is unsettling. This is one of those movies that I'm like, wow, for a blockbuster, as beautiful as it is,

Starting point is 00:07:40 it does leave you with a feeling of not like cheering. You're with like an almost disturbed feeling, even though it's not disturbing visually without spoiling the movie. Yeah. Yeah, you're like, what is the achievement, you know, like, are we truly ascending or is this turning into something more twisted or is this turning into something that could be treacherous, you know, and they let you teeter at times on that, you know, question, especially through Paul, because he is the center figure of so many of the circumstances they're happening. I think with that in mind, Timothy Shalame is an actor who can often go a little bit back and forth for me. This is one of my favorite performances he's ever done. I really liked him as Paul Atreides in Dune Part 1, but specifically here, he goes. through a very distinct transformation, needless to say. I thought he was powerful in a lot of scenes.

Starting point is 00:08:27 I think for the most part, he's a very powerful actor. There's a lot he has to kind of sell you on with a certain level, especially the last half of this movie. And for me, it really worked. It works against so much in terms of the story, the characters, the themes. He's aware of the programming that he has had his whole life. And so much of this is about, can you fight against your programming? Can you fight against quote unquote manipulated destiny?

Starting point is 00:08:48 What happens if you try to go against that? that and you could feel this like internal struggle and what happens if you try to surrender is it should you surrender and i think he carries the weight of this film so much on his shoulders that it was the most impressive one of the most impressive performance i've seen him do i liked him more here they didn't wanka that's usually what people will say when they walk out of this movie is is i like apolitrates or won it's very two different sides of shallomay right yeah but i agree no i think the transformation he goes through is is is really strong and as somebody who you know saw the first movie. I was like, yeah, he's fine. I like him. He's fine. Yeah, it was one of our

Starting point is 00:09:22 disagreements. I remember that. Yeah, like, I thought he gripped me more here. And, like, the position his character is in, it makes sense why the character is the way that he is. And I thought that the transformations here and the questions that he's grappling with were pretty compelling and made that character grow in a way that felt very tangible to me. And yeah, just watching somebody trying to figure out, like, where am I in this whole system of things? Can I take control of it? Can I impact it in a way that takes some weight off of my conscience and maybe creates a better path forward. And I think that's a very compelling question to ask while also watching someone physically transform in a way that might be counter to that. There's a lot of shades he has to

Starting point is 00:10:00 play. And I think he's well cast here. Zendaya gets like five minutes more screen time than the last no, she's way more in this film. That was something I was a little bit, I don't know if the right word was apprehensive, but I was, that was a little apprehensive, yeah. It was the first movie, yeah, you have such mysticism surrounding her. So, like, what's it going to be like when you're just actually with her as a character? And is it going to feel perfunctory? Is it going to feel forced because there's so much more like destiny, love, between the two of them? I think they have really good chemistry, and some of my favorite scenes are actually with them

Starting point is 00:10:28 because so much of what this movie builds upon without going to spoilers is their relationship specifically. Zendaya brings a very naturalistic quality to the performance. She works out Timothy Shalamey really well. Their romance is so important and integral to the overarching themes. And she also represents a different side of the fremen because they make it really distinctly clear that there's two sides of the fremen here. The ones who really believe in the one to say,

Starting point is 00:10:50 what's the word, the one to save us? I forget all the fancy, dude made up words. The Liza and Al-Gai, yes. You're so smart. That's why he's here. She's not one of the people who believes in that. So while there's the romance with Paul Atreides, she's not drawn to the mythological thing.

Starting point is 00:11:05 He's just a man to her. Then you got Javier Bardem's character coming back here. Who does believe in those things? Who is of the more fundamentalist sect, yeah. And Harvey Bardem is, he was, like, funny in the first one. Man, he was surprisingly hilarious at times. Cracking a lot of jokes.

Starting point is 00:11:19 In a way that doesn't pull you out of the movie, though, it actually works. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He is an interesting presence because obviously he has his stern Javier Bardem quality, but he does equate to one of the most welcoming and warming presences throughout the entire two movies. I think what people really want to hear about, too, Austin Butler. My man, I mean, I thought he was pretty terrific. I mean, he doesn't spend a heck of a lot of time on screen. but he is a feral creature of a character, most certainly.

Starting point is 00:11:46 He's Matt Smith meets Stellan Scarsgaard, is what he's doing in this movie. There was a detail I thought was nice that they had to, he's like, well, this is a guy directly related to Stellan Scarsgaard, so we better have that accent. And the trailers do tease a fight between him and Paul. He has it quite a few times. I would say the emotion to that fight was like gripping as hell. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. What's going to happen?

Starting point is 00:12:07 This is a movie where the action sequences very much have, like, that emotional weight, and that's a lot of what drives them. They might not be as extensive maybe as you would expect at certain points. Some of them are certainly. But, yeah, there's always that heft of the circumstance. And Rebecca Ferguson, to me, is a very underrated actress still. There's a line I remember in the first movie where they say, someone says, I think it's Oscar.

Starting point is 00:12:30 I was like, you know, I know you've been working things through the shadows. But you don't see that in the first movie. Oh, my goodness. And then here you really get to, they pull the curtain back on that. And you get to see what they mean by the power of the Benegester, who work in the shadows. So you're cutting between three camps here. The Fremen, Paul dealing with, like, Paul's the center of it all.

Starting point is 00:12:46 The Fremen, the Harkonans, and then you've got the Benegessary. Rebecca Ferguson's role here commands the screen. She may be my favorite performer across both these movies, is because, again, the way she embodies the character, the struggle of the character, the weird mantle she has to occupy in being a conduit for these various prophecies and whatnot. And that's the thing about the shifting tone of the political nature of the movie is you see that, like, the politics are almost like short-term circumstances,

Starting point is 00:13:11 and then the mysticism, the stuff that Benny Jesser, the stuff that she is directly involved with, is like the guiding hand of all those politics across generations in a really wild way, and she's able to carry all of that in a way that feels quite believable, but also very emotionally resonant. All right, John, we've got two minutes,

Starting point is 00:13:28 and we've got to get out here. So we've got to speed through the criticisms that we probably have about this movie, or like mild criticism about it. Dave Bautista to me was one of the little disappointing parts of the film to me. I feel like they really set them up in the first movie.

Starting point is 00:13:41 in here he just kind of felt like yelling angry dracks and you want more yeah yeah and we've seen dabe bautista do a variety of roles at this point for that story he's been telling about dene veneuve was one of the first people who came to me on set and was like you are such a you know expressive performer lean into that you know to not really have that utilized here is a bit of a bummer i know the character of austin butlers comes in in the book but if i didn't know there was a book i would feel like oh they just like they should have given this street time to day bautista because it does feel like they trim him down for that to give him because i think this movie even though it is a long movie,

Starting point is 00:14:11 it doesn't feel its length. At the same time, there's this other version where I feel like it probably could have used like an extra 10 more minutes to flesh out a few more choices the movie makes. Especially there's like a plot twist that comes in. I mean, not plot just for book readers,

Starting point is 00:14:24 but like there's a big reveal of sorts that I didn't see coming. And when it happened, I was like, oh, shit. For the journey here, for the time we were here in the film, maybe I'll get more from it on the second viewing. I didn't quite understand the point to incorporate it in this movie.

Starting point is 00:14:38 Like, at the time it happens, I'm like, oh shit. But in the time I was like, I didn't really understand why that's herein's film. Yeah, there's certain things that carry context that's worthwhile, but that might not exactly hit narratively the same way you would expect. My other last thing that I probably had a little bit of a gripe with was that in the first movie, I felt like the Harconans were imposing and scary, like truly villainous. You felt their presence throughout.

Starting point is 00:15:03 And this movie has a bit of a different structure in terms of how they spend their time cutting between stories. and maybe that's something to do with it, maybe because Paul's also this like snowball effect of always upgrading throughout this entire experience, I didn't really feel like they were as scary. While there's a lot of tension in this film, while there's a lot of suspense,

Starting point is 00:15:20 a lot of gripping things that have a different kind of horror, that was a missing quality for me. It's easy to forget a little bit about just how treacherous and evil they are meant to be or portrayed as being, when you have mostly just their foot soldiers to deal with throughout a lot of the early parts and mid parts of the movie until kind of later on. One thing I would say is, like, I'm very excited to see how this unfolds for me on a second viewing. It is a middle chapter to something. So you do have that sort of interesting effect

Starting point is 00:15:48 of like, okay, this is kind of finishing the one book, but it's clear that this is going to continue. This is at least going to be the two towers or the Empire Strikes Back or whatever. Or the best DC movie since The Dark Night. Yes. And so, like, I can see, like, the first movie has all this discovery and has all this stuff you're being introduced to, whereas here you are spending a lot, a lot, a lot of time on Iraq as you're going even deeper into some of the more sort of theoretical aspects of the story. And so I could just imagine maybe not having the same level of like sheen in terms of like, oh my God, this impossible. Everyone hipes up how impossible this book is. And now that we know

Starting point is 00:16:23 it's not impossible. There's just a different impact upon, you know, going in again. So not to say that even if you have high expectations, they won't be met. But, you know, it is, there's like a layer that doesn't apply anymore because we know that this is, you know, something that we're capable of doing and doing well. I feel like this is definitely a film, much like the first one that will unfold on repeat viewing and give you more, the more you give to it. Oh, a thousand percent. At times, I think the PG-13 rating does work against all his throat slicing, minor criticism. And then... For a movie that feels like it's rated R. Yeah. And Christopher Wachin is good, but I always feel like I was watching Christopher Wachan. Those are like minor things. Everyone's good. And this is still, like,

Starting point is 00:17:01 It's not just a repeat of visuals from the last experience. This is totally... No, they build on it. This is one of those movies that you have to go to theaters to watch it. Yeah, there are some visual flares that are beautiful that aren't what you're expecting to. They find a way to give this film its own visual tone and language with some more subjective other kinds of imagery that are really breathtaking. And if you can see it on IMAX, again, this is the intended version. Do yourself a favor.

Starting point is 00:17:25 Go get lost in this world. Anyway, Reject Nation, are excited for the Doom Part 3? I know I am because it has to come. It just has to at this point. Leave your thoughts down below. Thank you to IMAX again for having us and we'll talk with you all soon.

The Reel Rejects - Just Watched DUNE PART 2!! Instant Reaction & Review

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