54589: Dune: Part Two

When I was in undergrad, I managed the distance learning technology for a capstone class in Liberal Studies (I think). It struck me that the class was full of adults. And not college adults, but actual adults with careers and mortgages and informed opinions. They weren't taking this class to fulfill a credit. They were taking it because it mattered. There was something important here, something worth them giving up a semester of Friday nights and Saturday mornings to learn.

They spent the entire semester studying the novel Dune.

I'd never read it before. In fact, I don't think I'd yet made it through David Lynch's version in one sitting. I just knew it was one of those doorstop books that nerds think are essential pieces of literature. It is. Despite Herbert's utter lack of restraint when it comes to word count, the original Dune novel is a masterclass in management dos and don'ts, in exploiting people and events, and the endless value in being able to game out situations. This story, and its lessons, resonate with readers in the same way as The Art of War, but with way more worms, which is probably why the novel has been has been adapted so many times you'd think it was already in the public domain. (The game theory, I mean, not the worms)

By now, you've probably either seen Dune: Part Two or you've decided you're okay skipping it. I, for one, was thrilled to see Denis Villeneuve's latest foray into the Dune-iverse find success on the big screen. It's a huge, sprawling movie that bathes the viewer in the opulence of cinema.

Everything about Dune: Part Two is big. The score, the landscapes, the sword fights, the worm fights, the deep blue eyes, it immerses the viewer in its world. That's what good movies do, and it's why we put up with insufferable auteurs like Villeneuve. And it's why they're sometimes right about the value of the cinematic experience.

I watched Villeneuve's Dune (part one) on my phone, while finishing up a writing project for a client. I stopped and started the movie several times. My attention was split, to put it mildly. I listened to the film with just one ear bud, and while my Samsung Galaxy S21 has a pretty big and bright screen, I can't imagine that I got the full experience that Villeneuve had in mind. But I did get some of the experience. I don't know if that's better or not. However, I do know that seeing Dune: Part Two on an IMAX screen (twice) was a wholly different thing.

Despite wearing an N95 mask, I felt connected in a way that I didn't at home: to the screen, to the sound, and to the people around me who shared the moment with each other. It was an incredible 155 minutes (yes, even the credits were great), and while not every movie takes such advantage of the format, it reminded me that this art form has a power that is greater than the sum of its parts.

I'll most likely watch it again, at home, perhaps in a marathon setting with the first one. The cinematography is glorious, the performances are stellar (Javier Bardem needs some awards), and the direction and editing manage to capture the sweeping epic nature of Herbert's story as well as the small, personal moments that kept the saga grounded in the human experience. It's at once fantastical and deeply relatable, which is why we go to the movies in the first place.