In 2021, director Denis Villeneuve released his long-awaited adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 science fiction novel “Dune.” After a two-year wait that was further prolonged by a Screen Actor’s Guild strike, the sequel, “Dune: Part Two,” has officially arrived in theaters. While the first film was strong and performed well at the box office, Villeneuve split the book into two movies to properly tell the lengthy and dense story of Paul Atreides and his journey to becoming the Kwisatz Haderach. Thankfully, the sequel is so excellent that it was well worth the wait. “Dune: Part Two” is one of those rare movies that is truly a once-in-a-generation experience on the big screen of a movie theater. These movies, such as the original “Star Wars” movies or the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, do not come around often. We as audiences must treasure these rare theatrical experiences whenever we get the chance.

It must be said that, so far, audiences are turning out to watch “Dune: Part Two” in droves. It has enjoyed significant box-office success in the domestic and international arenas. On Rotten Tomatoes, 93 percent of reviews for the film are positive, with some critics calling it a “towering feat of sci-fi cinema.” It is undoubtedly an excellent film from a talented director with a strong cast, working at the top of their game. What truly separates “Dune: Part Two” from so many other films is its high stakes, which is portrayed excellently through every aspect of the film. During the final climactic duel to determine who becomes emperor of the universe, both theaters I watched the film in were dead silent as Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen stood silhouetted in front of a setting sun with knives drawn. You could have heard a pin drop. I, along with seemingly every other person, was completely and utterly entranced by the action unfolding in front of me. That is the rare, but powerful communal experience that a great film provides for an audience. At the duel’s conclusion, there was a tangible and almost audible sense of an audience letting go of a breath they did not realize they had been holding.

Another aspect of “Dune: Part Two” that makes it such an epic theater experience is how scale is shown in a style distinctly reminiscent of the original “Star Wars” trilogy or the “Lord of the Rings” films. Whether it is through an emerging sandworm or a silver spaceship rolling over the desert landscape, Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser manage to convey scale in the futuristic world of “Dune” in an astonishing fashion. There are a number of jaw-dropping shots, such as Paul moving through a mass of Fremen or Harkonnen soldiers floating up a cliff as they search for their enemies. Fraser knew that “Dune: Part Two” deserved to be experienced on the big screen and many of his shots reflect that. Many of the sets also portray the importance and status of the characters, such as the Emperor’s palace that he appears in on his home planet or Feyd-Rautha’s three-versus-one fight in a massive gladiator arena. These striking and memorable shots all add to the epic nature and futuristic nature of the world that Villeneuve built in his film.

The oft-mentioned “hero’s journey” is also fulfilled by Paul in “Dune: Part Two,” but how Chalamet portrays the character clearly conveys the sinister nature of Paul’s transformation that is such a vital element of Herbert’s original novel. His transformation throughout both films is captivating — he initially works to deny his destiny as the messiah of the Fremen before finally accepting the mantle of Lisan-Al Gaib, or Voice from the Outer World. The scene in which Paul proclaims himself as the Fremen savior was another in which the theater seemingly waited with bated breath to see what Chalamet would do next. Paul in both “Dune” films is likely the closest Hollywood has come to re-creating the magic and imagination of a science fiction character’s arc since Luke Skywalker appeared in the original “Star Wars” trilogy.

It is hard to do “Dune: Part Two” justice with these words. The best advice is to simply see it on the biggest screen possible and experience the magic for yourself. It is a theater experience that we will not likely be able to experience again anytime soon. Especially for younger people, who have not had that sort of generation-defining theater experience that older generations had with “Star Wars” or “Lord of the Rings,” this is the film to go see in the communal space of a movie theater.

Theodore Brita is a senior majoring in political science.

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