Last night, I watched "Dune 2" in Shanghai in advance with hundreds of people.
Because I sat in the front row, my neck hurt for more than two hours, but I didn't dare to bow my head, for fear of missing any magnificent scene or alien communication.
If in the first film, Denis Villeneuve succeeded in constructing his own unique blockbuster poetry and aesthetics, in the second part, he succeeded in balancing commerciality and entertainment on this basis.
This may be the reason for its box office success in North America and around the world. North America won the title with $82.5 million in the opening weekend, double the number of Dune three years ago.
Even the always demanding film critics have opened their arms to it, with a 94% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian described it as a "huge, amazing miracle" and overseas critics hailed him as "the best big production of the 21st century".
For me, "Dune 2" once again refreshed my visual cognition, narrative cognition and epic depth cognition of blockbusters.
The following contains spoilers.
A tighter narrative
Character duel
In the fast-paced opening scene, the Harkonnam soldiers descend from the aircraft to the ground under the leadership of the leader. The combat suits on their bodies looked as heavy as old-fashioned wetsuits, and they couldn't compete with the nimble Fremen warriors of the goats. Soon, however, they introduced flying bombardment, and the Fremen were temporarily left behind. In the first half of the film, Villeneuve is like a budget-conscious businessman, increasing the scales and making the battle exciting. 
Under the framework of "Prince's Revenge", "Dune 2" contributed a seemingly fragile male protagonist Paul, who resisted being a heroic leader despite his great strength. I'm more of an idealist in my bones, and I always say that I want to make friends with everyone and help each other. In my opinion, this role is perfect for sweet tea. He has melancholy and thoughtful eyes, and he controls the role with professionalism like an excellent actor in the Hollywood era. After being stabbed in the duel, he could not speak, and could only give orders to the enemy with a pant. From his restrained facial expressions, we can feel his real pain. Zendaya's Cheni and him are a couple. In the cold and violent war, the lively interaction between them is an important spice. Sometimes the two of them look at each other and smile, which can make people feel the little warmth in the dark night. 
As the bad guy who corresponds to the male protagonist, Harkonnam has a new baronet-to-be Rosa. He is not only a hundred times crueler than his uncle, but also has ** muscle curves, and is a bad guy full of sexual tension but terrifying. A few details show his sadistic nature: when his subordinates answer that they don't agree, they directly use the short knife in their hands to turn around and wipe off the other party's neck before speaking; When approached by the enemy with a blade, he was not afraid but excited, and even refused any rescue from his subordinates. Licking the blood with the tip of the knife and enjoying the pleasure of bloodthirsty, this is the new demon.
Rosa and Paul, the struggle between different forces is an important highlight of this film. Some seek peace, some aspire to conquer, others maintain rule, and different political goals collide, and conflict becomes an inevitability. 02The high level of vision remainsThe sandworm version of "Didi Taxi".Villeneuve once proudly said: "I'm not interested in dialogue at all, pure image and sound are the power of cinema". If this sentence is said by other directors, it may be a bit embarrassing, but for Director Wei, you really can't refute it. When I watched the previous work, I was struck by the classical painting-like composition and contrast of light and shadow, the huge and the small, as well as the various grotesque and symbolic figures, and "Dune 2" is the pinnacle in this regard. 
The deepest impression is the filming of the Hacknam Star Gladiatorial Arena, because the setting of Harkonnen in the original book is because the development of heavy industry has destroyed the ecological balance, and the outdoor ultraviolet radiation is super strong, so when filming here, the director used infrared shooting and then turned to black and white. The camera focuses first on the extreme and feudal baron, and then on the fanatical populace, as if the German ** team paid tribute to Hitler in a World War II documentary. The huge triangular gladiatorial arena creates an orderly and majestic aesthetic in which the gladiators are placed like a cold ink spot. Most of the picture is clouded, suggesting that the Atreides present are about to suffer a misfortune. None of them had complicated lines, but the horror of the scene, the momentum, and totalitarianism came to their faces, like a sharp and silent dagger. 
In addition, the desert is still the absolute protagonist of the whole play, but this time it is presented in a richer form. The vast sea of sand appears in dusk hues most of the time, and the sunrise and sunset and battles** give it a different hue. Sometimes it's a blood-colored red, sometimes it's a romantic and gentle yellow. 
When Paul accepts the fate of leadership, the light shines through the layers of sand on the underground palace, and in the outward area of the main stage, we see countless people prostrate on the ground, where the light symbolizes hope and victory. Those sandworms that are hidden underground, in the first part, you can only see their mouths but not their bodies, which makes people feel scared and terrifying. It wasn't until the whole picture was revealed in this part that we learned that these monsters were actually used by the Fremen as Didi taxis. I don't know how many people like me would like to try to ride a sandworm home when they walk out the door. 
Black and white and orange, the oppressive Harkonnen palace and the laughing Freman tent, the cruel Rosa and the idealized Paul, form a triple contrast from the tone, social atmosphere and lord, and also symbolize two different social trends. corresponds to a restrained action scene at the end of the film, and the two forces are clear within a few minutes. Hans Zimmer's magnificent ** disappeared completely at this moment, and there was a dead silence in the air, and the two black silhouettes quickly entangled and separated under the fiery sunset. At the same time as Paul was victorious, Rosa's short sword was also inserted into his body, making him unable to speak, and could only use a muffled grunt to give the rest of the command. 
This part is one of the best parts of the whole film in my heart. Its appearance is surprising, in the era of highly advanced technology, people actually used the way of medieval knights to fight one-on-one; The two returned to the fighting scene in an instant, and they fought each other in close combat, like a fluent and short serenade. In this way, Wei Dao realized his "big words", no need for words, not even **, the image itself can convey the most shocking power. 03Revelation of powerThe demise of the idealist.
In addition to the visual aesthetics and narrative rhythm, the epic weight of "Dune 2" also requires its pursuit of metaphysics. Cloaked in the skin of science fiction, it tells a story of power struggle in its bones. An organization that is good at demagoguery, a group of people living in the most difficult areas, when the two meet, they can only collide with the spark of superstition. And this superstition was used by the male protagonist's mother to bring the Fremen people from different regions under her own banner, paving the way for the male protagonist to borrow strength and succeed in revenge. 
At first, the sober Paul and the younger generation of Cheni resolutely resisted. Paul even shouted directly in front of Fremen: "I am not a savior at all!" I hope this will make everyone sober. But as the war progressed, Paul also came to realize the importance of bringing hearts together. He accepts his identity as a savior and tries not to control others with high-pressure terror like his mother. But will he be cannibalized by power? This question is left to Dune 3 to answer. Through the grand theme, we see the power struggle devouring the idealist. Just like those prescriptions with serious ***, trying to use power to cure the disease will also pay a corresponding price.
Today, when various superhero universes have been repeatedly consumed, cheap visual effects and instant noodle-like stories can no longer arouse more enthusiasm from audiences. Villaneuve, on the other hand, went against the current, using a large number of real shots and real visual effects to stylize this masterpiece that is difficult to adapt on the screen. For those viewers who value depth and quality, Dune 2 is not only a sci-fi masterpiece, but also a movie feast that is always worth looking forward to. Viewing Tips:1.It doesn't matter if you haven't watched the first part, the second part is relatively independent and can start watching it directly. 2.The IMAX Cinema has the best viewing effect and can enjoy the picture to the fullest. 3.Recently, many cities have two continuous movie-watching marathons, which can be searched and found in your own city. 4.It is best not to choose a front seat, which may have a great impact on the viewing effect.