Dune 2 REVIEW : It’s the Star Wars killer
Will Dune be the next big scifi franchise? I hope not
No emperor gets to reign forever. Not even the emperor of a galaxy far, far away
Dune 2 isn’t just a blockbuster hit. It isn’t just a cerebral scifi epic. It’s a masterpiece of cinema, a match for any of the greatest movies ever made.
And it’s the Star Wars killer.
Frank Herbert claimed there were 16 elements of Dune copied by Star Wars. Once you see them detailed it’s clear, even if George Lucas didn’t steal them directly, that these are very, very similar stories.
Archetypally, they are the same story.
And Dune parts 1 and 2 are a vastly superior telling of that story.
Denis Villeneuve has a claim now as our greatest living director. There are changes from Frank Herbert’s book, but Denis uses them to heighten not lessen the story. I won’t say more about the movie in detail yet. Go and watch it.
Will Dune be the next big scifi franchise? I hope not. Part of what destroyed Star Wars is being made into the McDonald’s of scifi. At the very least Dune 1 & 2 are going to enter the pantheon with 2001 and Blade Runner as all time great science fiction movies.
