Timothée Chalamet returns to the desert as Denis Villeneuve triumphs again with a colour-saturated blockbuster contemplating zealotry and religious war. The second Dune instalment is jaw-on-the-floor spectacular. It elegantly weaves together top-tier special effects and arresting cinematography. It’s an inhospitable, brutal kind of beauty that Villeneuve has created – there’s not enough lip balm in the universe to make a visit to the sandblasted wilderness planet of Arrakis look appealing. But this epic action picture, which follows the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) from a cheeky whippersnapper who’s a bit handy with a sword, to a feared warrior, to the prophesied leader of the Fremen tribe of Arrakis, is realized with a retina-searing intensity. Although Paul is the main focus of the story, this instalment allows other characters to come to the fore, most notably Fremen warrior Chani (an impressive, physically committed performance from the always magnetic Zendaya). But a standout in a supporting role is Austin Butler, playing Feyd-Rautha, the psychopathic nephew of Stellan Skarsgård’s levitating despot, Baron Harkonnen. It’s a gleefully over-the-top performance fuelled by malice and channelled through axe-blade cheekbones and a smile that could strip the skin from your face.–The Guardian

“Villeneuve’s film is a grand success, working on an even broader canvas than the first Dune — but it’s tinged with deep mournfulness, a quality that sets it apart from its blockbuster contemporaries.”–The Atlantic