Last Saturday, we talked about how the writers did an excellent job setting up Feyd-Rautha as a worthy adversary for Paul. However, their decision to make Chani a skeptical antagonist—opposing the man she supposedly loves—has already created numerous problems for the story, and those problems continue to stack up. By the time we reach the conclusion of the film, I don’t know how the writers expect to create a Part Three that will be in any way, shape, or form consistent with the source material.

In Part Two, Paul and the Fremen finally launch their final assault on the emperor. As in previous retellings of the story, Paul uses his father’s stash of atomic weapons to blow a hole in the Shield Wall, allowing the dreaded sandworms to enter the base and attack the emperor’s men, the Sardaukar. Again, the visual effects in the film are amazing, and the movie is worth watching just for the spectacle.

A plot change that helps the story

The battle doesn’t last long, and soon Paul has the emperor and his entourage captured. And here is a plot change that really works. Before the battle, the baron had been chastised by the emperor, and one of his guards had wounded him. The baron is lying on the steps of a dais when Paul arrives. Paul marches up to the baron, calls him his grandfather, and stabs him.

This was the second-best ending for the baron I could imagine. I’ve stated repeatedly that I wish he’d died during the attack on House Atreides because his role in the story was pretty much finished once Duke Leto was killed. In the book and the 1984 film, Alia kills the baron. That never made any sense to me even if she was an adult woman trapped in a little girl’s body. Having Paul kill the baron at least makes the story come full circle.

When Paul avenges his father and settles an old feud, the threads of the story start to connect. Alia has no personal interest in the baron, so it makes no sense for her to kill him, never mind that she is a little girl. And in that version, the baron barely had time to register what was going on before he was unceremoniously slain. In this scene, however, the baron understands exactly what’s happening. It was a good payoff.

After the baron is killed, Paul orders the Fremen to destroy the Sardaukar. Gurney Hallack kills Rabban while the Sardaukar are wiped out. Once the emperor is officially defeated, Paul accuses the old man of murdering his father.

Then Paul demands that Irulan marry him so he can establish his rule as the new emperor. However, the emperor is allowed to defend himself against Paul’s accusations by choosing a champion to fight on his behalf. The emperor chooses Feyd-Rautha. Paul and Feyd have their duel, and unlike the corresponding scene in the 1984 film, the duel doesn’t feel random at all. The two show mutual respect toward each other before the duel begins, and as Feyd dies, he tells Paul that he fought well.

I liked this addition to the script. Feyd was by no means a good person, but he had a sense of honor, and the scene reminded me of two knights duty-bound to fight for their houses. It was a nice touch.

Plot changes that don’t help the story

After the duel, Irulan offers to marry Paul if he will spare his father. Paul agrees. At this point, the script goes off the rails entirely. First of all, the houses, which are currently hovering above the planet, refuse to accept Paul’s new position as emperor. In the book, Paul officially becomes the emperor, and the matter is settled. Second: Chani storms off in a huff again, although I’m not sure why because she’s done just about everything imaginable to make it clear she and Paul are no longer a couple anyway.

At the end of the novel, Jessica attempts to comfort Chani, explaining that this is just a political marriage and that Paul is still loyal to her. This doesn’t happen in Dune: Part Two. Chani storms off before anyone can say anything.

I was curious why she still cared. Maybe if she’d tried asking the man who loved her about his plans, Paul could’ve thought of something else if she didn’t like this scheme. As things stand in the sequel, Chani summons a sandworm while the Fremen all jump on the emperor’s ships to go fight the other lords of houses.

It would’ve been better to end things with Paul winning the day because that way the Fremen could’ve learned to drive the emperor’s ships before they began their jihad. But in the sequel, they all board these vessels without asking who’s going to fly them. Remember, these are desert nomads. They’ve never flown galactic spaceships! When I saw this scene, I imagined a bunch of Fremen crashing into each other before they ever reached the lords.

The ending is ridiculous, pure and simple. Chani was supposed to look strong as she waited for her worm, but I just saw her as petulant. As for the house lords, Paul had nukes pointed at the spice. There was no upside to calling his bluff. Even if the lords were truly loyal to the emperor, Paul is holding the man hostage. He could kill the emperor out of spite. Shouldn’t they try negotiating at least? The movie has many strong moments, but the last few minutes just fell apart.

Overall, this is a strange film. There are so many amazing visuals, powerful scenes, and changes to the script that were honestly more enjoyable than the book, but these changes slowly shifted the story to the point that it stopped making sense. I can’t see how they are going to do a sequel.

Problems for Part Three

In Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert’s sequel to Dune, Paul is already the emperor and is trying to have another child with Chani, while Irulan is participating in a conspiracy to overthrow Paul. How do the screenwriters are they supposed to set any of this up? Irulan is already a conflicted character in both the book and the sequel. She doesn’t agree with what her father did and has expressed misgivings about the Bene Gesserits’ role in the assassination of Duke Leto. Her primary motivation for joining the conspiracy is that she resents Paul for refusing to have a child with her, and she even secretly gives Chani contraceptives. How is any of this supposed to happen if Chani isn’t even there?

Let me offer a prediction: I’m predicting Jerry Springer in space—a pointless love triangle that ends with violence. I’m seeing Paul spend an hour or so wooing Chani and spurning Irulan until she decides to join the conspirators. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if, by the end of the film, Paul is left writhing in agony in the sand while Chani and Iurlan ride a sandworm into the sunset, singing a ballad to girl power.

That last line is obviously a joke, but I may not be far off. I’m getting serious Game of Thrones vibes from this movie. For those who don’t remember, Game of Thrones was a series that started out strong because it stuck to the source material; however, George R. R. Martin never finished the books, so by season eight, the story collapsed. Characters made nonsensical decisions, and the ending was less than spectacular. I truly hope I’m wrong because this was an amazing movie in a lot of ways, and I’d recommend it highly. But I think people should be wary of Dune, Part Three.

Here are all the parts of my extended review of Dune: Part Two (2024):

Dune: Part Two succeeds brilliantly — but dooms plans for Part III. The difficulty is that the changes made for the film have warped the core story so much that it’s going to be nearly impossible to follow the source material from here on out. For example, if the Bene Gesserits are the true power behind the throne, why do they need a Kwisatz Haderach to cement their power?

Dune, Part Two: Paul becomes a hero — very reluctantly Some departures from the book work better than others. The “reluctant hero” trope simplifies a complex political situation but comes at a cost. Overall, Paul’s reluctance, in this version, to be the Fremen’s leader enables him to earn their respect over time while doing more ordinary tasks.

Dune, Part Two: At last, Feyd-Rautha becomes relevant. The treatment of Feyd in this version is more satisfactory than in any previous one. We are prepared for Paul’s confrontation with him. The portrayal of Chani in Part Two is, however, much harder to understand. If she doesn’t believe in the Bene Gesserit religion, why is she there on Arrakis?

Dune, Part Two: At last, Feyd-Rautha becomes relevant. The treatment of Feyd in this version is more satisfactory than in any previous one. We are prepared for Paul’s confrontation with him. The portrayal of Chani in Part Two is, however, much harder to understand. If she doesn’t believe in the Bene Gesserit religion, why is she there on Arrakis?