Dune: Part 2 (2024)

Let’s start off with the good news.  This is gorgeously filmed and the acting is top notch.   I have not read the Dune series in 50 years, and I am pretty sure I petered out before the end, even though it was wildly popular when I was a teen, so my memory of the story line is sparse at best, and I cannot comment too accurately on how well the movie adhered to the original.  What I do know is that my youngest son kept commenting on it’s similarity to other epic storylines told across several movies, so maybe the details and the locations change but the struggle between good and evil looks pretty similar.  The movie doesn’t seem overly long, in spite of clocking in at nearly 3 hours, but the bleakness is pervasive.  It is likely to garner several nominations, and they will be well deserved, but overall, it is good rather than great.