As you can tell by our review of Dune: Part Two we were blown away by the world-building and mastery of filming techniques employed by Denis Villeneuve and seductively shot by cinematographer Greig Fraser, so we decided to venture back to Arrakis for a second look at the film in IMAX. The film was shot entirely with IMAX-certified digital Cameras and features IMAX-exclusive Expanded Aspect Ratio (EAR) throughout the entire film, which essentially means there’s 26% more picture to enjoy.
Taking a closer look at one of the major set pieces in the film (spoilers ahead!) the culminating battle between Fremen, Harkonnen and Emperor Shaddam’s troops on the sand dunes in IMAX, the sublime vistas are noticeably more powerfully realised with the bigger view. The intoxicating and sweeping fight sequences boast brutal combat and sparkling particles against the backdrop of the imposingly designed fortress where Paul eventually admits to his blood heritage and avenges his father by slaying the Baron.
The final breathtaking scene, along with the brief cameo of Anya Taylor-Joy as Alia (Paul’s sister) sets up the potential for a third film and adaptation of Dune: Messiah. A trilogy seems the perfect way to cement this franchise and the film certainly leaves it open to that.
Villeneuve has stated that he would only make one more film in this franchise and it may take some time before it appears on screen as he is working on other projects. With the grand box-office takings on this film (our screen was sold out) it will surely be greenlit. To go ahead without Villeneuve as director in our opinion would be a mistake. Only time will tell if he has crafted Gen Z’s defining sci-fi blockbusters but we think what he’s achieved so far is phenomenal filmmaking.
