Story
After his father’s death, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) joins the Fremen, much to the dismay of his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). Believing both Paul and Lady Jessica to be dead, the Harkonnen step up their attack on the Fremen in their ongoing battle for control of Arrakis.
Although much of the Fremen population is wary of Paul, tribal leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul to be the legendary chosen one, who’s destined to save them all. Initially, Paul wants no part of this and denies that he’s a saviour, instead trying to blend into the tribe and learn their ways. He strikes up a relationship with the young warrior Chani (Zendaya), and the pair soon falls in love.
To prove his worth, Paul passes numerous tests put to him by the Fremen and takes on the title of Muad’Dib. Paul vows vengeance on the Harkonnen, who continue to attack the Fremen at every turn and who were the ones behind his father’s death.
Meanwhile, Lady Jessica becomes a powerful religious figure among the Fremen and uses her power to pave the way for Paul’s ascendancy. Trying to avoid a holy war, Paul struggles against his visions of millions killed in his name and does his best to prevent what might be inevitable.
Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) is the violent, sociopathic nephew of the Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard). After suffering numerous Harkonnen losses, Feyd-Rautha is given the chance to be named Emperor if he uses his brutality to tame Arrakis and free the spice, a valuable commodity that everyone is fighting to control.
Can a holy war be avoided or will Arrakis be destroyed by insatiable greed?
Themes
War; greed; power; revenge; subjugated control based on fear or faith; fanaticism
Violence
Dune: Part Two has some violence. For example:
- Characters with blow torches burn large piles of bodies.
- Characters are shot off a mountain.
- Two characters have a sword fight. One eventually slices through the other.
- A character repeatedly bashes a rock into the helmet of another character.
- The bodies of Harkonnen soldiers are stacked in an enormous pile, and a worm is summoned to eat them. They’re swallowed in a single gulp by its wide, tooth-filled mouth.
- A character grabs an officer’s face and repeatedly slams him into a control panel. He then shouts at his subordinates, ‘Kill them all!’
- There are numerous fight scenes in which Fremen rebels defend Arrakis against Harkonnen invaders. Numerous characters are shot or stabbed.
- Fremen rebels burst out of the sand and attack. They stab their opponents or place explosives onto the invaders’ machinery.
- Chani shoots an invader with a rocket launcher and propels the man into the side of a machine, which explodes.
- Fremen fighters shoot at and destroy Harkonnen weaponry, aircraft and personnel.
- A character describes the massacre of their family.
- The Fremen fighters target Harkonnen ships, shooting them down from the sky.
- Women scream behind closed doors. There’s a loud bang, and shortly thereafter the bloody bodies of 2 women are shown on the floor.
- Paul has visions of a future where millions of people starve to death because of him.
- The Fremen blow up a spice depot so the Harkonnen can’t have it.
- A man threatens to kill a woman.
- A commander breaks a pilot’s neck.
- Harkonnen fighter ships destroy a Fremen sacred site.
- One man is shot, a second man is stabbed, and a third has his throat cut.
- A rebel fighter nearly kills a Harkonnen leader. The rebel is shot after nearly strangling the Harkonnen to death.
- Feyd-Rautha cuts his own tongue and then stabs 2 women to death.
- Feyd-Rautha uses swords to fight 3 men in an arena. He stabs them and slits the neck of one.
- Characters fight with swords, as well as hitting, kicking, punching and stabbing each other.
- A character is about to stab Feyd-Rautha, but at the last minute Feyd-Rautha kills him.
- One character says, ‘I ought to drown you in your tub’.
- It’s rumoured that Feyd-Rautha killed his own mother.
- Explosions fill the air as the Fremen launch an attack against Harkonnen forces.
- A ship lands and then immediately explodes.
- Paul mentions that if he goes south, he sees millions of corpses on the ground. If he goes north, all his visions lead to war.
- A man tells Paul that he knows where Paul’s father hid the family atomics. Paul later explains to some Fremen that they have enough atomic warheads to blow up the planet.
- A character strangles a baby worm and drowns it in water. He then stabs something into its body and drains the blue fluid that flows out.
- The Harkonnen destroy Fremen temples and holy water.
- One character slices a man in the neck.
- One character says to another, ‘Kiss my feet or die’.
- Injured and dead Fremen are shown after a bombing, including children who are covered in blood and dust.
- The Harkonnen firebomb birds and their nests. The charred bodies of the birds fall to the ground.
- Chani slaps Paul across the face.
- Paul takes a forbidden poison and is on the brink of death but then is brought back to life. He then claims that no-one can stand against him.
- Two men are knocked in the back of the head with swords.
- The Fremen shoot missiles at an enemy base, trying to destroy their forces.
- Multiple worms help the Fremen to attack the enemy base.
- Harkonnen aircraft shoot at the worms. Many of them fly into a desert storm and explode.
- The Fremen and Harkonnen armies clash. There is sword fighting, slashing and stabbing.
- Paul stabs a character in the side of the neck.
- A man is stabbed in the neck after he tries to kill someone else.
- Piles of bodies are burned with a blow torch.
- Ants crawl all over a dead body.
- The Emperor admits to killing Paul’s father because he believed that he was weak.
- Paul and Feyd-Rautha fight with swords and knives. Paul is stabbed twice in the chest. He grabs Feyd-Rautha’s blade, and it slides through his hands.
- Paul stabs Feyd-Rautha in the heart and announces that the holy war has begun.
Sexual references
Dune: Part Two has some sexual references. For example:
- A woman is pregnant. There’s some debate about the father of her child, and there are several shots of the fetus inside her body.
- A character is described as sexually vulnerable.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Dune: Part Two shows some use of substances. For example:
- A blue poison is consumed. It often leads to death, but it gives special people knowledge of the past and the power to see things in the future.
- Chani tells Paul that he walks on the sand ‘like a drunk lizard’.
- Spice is depicted as a good substance (sometimes even found in food) but also one that can be addictive and that everyone wants.
Nudity and sexual activity
Dune: Part Two has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Chani and Paul kiss.
- Chani lies on top of Paul. They are both panting, their faces are close together, and it looks like they’re naked and have just had sex.
- The Baron is shown getting out of a special bath. His bare bottom is shown, along with alien-like technology running down his spine.
Product placement
There’s no product placement in Dune: Part Two.
Coarse language
Dune: Part Two has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Dune: Part Two is a science fiction fantasy adventure that picks up where Dune (2021) left off. Based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, the movie features an epic storyline, excellent cinematography and a well-cast group of characters. It isn’t appropriate for young children and is best suited to older teenagers and adults.
These are the main messages from Dune: Part Two:
- Great things can be achieved with teamwork.
- You can’t see the future without seeing the past.
Values in Dune: Part Two that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, trust, courage, empathy and persistence.
Dune: Part Two could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like:
- using violence to solve conflict
- trying to eradicate a civilization just to get what it possesses
- betraying others or going through life being deceitful
- using power and perception for personal gain, regardless of its effects on people around you
- focusing on revenge
- ravaging a planet for its resources
- believing fanatically in religion.