The film Dune: Part Two by Denis Villeneuve received widespread praise in the Canadian and international press after the critical embargo was lifted promptly at noon on Wednesday.
• Also read: Review of “Dune: Part Two”: Denis Villeneuve signs a great classic of science fiction cinema
“Denis Villeneuve's great Dune: Part II is the blockbuster we needed this year,” headlined Canadian English newspaper The Globe and Mail, calling the Quebec filmmaker's new film a “stunning achievement.”
The New York Post critic goes in the same vein, pointing out that thanks to this “brilliant sequel” “the bad streak of blockbusters is over.”
The film “Dune: Part II”, which is seen as the savior of a difficult box office situation since the beginning of the year, could gross 90 million in its first weekend in North American cinemas, according to experts' forecasts.
Most critics agree that this sequel to the adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction work is better than the first work released in 2021.
Some of them even go so far as to mention the word “masterpiece.”
“Denis Villeneuve understood Dune better than other cult creators [en l’occurrence David Lynch et Alejandro Jodorowsky] never understood, writes the Los Angeles Times, adding that the second part of this “colossal adaptation” is “a science fiction masterpiece.”
Spectacular
In an enthusiastic review, USA Today points out that in this second part of “Dune,” Denis Villeneuve managed to deepen his characters further without neglecting the spectacular aspect.
“Villeneuve amps up the action and sci-fi scenes by staging more space battles, more brutal sword fights and more insect-shaped helicopters (which, honestly, are really cool),” notes the American daily's critic.
Dune: Part II, one of the most anticipated Hollywood films of the year, will hit theaters in Quebec on March 1. The feature film was originally scheduled to hit theaters in November last year, but was pushed back to March 1 due to strikes in Hollywood. The first part of the saga, released in fall 2021, grossed more than $400 million at the global box office and also won six Oscars.