Dune: Part Two has officially become the box office messiah, dominating with a global gross of $178.5 million on its opening weekend. But if you haven’t had time to watch the 2-hour and 35-minute first chapter, fear not.
Unlike your Marvel Cinematic Universe fare, you don’t need to go into the sequel armed with 16 years of backstory. Denis Villeneuve himself has given us his blessing to enjoy Part Two without having watched Part One.
Speaking recently to Moviefone, the filmmaker riffed on his approach to Dune: Part Two concerning its status as a sequel. While viewers will (of course) be more satisfied if they’ve seen the first film, he also believes that enough nods to Part One are baked into the “autonomous” sequel for it to ultimately stand on its own.
“I think it’s a good question. First, it was important for me that the movie would be kind of autonomous, meaning that someone who has not seen ‘Dune’ could still enjoy ‘Part Two.’ So, we gave enough hints at the beginning of the story to make sure that it was kind of autonomous. Of course, it’s a better journey if you have seen ‘Dune,’ but I tried that.”
As someone who’s seen both, I’m going to have to whip out my “hard disagree” card on this one. You can, of course, enjoy the explosive nature of Part Two just fine by itself, especially if you’re lucky enough to have access to an IMAX screen. But where Part Two falls short—insofar as it’s capable of falling short—is in its softer filmmaking elements. Things like theme and plot and character chemistry simply don’t keep up with the sandworm rides and the rest of Dune: Part Two‘s more heart-pumping aspects.
And this was with the context of Dune: Part One fresh in my head. Without the first film’s quieter supplementation, that relative weakness would have been much more pronounced. Do what you will if you haven’t yet seen Part Two yet, but I strongly recommend diving into the first film beforehand.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
