2024 has been a wild, wild time at the movies. Nicolas Cage embodied his own mother inLonglegs. Paul Mescal and Aandrew Scott made us cry (no surprise there) inAll of Us Strangers. Yorgos Lanthimos got weird, twice, withPoor ThingsandKinds of Kindness. A24 turned their hand to making a movie with cool ‘splosions withCivil War. And, Wim Wenders made us want to quit our jobs to become toilet cleaners withPerfect Days. But, as the year is officially at an end,IMDbhas unveiled the best-reviewed movie of the year, and it should surprise very few people that it’sDune: Part Two.
Dune: Part Twoholds an astonishing 8.5/10 rating on IMDb.While it has become easier for movies to seem highly rated with the boom in popularity of Rotten Tomatoes, a film achieving such a high score on IMDb is an impressive feat. As well as being the highest-rated movie of 2024,Dune Part Twois currently the 54th greatest film of all-time according to the site’s score-based rankings. It sits just ahead of Sergio Leone’sOnce Upon a Time in the West, and just behind Alfred Hitchcock’sRear Window, which is some incredible company to be among. In second place for 2024 wasThe Wild Robot, which has rightly been dubbed 2024’s best animated movie by almost everyone. In third place is therecently releasedThe Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody.
Dune Part Twois Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to 2021’sDune. Based on the eponymous novel by Frank Herbert,Part Twofollowed Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) after the decimation of his house left him wandering the desert planet of Arrakis with Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). After besting one of the Fremen’s best fighters, Paul was accepted as one of their own, with Lady Jessica hellbent on fulfilling the prophecy of the LIsan al-Gaib, making Paul the Fremen’s messiah. The official synopsis reads:
“Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”
Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Movies Are Deserving of Their High Praise
For Denis Villeneuve to have made two immensely successful (both critically and commercially) sci-fi blockbusters is an amazing feat in itself. Anyone who works in the industry will tell you it’s a miracle that any film gets made at all, let alone two that are so good. But, what’s more impressive is that Frank Herbert’s novel has long been considered unadaptable. TheDunenovel,and its sequel,Dune: Messiah,are dense, politically charged books, with an awkward writing style — Herbert famously wrote about characters reflecting on grand action, rather than actually being in the scenes.
Denis Villeneuve Won’t Adapt Frank Herbert’s Strange Third Dune Book, Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing
Denis Villeneuve will not return to direct Children of Dune after completing his trilogy with Dune Messiah, and that’s good for him and the franchise.
It should be pointed out that Villeneuve’s films aren’t perfect adaptations. They omit large parts of the book, and exclude some major characters and factions. But, the French-Candian director still cuts through to the philosophical and moral core of the books, as Paul questions the multitude of prophecies surrounding his own messianic status among the Fremen. Villeneuve will round out his trilogy inthe upcomingDune: Messiah,which, if he sticks closely to the novel, means things are going to get very weird for Paul.
Dune: Part Two
