‘Dune: Part Two’ 4K Ultra HD movie review

Director Denis Villeneuve concluded his cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s influential science-fiction novel with the release of the continuation of his masterpiece in Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, 166 minutes, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, $39.98), now available in the ultra-high definition format.

The second movie by Mr. Villeneuve sends viewers back to the dangerous desert planet of Arrakis, the home of the major source of the addictive spice drug melange.

Specifically, the story picks up after House Harkonnen’s army — led by the grotesquely evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and dunderheaded nephew Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) — has successfully attacked and wiped out House Atreides, including killing its leader Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac).

His son Paul (Timothée Chalamet) escapes with his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a Bene Gesserit (part of a witch-like, highly religious, political faction), and they plot a course of revenge, including challenging the distant Emperor (Christopher Walken).

This can occur only if they are accepted and embrace the culture of the planet’s indigenous residents, a secretive and stealthy group of tribes called the Fremen.

Paul, now referred to as Usul Muad’Dib must also accept his leadership role as the “Mahdi” (“the one who will lead us to paradise”), inspire the Fremen and make Arrakis free and green.

The cast shines throughout. Given plenty of room to define their characters, the actors include Josh Brolin as former Atreides military leader turned smuggler Gurney Halleck; Austin Butler as the baron’s psychotic, bloodthirsty nephew Feyd-Rautha; Zendaya as Paul’s Fremen love interest Chani; and Javier Bardem as Fremen tribe leader Stilgar.

Mr. Villeneuve’s vision exceeds expectations in both scope, technical merit, costuming and extreme, riveting action.

The engorged plot of the pair of films (roughly five hours in total) manages to intelligently condense but simply explain the complex themes and characters of the original 896-page novel.

His two-part “Dune” epic may go down as one of the best science fiction films of all time.

4K in action: The crisp presentation culled from a 4K master format continues to bring to the screen a living undulating desert concocted by Mr. Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser with moments such as the eclipsed sun offering a glowing orange tint to the environments, or a sandstorm enveloping the emperor’s silvery ball-shaped landing craft hovering above the Harkonnen’s stronghold on Arrakis.

Viewers also get a welcome expose of the massive terrain-shifting sand worms, including watching Paul finally getting a chance to ride one in a visually spectacular scene replete with waves of sand granules pelting the hero as his anchors grip the creature.

Other reference quality spotlights include the Harkonnen’s army attacking a mountainside in fiery, exploding splendor; a gladiatorial arena filled with chalky, pale-skinned Harkonnens watching Feyd-Rautha slaughter opponents; and Fremen blasting the enemy’s fluttering ornithopters (dragonfly-looking attack helicopters) out of the sky as they flame down into the sand.

Best extras: Warner Bros. offers a collection of eight, short production featurettes for those accessing the 4K disc, but owners will find the real bounty when using the included digital code and watching via a favorite streaming service including Fandango, Amazon Prime Video or iTunes for a couple of hours of bonus content.

The online collection starts with a 20-minute look at the cast and 11 key characters including Paul, all supplemented by interviews with the actors and director.

Viewers then get a quartet of encyclopedic, multimedia-style segments with narration called Filmbooks. They cover Dune mythology such as House Corrino, the Bene Gesserit reverend mother, the importance of water on Arrakis and the coming of the messiah to the desert planet.

A trio of inside-the-film segments (around five minutes each) follows, covering the fights between Gurney and Beast, Paul and Feyd-Rautha, and a focus on the effects and combat during the spice harvester attack sequence.

Featurettes that overlap the disc include another hour’s worth of information on production design, shooting locations, costuming, music, sound effects, the cinematic magic behind riding a sandworm, bringing to life the Freeman language of Chakobsa, a look at Beast’s flying thopter (a bumble bee-shaped troop transport), and Mr. Butler transforming into Feyd-Rautha.

All include interviews with key crew and cast such as Mr. Villeneuve, Mr. Fraser, production designer Patrice Vermette, producers Mary Parent and Tanya LaPointe, special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, prop master Doug Harlocker, dialect coach Fabien Enjalric, visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert, costume designer Jacqueline West and makeup effects artist Love Larson.