Dune 2: A Denied Catharsis

This is not so much an essay concerning Dune 2, but rather what Dune 2 reveals about the state of modern entertainment. If you want a review, the movie is good—bordering on great even. It’s a standout amongst all the trash that passes for moviemaking in 2024, and I’m sure it will be remembered fondly for a long time to come. Dune 2 is not a masterpiece, but it is one of the last actually good movies Hollywood will ever make, and so it does deserve the high acclaim. TLDR, Isaac Young scores it a 9/10.

BUT I can’t say I was enraptured by Dune 2 as so many others were. For every emotionally stirring scene and triumphant flare of music, I was sitting in my chair wondering where this type of movie had been for this last twenty years.

Dune 2 is the first movie I can recall that takes organized religion seriously. It’s not necessarily a good interpretation of organized religion, but for the first time in cinema, I saw something resembling genuine fervor. And that’s not something Hollywood usually lets you see.

This exception was allowed because the Fremen bathe themselves in Islamic aesthetics. Many will interpret the film as a Muslim allegory, and even though the book is far more complex than that, what matters is appearance. Consumers see sand people running around, and that’s all their brains need (or so Hollywood thinks).

But this all felt like a slap in my face. When was the last time you saw a Christian prophet preaching fire and brimstone? When was the last time you saw a Christian example of martial virtue? Where are our guys, flying around in spaceships and fighting holy crusades against demonic enemies?

I know why they don’t make those sorts of movies. You know why they don’t make those sorts of movies. And here we both sit, watching a movie that shows infinitely more reverence to a fake religion on a fake planet. And what? Am I supposed to clap? Am I supposed to be entertained? Am I supposed to turn off my brain and enjoy product?

I tried. I really tried. However, I can’t ignore this nauseating feeling in my gut. When I see Stilgar rebuking Chani for disrupting prayer, when I see holy rituals and ceremonies and hymns, when I see a genuine portrayal of blasphemy taken seriously, it makes my blood boil. I hate that we have to live these realities through several layers of meta irony and detachment. It’s always someone else who gets to demand reverence, someone else who gets to demand their holy things.

Dune 2 is the movie that Hollywood has been denying Christians for my entire life, and I hate that. And I’m still waiting for the day when we get our movie.