Denis Villeneuve aced the tricky part with the tantalising first half of his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel Dune. Plot strands and characters previously omitted are revived to strengthen this continuation and conclusion, with Timothée Chalamet’s central performance as Paul Atreides one of many elements taken to another level. 

Tracing a path from humble novice to uncertain prophet and full-blown messiah requires a transformative turn Chalamet ably delivers. With his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) adopted by the Fremen of desert planet Arrakis, Atreides wins over Chani (Zendaya) and her fellow freedom fighters with humility, taming the mighty sandworms to ride them into battle and kick off a holy war against the spice-greedy House Harkonnen.

Seamlessly bolted on to the previous chapter, with a larger cast, wider focus and comprehensible, sublime action set-pieces, Dune: Part Two vindicates Villeneuve’s gamble to hold back key characters from the first film, notably Austin Butler’s fearsome Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Sting’s role in David Lynch’s version). Florence Pugh plays Princess Irulan, with Christopher Walken as her father Shaddam IV (ideal casting as the ‘Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe’).

With other worlds to conquer in Dune books and lore, this satisfying entry won’t be the last word on space rats and bagpipes, yet this instalment of the Emperor’s ‘friction with the Fremen’ works because it’s treated with such exotic gravity. Paul Atreides’ hero journey has been ripped off a thousand times since 1965, but Villeneuve’s state-of-the art Dune offers a unique brand of inscrutable alien cultures and other-worldly cinematic spice. 

Dune: Part Two is in cinemas from Friday 1 March.