Dune: Part 2 picks up right where the first left off. Co-writer/director Denis Villeneuve and co-writer Jon Spaihts set up the chessboard in Dune: Part 1. Now, they start making moves. Yes, Bobby Fischer, there’s going to be a third.
At the end of Dune: Part 1, the House Atreides has been vanquished. The sole heir, Paul (Timothée Chalamet), and his Bene Gesserit mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), have met a band of Fremen led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Paul’s future love, Chani (Zendaya). The Harkonnens have returned to resume spice harvesting, but the Fremen have made it almost impossible to restart production.

“…concoct a scheme for Paul to fully embrace his role as Arrakis’ Messiah to free the planet’s people and restore paradise…”
Upset with the situation, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) sends his nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) to do the job his cousin Rabban (Dave Bautista) could not. He proves quite effective and sadistic, to boot. With the Fremen still unable to trust Paul, he and Jessica concoct a scheme for Paul to fully embrace his role as Arrakis’ Messiah to free the planet’s people and restore paradise once again to the desert planet. 
My thoughts on Dune: Part 2 start with the fact that I’m just a normie who had a good time. Having not read the books, I can’t gush like many of my friends. But this represents the return of the sci-fi epic, the likes of which I haven’t seen since Avengers: End Game. However, Dune as a story is dense, meaning it could be easier to follow. I didn’t mention all the other houses led by the Emperor (Christopher Walken), who planned the destruction of House Atreides. Then there’s the religious aspect, told through the Bene Gesserit’s Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) and her very fertile followers Princes Irulan (Florence Pugh) and Lady Margot Fenring (Léa Seydoux).