Dune 2 becomes Denis Villeneuve’s highest rated movie with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

The reviews are in

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Dune 2is now director Denis Villeneuve’s highest rated movie onRotten Tomatoes, with a 97% score based on more than 100 reviews. The sequel to the 2021 sci-fi dramaDunebrings the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel to an epic conclusion.

Starring Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, it picks up after his family’s horrific betrayal from House Harkonnen. After he and Lady Jessica find themselves in the deserts of Arrakis, they unite with the Fremen people to wage war against the house that betrayed them. The sequel also stars Zendaya as Chani, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha.

The score on the film aggregation website is the highest of Villeneuve’s career so far, currently leading ahead ofArrivalon 94% andSicarioon 92%. However, it is worth noting that none of Villeneuve’s oeuvre is low-ranking, with his lowest rated filmEnemystill sitting at a 71% score. The director also doesn’t have critics ratings for all of his films.

Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive for the new film, including our own five-starDune: Part Two review. Total Film’s Kevin Harley writes: “Villeneuve wrangles coherence from Herbert’s unruly elements to deliver a sequel that ranks alongsideThe Dark Knight, The Empire Strikes Back – andBlade Runner 2049. No mere expansion pack for the dreamier Part One, it’s a completion (maybe…) of a story that might have appeared misleading, certainly incomplete, without it.”

Other critics have had similar sentiments, includingThe Independent’s Clarisse Loughreywho also gave it five stars. She writes: “There are moments in Dune: Part Two that feel so audacious, they play out as if they were already etched onto the cinematic canon.” Meanwhile, theGuardian’s Peter Bradshawwrites in his four-star review: “Denis Villeneuve’s monumental adaptation expands its extraordinary world of shimmering strangeness. It’s impossible to imagine anyone doing it better.”

Dune 2 arrives in theaters on March 1. For more, check out our guide to thebest sci-fi moviesof all time.

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I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I’ve also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.

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