Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is less sequel than second act. That’s surely no surprise to anyone who remembers the director’s initial screen dance with Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 science fiction novel. The 2021 film Dune was defiantly inconclusive, covering only the first half, roughly, of its source material and practically ending mid-sentence as if to coax audiences — and studio powers-that-be — to demand “And…?” with breathless urgency. Dune: Part Two makes only the barest feints at catching up the uninitiated or forgetful before continuing the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the young royal with special abilities who allies with the Freman people of the planet Arrakis against the despotic Harkonnen family. Villeneuve expects that everyone who buys a ticket has already streamed their homework.

I think it’s also possible that strict plot coherence is more of a tangential concern for Villeneuve. Much as he and the film’s co-credited screenwriter, Jon Spaihts, do stalwart work in smelting the vast, trippy, intergalactic gamesmanship of Herbert’s original narrative into a sharp sword of storytelling, there’s also a strong sense that Villeneuve is more invested in existing in the fictional world than explaining it. Although that prioritization could be a shortcoming, Villeneuve makes it a strength. With consistently sound judgement, he knows when to sprawl out the lore like a bedspread-sized map of the seas and when he can simply rely on the audience’s quick understanding of basic dramatic conflict to provide sturdy enough framework for another lavish set piece. In every craft detail, Dune: Part Two is exquisitely realized, outpacing even its justly lauded predecessor. Greig Fraser’s cinematography, Jacqueline West’s costumes, and the loaded art direction department’s design work are all nothing short of stunning.

If Villeneuve mostly weaves around and away from tediously dendrological examination of the towering family trees, he charges headfirst at the weightier themes of Herbert’s work. Herbert was frustrated that some of his points about the toxic influences of faith and power were missed by readers indoctrinated to revere the standard hero’s journey, which contributed to him penning enough corrective follow-up Dune novels to stock a shelf all on their own. Villeneuve minimizes the chance for similar obliviousness from moviegoers by raising the darker, more cynical undercurrents so they eddy furiously on the surface. Dune: Part Two is openly scathing about zealotry and overt in depicting the callousness and cruelty that rots the souls of those who become enthralled with their own influence and authority.

The main shortcoming of Dune: Part Two, I assert with some surprise and much regret, is Chalamet’s performance. He’s better in the film’s latter portions, when Paul picks up a high-on-his-own-supply fervor. Until then, though, Chalamet is remarkably flat, utterly unable to unlock the inner conflicts and uncertainty of his character. He demonstrated precisely that actorly skill in plumbing the unsettled being of a character in his breakthrough role in Call Me By You Name, so his inability to do the same with this well-drawn and thoroughly sourced character is perplexing. It’s not that the spectacle of Dune: Part Two subsumes performer nuance. The film boasts intensely strong acting from Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, and, operating at a level of thrilling invention, Javier Bardem. Villeneuve allows room for the actors to create distinctive, memorable, layered characters; Chalamet simply doesn’t occupy that space.

Despite the flaws, Villeneuve’s two-piece set of Dune films swells with a fantastical grandeur and fulfillment of daunting ambition that recalls director Peter Jackson’s first trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien screen adaptations. In making these movies, Villeneuve respected Herbert’s art enough to preserve its intellectual core while also carefully reshaping it to suit a different medium. The director takes a serious approach to material that other filmmakers might have hollowed out to transform it into easy blockbuster fodder. With determination, Villeneuve ensured that Dune: Part Two is a film that matters.