The accounting departments of rival studios must be crazy good at their jobs, it’s the only excuse for recent blockbusters looking as cheap as they do with massive budgets while the “Dune” series looks far better with less costs.

“Dune: Part Two” is the follow-up to the 2021 film, both based on Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name. In the film, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) unites with the native Fremen people (led by Javier Bardem and Zendaya) to wage war against the Emperor (Christopher Walkin). Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, and Charlotte Rampling reprise their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Léa Seydoux joining the cast. Denis Villeneuve returns to direct and co-write the screenplay with Jon Spaihts.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first “Dune.” I get why there’s an audience for it and can appreciate how well-crafted it is (especially with a budget of “only” $165 million, compared to the $250 million that superhero films get), but I found the excessive lore cumbersome and far too often the film was just, boring. I was still interested in the sequel because Villeneuve is a talented filmmaker (though his thriller films like “Prisoners” are better than his sci-fi joints), and people familiar with the book noted the second half of it (which this film is based on) as more eventful than the first. And while I am still not as enamored with the world as so many others, “Part Two” is an undeniable improvement upon its predecessor and achievement in science-fiction filmmaking.

Timothée Chalamet is a talented actor, and has shown he can work in both small dramas (“Call Me by Your Name”) and fun big-budget films (“Wonka”). He is given much more to do here than in the first “Dune,” having to balance serving as the perceived savior of a people and avenging his own family’s slaughter. Chalamet has some delicate moments with Zendaya (who herself has some badass moments, but spends much of the runtime staring at Chalamet like a disappointed puppy), but he also has some darker scenes, too. Forced to either accept his fate or at least play the part of fulfilling the messiah prophecy of Javier Bardem’s people, Chalamet plays conflicted well, and even if at times it’s hard to completely buy into a long-haired teenager named Paul as a powerful warlord, he does an effective job selling it.

Bardem is given a chance to be much more comedic this time around, and the film benefits greatly from it. Austin Butler (known and parodied for going full-method with his portrayal of Elvis in 2022) is effective as the bad guy, even if his voice does sound like it’s halfway between still being the King and fully recovered to Butler’s normal pitch. Butler’s screen presence is felt when he’s there, but he’s not introduced until an hour into the film and then probably has 10 minutes of screentime after that. I feel like if he was introduced (or at least hinted at) in the first film it would’ve made his impact on the plot greater (similar to how Darth Maul was a wasted one-and-done villain).

The action sequences here are pretty great, with practical sets and effects that aid the scene, instead of trying to be the scene themself, and unlike many PG-13 action films there’s not much shaky cam or bloodless action (only a little bit of both). The world of Arrakis, full of sun and sand, is wonderfully shot (in Budapest and Abu Dhabi), even if every scene taking place in the desert may get repetitive for some after a while.

The first film is weighed down by a large amount of worldbuilding, and it made sitting through parts a chore. This time around, with the planets, families, and prophecies already in place, we get right into the action, and even the story-specific rules and legends that we are introduced to seem a little less dense this time around.

One of my issues with both films is I find they struggle to balance tone at times. There are some dark moments, some exciting ones, and some parts that are downright goofy, but Villeneuve is such a cold and calculated director that it’s all played straight-faced, so you can only laugh at the film, rather than with it.

“Dune: Part Two” improves on the first film in near every department, and if I’m going from “meh” to “it’s solid,” then I’m sure fans of the series are going to lose their minds over it. For better or worse Villeneuve is in complete control of his craft here, and it’s appreciated to see a studio give such an expensive project to a director with seemingly no notes. I don’t quite subscribe to the “this is the ‘Star Wars’ of the new generation, we are witnessing history” talk that I’m sure will come (Christopher Nolan already called it the next “Empire Strikes Back”), but the film is an undeniable visual achievement that I’m sure will awe the intended audience while still being able to satisfy casual filmgoers.

Critics Rating: 7/10