Dune 2 kicks ass (literally)

I knew what I was getting into when I sat down for a press screening of the Dune part 2: A towering sci-fi epic best viewed on a huge theater screen, just like . What I didn’t realize was that he was also going to give me a serious back massage – really kicking ass. That was my experience at an AMC in the Atlanta area, where the film excited the Dolby Cinema seats to such a frenzy that for one thrilling sequence I felt like I was actually riding a sandworm plowing through the spice-filled desert of Arrakis.

Now I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same ride in a normal theater (unless the subwoofer is turned up obscenely high). What makes AMC’s Dolby Cinema locations unique is that they feature growling transducers in every seatback, in addition to powerful dual laser Dolby Vision projectors and Atmos surround sound. I’ve seen tons of movies at AMC Dolby Cinemas since these screens started rolling out in 2017, but Dune part 2 is the first time the tactile seats actually felt like they enhanced my movie-going experience. When I rushed to the bathroom halfway through the movie, I noticed that my body was still vibrating, the way you feel after a deep massage from experienced fingers.

Technically, it’s still better to watch Dune part 2 in IMAX theaters — is actually shot for that huge format, and real IMAX theaters also provide enough loud low-end sound to shake your core without the need for snarling seats. But full-size IMAX screens are hard to find, and for most viewers in the US, it will probably be easier to find an AMC Dolby Cinema nearby.

Let’s be clear: I love the moving seats and the different weather effects in 4DX theaters. So I’m genuinely surprised at how much I appreciated a good dose of reclining Dune part 2. Maybe it’s because the film is also great for fans – not that I expected any less from Villeneuve, a director who turned the first Dune into a cinematic feast and also miraculously managed to deliver .

Dune part 2 picks up where the first film abruptly ended, with Paul Atreides and his mother making their way through the desert with its native inhabitants, the Fremen. It’s immediately clear that this isn’t really a sequel to the first film, it’s really a second half, with all the action and more spectacle that many felt was missing before.

Personally, though, I just loved going back to Villeneuve’s vision of Frank Herbert’s universe. As much as I appreciate the bombastic costumes and environments from David Lynch Dune adaptation, I find this iteration far more compelling: every room seems truly inhabited, every custom feels like the organic outgrowth of a society that’s existed for thousands of years. It’s the kind of attention to detail we don’t often see in film and television today, when it’s easier to shoot fake desert scenes on ILM’s StageCraft set (aka “The Volume,” the technology that was ).

Even if you don’t see in the end Dune part 2 in Dolby Cinema (I swear, this is not an ad), this is a film worth seeing on the big screen. Its sheer scale and ambition can’t be captured by a TV, and its complex soundscape (including Hans Zimmer, who pushes himself enormously for the score) deserves more than flat-screen T-shirt speakers or a simple soundbar.

Dune it always seemed like an unwieldy piece of work, something so massive it could only exist in Frank Herbert’s mushroom-filled dreams. But again, Villeneuve and his creative team seem to have done the impossible: They’ve turned the fantasy on its head Dune in cinematic reality. You owe it to yourself to pay tribute.