(trailer review) - Dune: Part 3

(TEASER TRAILER) 

The previous trailer for this film did absolutely nothing for me. Maybe it was the mood I was in, or maybe it's because I loved the first two films so much that I was already sold. At this point, I don't need convincing—I just want to watch the movie. So, you'd think another trailer wouldn't change my mind. Well... I've done a complete 180. This is the trailer that got me excited. Maybe it's because release day is finally creeping closer, but this looks absolutely phenomenal.

The trailer opens with Paul confronting Chani as she angrily reminds him that she trusted him, and that he swore he'd never seize power in his own name. Their confrontation is intercut with flashes of happier times, brutal battles, and Paul walking away from absolute devastation. It's an emotional opening that immediately sets the tone.

Things only escalate from there. Paul asks, "What do you know about me?" before someone replies, "You have conquered the galaxy. You have destroyed thousands of worlds, and I think you are way beyond redemption." That's a hell of a line. We then get what initially looks like a sparring session before it's revealed to be a fight with someone who looks like Duncan, who claims to have brought Paul a peace proposal that would ultimately destroy him.

Then the trailer just starts showing off. Massive battles, our best look yet at Robert Pattinson's mysterious character Feyd-Rau, the Fremen standing on a beach with crashing waves—a visual I never expected to see in Dune—and the princess, played by Florence Pugh, warning that anyone trying to stop Paul has just signed their own death warrant. Feyd-Rau says, "I've found someone," before Chani slams her fist into the sand and summons a sandworm, all cut together with more breathtaking action. The trailer ends with Paul simply saying, "I'm sorry."

Visually, this looks every bit as spectacular as the previous films, but this trailer also feels far more emotionally charged. It hints at the consequences of Paul's choices, raises plenty of questions, and somehow leaves me wanting even more. Mission accomplished.