Only a few:
-Javier Bardem's accent at time slurs his English words making it indiscernible.
-Subtitles for Fremen speak sometimes don't appear in time when the characters are speaking leading to a delay.
-Shield in Dune 1 at least gave people using hand-to-hand a couple of hits before succumbing to blade penetration but in Dune 2 they are mostly useless or very inconsistent. (eg: Feyd-Rautha fighting the last remaining Atreides works wonders but in large battles they usually die with one hit while the shield blurs blue instead of red.)
-Way too many Houses. It's like a Game of Thrones but on a desert planet filled with THC. I am hoping to see the Holy War unfold though if they make a 3rd movie.
-I wish we got to see more of each of the House's military hardware used. Most of the fighting was hand to hand. Never got to see any Harkonnen tanks or the Emperor Shaddam's own imperium arsenal.
-Sardaukar were really disappointing this time around. Such elite units got easily mowed down.
-If all House's have nukes, why didn't the Emperor bring his own batch to reclaim the throne?
Bsically agree with most you said +
- no Thufir Hawat
- too much Chani
- deaths changed just for the sake of simplicity
- too little Shaddam IV(I love Christopher Walken)
I was afraid the arena scene would not be in the film, but they screwed it up so much, they were better off not having it at all.
No poison knives, no conversation between the Baron and the Count about making Dune into a prison planet, no Atreides soldier almost killing Feyd, no plots by Feyd to murder the Baron, nothing on Feyd killing all of the female slaves in the pleasure wing with his own hands as punishment for plotting to kill the Baron. Boringggggggggggg.
It was like they invented a new character for Paul to interact with, then named her Chani. While part 1 was a good adaptation of the book, part 2 was nearly an adaptation in name only.
That's for Dune Messiah which is in Book 2 if I recall. They only covered Book 1 in two parts. Chani in the book was indeed always beside him, even when he took Irulan as his bride to be. This one looks like she hates the Lisan al Gaib prophecy so she goes off to do girl boss stuff. I wonder if the movie continuation will make some redemption arc for her since she has a sad ending after having the children.
-- At the end, Wonka gets stabbed in the side, then held a blade back with his bare hand, then got stabbed in the chest/shoulder...with the limited doctors/hospitals on Arrakis (and by limited, I'm thinking "none")...he should have died! Seemed like he just sort of "walked off" multiple stab wounds!
-- How did the Natives get the worms to drop them off where they wanted to go?! The worms usually burrowed under the sand...why not just go deep down into the sand if you're the worm and make it impossible for whatever is on your back to breathe?! Or just go back out into the deep desert. Seems like Wonka and the Natives just steered the worms like they were tamed horses. Then got the worms to drop him off without attempting to attack him again. Was a bit far-fetched.
-- So when Wonka and the clan is walking through the desert, they're wearing the water suits. Then when they're in the caves, they're wearing the Muslim-like garb. Exactly where are they keeping their change of clothes?! They have no suitcases, they're not wearing backpacks, they're not carrying them...the correct clothes just magically appear on them whenever they're in one environment or the other.
-- I understand the Muslim-like clothing in a desert setting, I get it. You're trying to keep the sun off you. But it seemed they sort of over-did it. Like they were dressed for winter rather than a nomad traversing the desert. Scarves. Multiple layers of clothing. What seemed like capes. Nobody ever seemed to break out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt at night time, still the same old stanky cloaks. I think they went overboard on the clothes.
-- So no showers for 20 years...and you're still gonna bang that girl?! No wayyyy! I'd need a clothespin for my nose in order to attack that! Not really sure how much toothpaste and mouthwash she was going through either but it didn't seem like much! And after the stinky sex, did they STILL not shower?! I don't think I seen any plumbing on Arrakis!
The Fremen were not hunter/gathers. They had their own industrial base and education system. The book talks about it very little, and the film even less.
The hooks they used to open up a scale and expose the sensitive tissue underneath stopped the worm from going under again. The book explained that a worm that was forced to stay on the surface would go back down and sulk for a while after being released.
They store extra clothes in the caves? I keep belongings in three states and two countries so I don't need to check luggage all the time.
The Fremen were not the only ones who were not shown with showers/toilets. Why not assume they exist anyway?
As far as the clothes go though...they were on the move. Somehow those clothes were traveling with them.
And the toilets...These guys were cave-monkeys! Nobody owned their own condo or anything. I didn't see even one public restroom. Didn't appear to be any electricity or plumbing. I'm just saying...I'm not sure these guys had a public sanitation system.
They didn't like someone wasting puke or even one teardrop of water...but if you have plumbing, you have a gray-water sanitation system at the very least. With a population as large as I seen in some scenes in the caves, lots and lots of water would be necessary for drinking, cooking, bathing and sanitation. It didn't seem that desert planet was capable of producing that much water...and if it was, what's the worry about losing a teardrop?!
It would be safe to assume that everyone on Dune would recycle all water. The Fremen recycled urine and feces in their stillsuits, no reason to think they would not recycle all moisture anywhere else they lived.
-I'm surprised they didn't quickly harvest his water right there in case he succumbed. The real joke is pulling the blades out after being stabbed because reality is, if you take it out instead of leaving it in, blood just gushes out from the gaping wound. This is why when you're stabbed you leave it in until EMS then hospital can deal with it.
-Maybe it has to do with opening those air holes under the hard carapace that directs them not only to turn but to stay above ground? My biggest issue is how they were able to propel themselves straight forward so fast without any form of movement (ie: snake or earthworm). They eat a shit ton of sand so do they shit them out just as fast to propel forward?
-As you said, they change when they're in caves so those caves probably have them stored in places they frequently access. Sometimes they wear the hijab over their suits as well.
-If you've even been to Saudi Arabia or any other Middle Eastern nation in the dessert, this isn't such a uncommon thing to do. Hell, they even wear fully clothed during volleyball and in the summer to boot.
-Diet there is different and the spice keeps everyone high so the stank is just gunja with a twist. If cavemen were able to fuck back in the day so can those in Arrakis.
Considering how all the houses would've ganged up on the Emperor, I don't see why not. He was on his YOLO stage once they found out he ordered House Atreides eradicated at the behest of the Benne Gesserit.
I really struggle to find fault with this film, coupled with Part 1 it is one of the best sci-fi films I've ever seen. The changes from the book really worked for me as this film focused on Paul, Chani, Jessica and Feyd the most and less on the weirder stuff from the book. The whole point of Dune (according to Frank Herbert) is a warning of the danger of putting your faith in charismatic leaders and this film goes out of its way to demonstrate that with both Paul and Jessica's actions as they use their abilities to manipulate the Fremen. Chani not liking who Paul had become was great, it added unexpected conflict and drama to the film and made it more emotionally powerful.
Would have loved if Warner Bros had allowed Denis to film extended versions for both parts like Peter Jackson was able to do with his Lord of the Rings films as I would love some more scenes with the Baron, the Emperor, the Princess and other characters so that's my main 'gripe' with the film. I'm still just grateful we got this visually breathtaking adaptation of one of the best sci-fi novels ever written.
Yeah, feels like a missed opportunity to not do longer versions to be released to hardcore fans.
My only real complaint was Chani turning on Paul and leaving at the end. I can only assume it's setting something up if he gets to do Dune Messiah, but even that feels hard to square with how that book goes.
I thought a lot over the last couple of years about how you do Alia without it looking ridiculous. I am not sure it's possible. A 2 year old running around stabbing people and being wiser than almost everyone else. I think the change they made worked. No complaints about it.