MovieChat Forums > Dune: Part Two (2024) Discussion > Zendaya's acting is criminally bad

Zendaya's acting is criminally bad


All the other actors live up to the task, but Zendaya's acting is hammy af. When she's worried, angry and/or perplexed, she frowns. When she's happy, she cracks a smile. But that's not how acting works, you over-hyped twat!

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I have no idea why is she getting roles

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she sucked, and was unpleasant to look at. good movie but she took away from it a bit

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She was miscast and the character was badly written. I wouldn't put too much blame on her acting except to say maybe the role was outside of her range.

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Wow, I definitely love movies but sometimes this website is weird af.

I'll never get why certain people here hate Zendaya and similar actresses this much. She's just one of these young, in vogue, actresses. I'm sure she'll stop being trendy at some point but meanwhile you'll see her in big blockbusters and there's not much you can do about it.

So guys, do yourselves a favor and just get over it. If you really love movies that much, I'm sure your passion for them will outlive her stardom.

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The website is called MovieChat, and the purpose of it is to chat about movies. If a particular actress happens to be currently popular and appears in many prominent movies, then it is natural that she would be a frequent topic of conversation.

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What I said was obviously not about the fact that she's a topic of conversation. Don't be disingenuous, people are not that stupid.

It was about how they always say the same things about her: how much they hate her, how young she looks and how much they think she's annoying in any way they can think of (eg.: she's a grumpy looking young woman). Oh and let's not forget the classic: "she doesn't deserve the spotlight!!!!11"

She'll be famous for a long while. You guys are wasting your energy with these threads.

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Don't you watch tv? Half the women in prime time are switch hitters.

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She had moments when she had amazing but subtle range, I was like ... wow . Beside those moments ... too static.

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Meh, I thought her acting was acceptable. It's just that the role itself felt kind of boring. For example in the final fight with Feyd it would feel more visceral if she felt concerned about Paul and showed audible concern that Feyd would then pick up on, instead of having her be always trying to be stoic and angry at everything, which just feels stupid.

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I'm back-and-forth on her performance in this film. Parts of it she seems kinda flat and lacks nuance. Parts seem like she's too childish. But there are a few moments - mostly towards the end - that I loved.

So, first, there's no excuse for her "flat" moments, other than the fact that the character is a bit stoic and that can be hard to do on-screen. Clint Eastwood is really good at being both stoic and dynamic, but it's a rare gift. Zendaya might either not have "it" or not have the experience necessary.

Still, for the record, I think mostly she's "fine," she's just not great.

As to the "childish" moments, this might not be fair. Zendaya looks young. Maybe this is just a miscasting issue, but it's certainly not her fault if her fully adult face still looks like a child's face, and therefore a little pouty, when she's angry or frustrated. Now, this doesn't change the fact that some of those scenes fell flat for me - because she seems a bit immature - but I can't blame Zendaya for that. This isn't an acting problem. This is just a typecasting issue. The worst I can say about that is that she can't (or didn't) rise above her "type," which is extremely hard to do. Not many people can get an audience to forget their physical reality. So, again, while sometimes this made me less than thrilled with her performance, I can't put it as a strike against her ability.

But I'll finish off with a moment that I think was worth whatever else was going on with Zendaya. And there are SPOILERS below.

Towards the end of the film, Paul and Chani are growing farther and farther apart. She's never been angrier with him, and she unleashes some fury his way. Something like that. And Paul goes over to her and says, "I want you to know: I will love you as long as I breathe." And he's saying, "I understand the situation and the rift between us, but this is still true." And she takes that in, recognises it, and fights to keep down the love and sorrow she feels. We see her face spasm a bit, and Zendaya perfectly blends the confusion, conflict, sorrow, and anger that Chani is experiencing. It's truly subtle and a really difficult work is accomplished, showing us about three layers of emotion and thought within that character.

So, ultimately, I think Zendaya did a good job. Imperfect and flawed, yes, but overall she was worth it.

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