Score Review of Dune 2
As a musician and composer, the thing I loved most about Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021) was Hans Zimmer’s Academy Award winning score. When I heard news about a sequel, Dune: Part Two (2024), I was immediately interested in what the score would look like. Moreover, how it would carry over material from the first part and develop it in the climax of the story. Hans Zimmer did not disappoint, as the score of Dune: Part 2 is a clever and engaging expansion of the ideas from the first part while also introducing new material that matches the darker, epic nature of the film in question.
So, how does the new score compare to the old? My initial observations were that the score for Dune: Part Two was “lighter” than that of Dune. Zimmer uses a lot more metallic and vocal sounds to create an aural environment that feels more cinematic and richer than the dry percussive score of Dune. We hear more strings and full-bodied orchestral timbres in this part, which are generally more cinematic but simultaneously far gentler. This accentuates the growing tragedy of the story, as the extreme contrasts between floating ambience and dramatic melodies played by the entire orchestra create a very powerful, chilling sense of anticipation from start to finish as we wonder constantly when the next passionate outburst will take place.
The way Zimmer developed his motifs from Dune and told a story with them in this part is captivating. The score for Dune was extremely motivic. As Villeneuve introduced the characters and backstory for what happens in this film, Zimmer introduced the corresponding themes and aural concepts. In Dune: Part Two, the Atreides theme takes center stage as we witness Paul’s rise to power over the Fremen and eventual revenge over the Harkonnens. Some of my favorite parts of the film were the moments when the Atreides motif burst triumphantly from clouds of desert ambience and took over the entire sound system of the theater. The irregular and polyrhythmic desert percussion theme that was so prominent in part one returns frequently here as well, but now it’s been altered to be more subdued in timbre and is used to pull a coherent musical story out of the motives we’ve been introduced to over time.
Looking at Zimmer’s previous works, how does this score compare? While watching Dune: Part Two , I was struck not only by how expertly Zimmer develops his motives from the previous film, but by how expertly he imitates his previous achievements. While Zimmer may not be as ingeniously self-formulaic as film composers like John Williams, I thought this score was very similar to Zimmer’s soundtrack for Gladiator (2000). Some of the metallic samples and edited vocal effects that Zimmer uses here particularly reminded me of the closing scenes of Gladiator. This is fitting, as the sense of epic dread and tragedy that pervades Gladiator is also prominent in this film. This is certainly not meant to take away from the score for Dune: Part 2 . Instead, the aural ideas in Gladiator were an excellent source to draw from for a film that is very similar in its pervading sense of tragedy.
To conclude, Dune: Part Two was a beautiful film on many fronts, but most prominently in scoring. Zimmer once again creates a soundtrack which music nerds everywhere can fangirl over, and which should provide inspiration for all of us who love creating music of our own.