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When Denis Villeneuve set out to make Dune, he did so with the knowledge that he wanted to do it the right way.

Frank Herbert's epic science- fiction tome deserved a rich adaptation, one that somehow managed to embrace the 900-odd pages of this complex, far-flung tale set on the hostile desert planet of Arrakis. Of course, Villeneuve's 2021 film, winner of six Oscars, including Best Cinematography for Rogue One DP Greig Fraser, only told half the story. Dune: Part Two continues Herbert's tale and brings it to a resounding close.

Scripted by Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (2016's Doctor Strange), the film picks up after the end of Dune, when Paul Atreides, heir to the House Atreides, joins the Fremen tribe, led by Javier Bardem's Stilgar. As he finds love with young Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya), his prophecies set him on a warpath of revenge to take down the conspirators who tore his family apart.

As Paul states, "All my visions lead to horror." This means taking on the sinister House Harkonnen, led by the vile Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård).

Pleasingly, many of the original cast are back. Among them are Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's mother Lady Jessica; Josh Brolin as his mentor Gurney Halleck; Dave Bautista as Harkonnen's ruthless nephew Glossu Rabban; Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat; and Charlotte Rampling as the truthsayer Gaius Helen Mohiam, who had one of the most unsettling scenes in the first film, when she tests Paul with intense pain by placing his hand in an innocent-looking box.

Dune: Part Two also brings a number of newcomers into the story. The legendary Christopher Walken comes in as the duplicitous Shaddam IV, the Padishah Emperor and head of House Corrino. Florence Pugh is his daughter Princess Irulan, a character who appears through a number of Herbert's Dune novels.

No Time To Die star Léa Seydoux also features as Lady Margot, one of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood who – in the Herbert novel– boasts superhuman abilities due to using mélange, the drug known as "spice" mined on Arrakis.

Most intriguingly, Austin Butler – the Oscar-nominated star of Elvis – makes his first major appearance since starring in Baz Luhrmann's celebrated biopic. Butler plays Feyd-Rautha, the younger nephew of Baron Harkonnen. The planned heir for House Harkonnen, Butler's character is also a renowned warrior. Bald, pale and fearless, Feyd- Rautha arrives in Dune: Part Two like a grenade, mercilessly fighting in arenas with dual blades. After his turn as the king of rock'n'roll, Butler's fans won't know what's hit them.

Filmed again in Jordan and Abu Dhabi, which served as stunning locations for Arrakis, Dune: Part Two also visited Altivole in northern Italy.

As you might expect, the behind-the-scenes team has also been reassembled: Fraser is on DoP duties, delivering the jaw- dropping photography, the mighty Hans Zimmer once again provides the score.

While the artistry of Dune: Part Two speaks for itself, it's also filled with enormous action scenes – not least the staggering moment that Paul learns to ride the giant sandworms that burrow beneath the desert.

Designed to look incredible on the big screen and destined to be a feast for the eyes, this is the sci-fi blockbuster to end them all. Do not miss.   James Mottram