The new film Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve, adapts the second half of Frank Herbert’s traditional novel Dune. Science fiction writer Matthew Kressel was blown away by the movie’s breathtaking visuals.

“I was on the edge of my seat for the whole movie,” Kressel says in Episode 563 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “It’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen.”

TV author Andrea Kail, a lifelong Dune fan, calls Dune: Part Two an ideal film. “It was like a religious experience,” she says. “Genuinely. It was awe-inspiring, the way you feel in church if you’re very religious.”

Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley beloved Dune: Part Two, however warns that Dune purists may want to regulate their expectations. “This movie seems like basically a rewrite of the book,” he says. “So many of the scenes I don’t think are in the book—I don’t remember them. So many things are changed pretty dramatically. They’re basically 99-100 percent good changes in my opinion, but it seems like they made pretty dramatic changes to the material compared to the first movie.”

Science fiction writer Rajan Khanna had combined emotions about Dune: Part Two, however is glad that it’s serving to to create extra Dune followers. “It’s exciting to have certain things enter the modern vernacular that I’ve had in my head for a long time, stuff about spice and sandworms and things,” he says. “I’m happy to see stuff like this succeed. Stuff that we love finally finding an audience and being done well is always great.”

Listen to the entire interview with Matthew Kressel, Andrea Kail, and Rajan Khanna in Episode 563 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And try some highlights from the dialogue under.

Rajan Khanna on Dune vs. Dune: Part Two:

The first movie needed to arrange a variety of the language, particularly in the event you’re not used to Dune, how the world works, how the expertise works, the shields and all that. They had been very cautious within the first movie to point out how the shields labored and the pink meant that one thing was penetrating. So I feel on this movie they bought to be like, “You saw the first film, you know how it works, now we can just unload it on you,” and I feel that labored to its profit for positive.

Andrea Kail on Paul Atreides and Chani:

In the e book it’s extra like, “Oh, he dreams about her and it’s destiny,” however we don’t see them truly falling in love. I don’t really feel it. In this we see the love story, we see why they fall in love, and it’s candy and it’s quiet and it’s actual. I perceive why they love one another. That’s one of many components the place I used to be crying, that dune scene the place he’s telling her in regards to the seas on Caladan, the way you swim within the water, and the scene the place she teaches him sandwalk. It was like watching two youngsters dancing. It was so lovely. I used to be simply tearing up.

Matthew Kressel on sandworms:

The earlier variations, the Lynch version and the Syfy version, once they experience the worms I’m like, “OK, that looks difficult. It’s like a rock wall in a gym. It looks really hard but I could probably do it.” In this film, I’m like, “No way.” Just the pace of it and the enormity of it. How do they even see the place they’re going? There’s a lot sand blowing round. I simply thought that was so cool, and the ultimate battle scene the place they’re using the worms into battle they usually’re flying the Atreides banner, and also you’re like, “Holy cow.” I bought chills from that.

David Barr Kirtley on movie audiences:

The undeniable fact that this appears to have been embraced so fervently by a mass viewers simply to me is such an encouraging signal which you could make an enormous price range, severe science fiction film, and never must dumb it down, and never must make it a “crowd pleaser.” So I feel individuals have possibly not been giving audiences sufficient credit score, that individuals will go to see this type of film, even when it’s three hours lengthy and has a downer ending and the whole lot, if it’s good. So that’s simply another excuse I really like this film and the phenomenon of this film.

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