If you’ve watched “Lawrence of Arabia” or “The English Patient” enough times, you’ll know that films set in the desert can be both captivating and mind-numbing.

Well, wait until viewing “Dune: Part Two” before you make your final judgment on the ecosystem.

House Atreides is no more.

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Or at least that’s what the people in power are led to believe.

Following the violent upheaval on the planet Arrakis, the Harkonnen family has taken over the world rich in resources and plans to stay that way.

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However, despite all their best efforts to wipe out the previous overseer’s entire lineage, the young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is alive and well, as is his expectant mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), hiding out among the native Fremen in the deserts of Arrakis.

The conditions are merciless for all in the unforgiving terrain, especially for those who have lived a rather comfortable life, but Paul is quickly adapting to the stark lifestyle under the guidance of Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem).

Paul and Jessica’s entry into the society has not been easy, partly because of their former life of luxury, but also because the reclusive group is skeptical about whether these interlopers — only slightly better than the current oppressors — will be their downfall or the rescuers of their world.

The more Paul adapts to their ways, the more the Fremen believe he is the subject of an ancient prophecy, much to his reluctance.

Still, as he and the rest of the Fremen begin gathering forces to resist the Harkonnen troops, it becomes apparent that his destiny may be out of his hands.

In his second go at the iconic character, Chalamet is just as compelling, perhaps more so now that Paul has been thrust into the real world. Gone is the pampered son of a well-regarded noble; here we see a teen who’s made peace with the fact that life will always be hard from now on, so he might as well toughen up a little more every day.

Most coming-of-age stories don’t involve knife fights to the death or learning to summon and harness sandworms the size of a subway train, but hey, most stories don’t take place on a world like Arrakis.

Though Paul is hands down the main character, attention is split fairly well between the rest of the cast, namely Ferguson as his mystic-minded mom, who finds herself put in a place of honor as the Fremen’s Reverend Mother — thanks to an unplanned imbibing of the Water of Life that enhances her telepathic tendencies — as well as Bardem as the head of a tribe that’s split between following these newcomers or going their own way.

After being quickly introduced in the previous “Dune,” Zendaya has more screen time as Chani, Paul’s peer and eventual lover, who doesn’t take it easy on the soft boy while he adjusts to the harsh new living conditions.

Josh Brolin also makes a much-needed return as Paul’s mentor Gurney Halleck, and though the actor may as well be playing his role from “No Country for Old Men” in terms of rip-snorting personality, you probably won’t mind.

And if you want a villain, take your pick from a bountiful crop of baddies, most of whom sport the hairless, melanin-free traits of the Harkonnens.

Stellan Skarsgård is more subdued this time around as the repugnant patriarch of the galaxy’s most vile clan — with the Baron’s bloated form more reliant on machinery than ever thanks to the last film — outsourcing his treacherous ways to his nephews, the tantrum-prone Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista) and the psychotic Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), a gladiator who travels with an entourage of cannibals in case you were worried he wasn’t loathsome enough.

Of course, as much trouble as this family makes, they’re still under the thumb of the universal emperor (Christopher Walken) and his own Reverend Mother (Charlotte Rampling), who seem to be planning for everyone’s downfall as foretold by the stars.

Fatalism plays heavily into the world created by author Frank Herbert nearly 60 years ago, and it appears we finally may be getting a viable franchise thanks to a filmmaker who comprehends the delicate balance of fortune-telling and true action.

As much as you may have liked David Lynch’s hypnotic 1984 epic adaptation of Herbert’s novel, it was a dud for the most part, especially the finale. Instead of making the mistake of cramming nearly 800 pages of story into one film, writer-director Denis Villeneuve embraces the split-up of Paul’s journey and also better condenses and pads out the second half, which in Herbert’s text runs for several years.

Not to mention the several books that follow…

There’s simply not time to treat every character as prominently as they deserve, but Villeneuve manages to get it mostly right, namely by featuring the females of this world with more bearing, given that Herbert’s women are light-years ahead of men mentally. A noted improvement is not treating Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) purely as an omniscient but inert narrator, whereas Paul’s sister is still in utero instead of being born as a toddler with the mind of a 40-year-old as in Lynch’s version.

But it seems we’ll see more of her, anyway, if Paul’s visions are any indication.

Herbert’s tale is one of the more noted “White Savior” series of the 20^th century, and Villeneuve quickly calls out how damaging that trope is within the dialogue, focusing more on how Paul is only worthy to be a leader as he becomes less of where he came from and more of the culture that deserve to have more agency on their own planet. If the heroes of “Dances with Wolves” and “Avatar” can do it, so can he!

It’s a lot of ground to cover — or more accurately, sand to traverse — and you’ll be totally lost if you’ve never seen its predecessor, but “Dune: Part Two” successfully conveys Herbert’s messaging about imperialism, unchecked commerce, and other social issues, and amazingly does so in a way that keeps us awake where other adaptations have bored us to tears.

With Greig Fraser’s multi-faceted camerawork, Hans Zimmer’s absorbing score, and Villeneuve’s obvious understanding of this world, it’s going to be a pleasure to see many more hours of this gift to the senses.