Magnificent Bastards:
What's The Work? Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two are Denis Villeneuve masterful adaptations of Frank Herberts Dune. In it we have Paul Atreides find that he is the result of thousands of years of breeding to make a Chosen One. Only he finds that it's not all that it's cracked up to be...
What does he do?: In the first film, Paul is the son of Duke Leto Atreides, the leader of a planetary fife called Caladan. His father accepts the fife of Arrakis the most important planet in the imperium. It is the source of Spice which allows for safe space travel in light speeds. He frequently has dreams of the future. While on Arrakis, spice triggers his future visions like never before. He grows accustomed to the desert, while a plot breeds in the background to overthrow his family. One night the Harrokens (the previous rulers of Arrakis and Atreides Arch-Enemy), along with the emperors forces, strike wiping out his house. He and his mother Jessica manage to flee into the dessert while he sees terrifying visions of a future holy war done under his name which he is desperate to avoid. Eventually they make contact with the Fremen, the indigenous people of Arrakis. While there he manages to meet a girl he has been dreaming about Chani, while also getting involved in a death match with a local fremen who doesn't like how quickly he was accepted. Paul reluctantly kills him and thus starts his journey to becoming the Kwisatz Haderach.
Later while in the Fremen Stronghold, some revere him while other shun him(Jessica's order has spread tales of a Lisan Al Gaib note ) and many Fremen see the signs in him. While at first he tries to take advantage of that, he later decides it's not worth it and just decides to integrate himself with the people while also forming a romance with Chani. However his skills and his mother's sinister machinations make many of the Fremen start to more fervently revere him anyway. Over the course of the film he fights with them against the Harkonnens utilizing his learned skills and precognition and his legend continues to grow until many see him as a true leader. One day he does not see the signs and his settlement is massacred by the Harkonnens. Deciding that he needs true foresight to truly beat them, he decides to take the water of life, something that is otherwise lethal for men. Chani is furious but she manages to awaken him from his coma. However things seem to be permanently strained between them. He manages to use his true precognition powers and flowery speeches to rally the entirety of the Fremen to his side, and then he directly Challenges the emperor.
The emperor comes down to Arrakis, furious that Paul is alive while taking it out on the Harkonnens. Using his family atomics, the true foresight, the fremen, and the worms they ride, he manages to completely obliterate the combined forces of the Emperor and Harkonnens while taking revenge on Vladimir Harkonnen there leader. He manages to depose the Emperor and demands his daughter as his wife to secure the throne. This seems to be the final nail in the coffin between him and Chani and she leaves him disgust. In the process the rest of the great houses come to Arrakis and refuse to honor his ascendancy. With one chilling phrase he says to the fremen "Lead them to paradise". As the fremen rally to begin the holy war, Chani calls sandworm to go to parts unknown...
Is he Magnificent?: Undoubtedly. Paul is resourceful and has lots of bravery. Fighting out there with the Fremen. He has a lot of humanity being disgusted with Bene Gesserit (the order that Jessica belongs to) have done to the Fremen, while his romance with Chani greatly humanizes human. Still he makes a fine leader and when pushed pass temptation he takes a decidedly sinister turn. He gives a great speech while also using his powers to rally the entire Fremen to his cause then using brilliant battle tactics and charisma completely obliterates the emperor and his forces.
'Is he a Bastard? Too Much?: At first no... but once he takes the Water of Life, he's happy to use a native myth (spread by his ancestors) to his whim for revenge and then starts a Holy War which will cause untold death and destruction in his name. And there is something to be said about whether or not he's framed as too bad (I will get to that in the next section). At the same time he only does that when pushed to the brink and does love both Chani, his family, and his household servants.
Mitigating Factors? The book and especially the films are not shy about the dangers of Messianic Figures. It definitely goes over the darker aspects of Pauls ascendancy from the holy war that will bring death and destruction in his name, and it definitely highlights how sinister his turn is. It's definitely framed as not a good thing that an outsider is taking over a native culture and whipping up religious fervor. Him alienating Chani is a huge symbol of what he has lost and sacrificed and she repeatedly calls out the Fremen for falling prey to the prophecy. So it's not quite a clear cut case of Magnificent. At the same time there's enough awe with his precognition and rhetorical and planning skills, and the story is fantastic enough (precognitive powers, space travel, giant worms, compelling voices, etc.) that I think he just pushes over into Magnificent and not "too loathsome."
Verdict? Leaning [tup].
