Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” is sadly another disappointment in his long running film career. It feels very surface level and never really digs into Napoleon as a person.
The movie follows Napoleon (Jaoquin Phoenix) as he goes from a general in the French military to Emperor of France and eventually to his exile. It mainly focuses on Napoleon’s relationship with Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby), the love of his life. Throughout the movie there are also multiple battle scenes, namely Toulon, 13 Vendémiaire, Battle of the Pyramids, Austerlitz, Borodino, and Waterloo.
The performances are great all around, but Vanessa Kirby and Jaoquin Phoenix are both very good in their roles. Napoleon is very whiny in the movie, which is sometimes very jarring and somewhat funny. The cast surrounding the two leads all give good performances, but none do enough to stand out from the rest.
There are many battle scenes and they are all amazing, definitely the biggest plus this movie has to offer, but they are not the focus of the movie. They are all beautifully shot and do a good job at carrying the impact that a viewer would want when viewing a Napoleon led battle.
The romance between Napoleon and Joséphine is the main focus of the movie, but even though it takes up a majority of the 157 minute runtime it feels like an afterthought from Ridley Scott. It never digs beneath the surface of what their relationship was and sometimes even misrepresents it during certain events. The tone of their relationship is also very sporadic throughout the movie and is sometimes very jarring and awkward.
If you are a major Napoleonic history buff you may find it interesting to watch for the battle scenes and some fragments of his relationship with Joséphine, but otherwise its probably a pass while still in theaters. With a retelling that never quite gets below the surface “Napoleon” is yet another recent disappointment from Ridley Scott, but with a four hour director’s cut releasing next year maybe it will get better.
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring: Jaoquin Phoenix, Vaness Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett, Mark Bonnar, Paul Rhys, Ben Miles, Riana Duce
Rated R
Runtime: 158 minutes
My Rating: ★★½