NAPOLEON (2023) - Movie Review

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett, Mark Bonnar, Paul Rhys, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier
Genre: Action, Adventure, Biograpy
Writer: David Scarpa
Runtime: 158 min
Rated: R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and brief language
Buy This Movie: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

A personal look at the French military leader’s origins and swift, ruthless climb to emperor. The story is viewed through the prism of Napoleon’s addictive, volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

Review:

Ridley Scott returns to his favorite genre, the historical epic, with "Napoleon", a visually stunning chronicle of Napoleon Bonaparte's rise and fall. Written by David Scarpa ("All the Money in the World", "The Last Castle"), the movie unfolds like a greatest hits of Napoleon's political ascension and legendary battles, while also devoting ample screen time to his equally turbulent relationship with Josephine.

First of all, the production is spectacular. The stunning cinematography and richly detailed art direction create a memorable visual feast where almost every shot is a beautiful painting. The battle scenes are breathtakingly epic, very gory and mostly done practical with subtle background CGI that is for the most part convincing and barely noticeable. Also praise-worthy is the original score composed by Martin Phipps, which is remarkable for its unique mix of classical choral and instrumental elements, with a certain folk-ish flavor. The film received three Oscar nominations for Visual Effects, Production Design and Costume Design, all very much deserved.

Unfortunately, it's not all victories for Scott's movie, as its biggest failures lie in how it tells Napoleon's story. History buffs will lament the film's many historical inaccuracies. Scott himself responded to such accusations by telling a British historian to "Get a life". And that was just because of the film's trailer. You can imagine how the full movie will play out. How dare you demand historical accuracy from a historical drama ? If you are surprised by Scott's manipulation of history, perhaps you have not heard of a little movie called "Gladiator". However, the main difference here is that "Napoleon" is billed as a biography, not a blockbuster action film.

The bigger problem, however, is the handling of its titular character, played by Joaquin Phoenix. The actor delivers a puzzling performance that looks and sounds nothing like the great strategist and imposing historical figure. Part of the issue is caused by Scott and Scarpa's weird comedic undertones that further muddle an already incoherent narrative. This tonal inconsistency is very confusing, playing history for laughs in a movie that isn't a satire. This approach also plagues the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby, which at times feels like a historical rom-com. At least Kirby does a better job with her performance, although her character as portrayed by the filmmakers is just as inscrutable as Napoleon.

The pacing also suffers under Scott's heavy-handed direction, and there's a substantial portion in the middle that just drags. The battle scenes, while spectacular, feel rushed and the weight of Napoleon's battlefield victories and defeats are diminished by the director's impatience to move the story along as quickly as possible. Ridley Scott claims that a Director's Cut is in the works with 92 minutes of added new footage. It could be a "Kingdom of Heaven" scenario where massive cuts harmed the film and the director's vision, but I doubt it. The two-hour version of Scott's 2005 historical epic was already a decent movie, and the Director's Cut helped it reach greatness with another hour of extra scenes. Even at 150 minutes, "Napoleon" is not a very good movie, therefore I don't believe another 90 minutes can save it.

Overall, "Napoleon" is a $200 million wasted opportunity, and while I don't think Ridley Scott has lost his touch ("The Last Duel" was a great movie), he definitely miscalculated this project and delivered a massive disappointment. For a better taste of Napoleonic history, give the 1970 classic "Waterloo" a watch. It's a much better historical drama with very impressive battle sequences and Rod Steiger is far superior as Napoleon.

SCORE: 6/10