Ridley Scotts Napoleon What the Critics Are Saying

Napoleon Review: Ridley Scott's Epic Turns Out To Be A Tedious & Grandiose Comedy
Story by Graeme Guttmann  •
11/15/23

It's official — 2023 may be the year of the bratty man-child. From Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos' strange masterpiece, to Jacob Elordi as Elvis in Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, a slew of high-profile men have played absolute terrors in films this year. Joaquin Phoenix is the latest name to be added to this list as he reunites with Ridley Scott for the director's latest historical epic, Napoleon. Phoenix's performance and Scott's take on the towering (in name only) figure is surprisingly funny, often tedious, and full of bloody battles that don't skimp on the gore. It's a bold swing from the director and, despite it being tonally uneven and a bit messy, Napoleon can be still quite fun.
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Scott begins Napoleon as the last Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is guillotined, her head paraded around a stage for all the revelers to see. Napoleon Bonaparte enters soon after, desperate to prove himself a proficient military commander. We see the French push the British out of Toulon (with a brutal chest-bursting moment that can't help but feel like a weird if accidental callback to Alien) and Napoleon quickly rises through the ranks of the military and meets Vanessa Kirby's Josephine. Despite chyrons indicating who's who, though, Scott seems less concerned with orienting viewers in the period (remember, he did tell those concerned about historical accuracy to "get a life") than he does in setting the tone for the film. Unfortunately, it's unclear what tone he wants to take as Napoleon vacillates between a sort of domestic comedy and a by-the-numbers biopic that tells the story of France's whiny emperor.

napoleon-movie-josephine-vanessa-kirby
© Provided by ScreenRant
Kirby undoubtedly steals the show as Josephine both in what she does with the role and what she brings out in Phoenix. Napoleon and Josephine's sparring leads to some of the funniest moments of the film, with Phoenix playing Napoleon as a certified 19th Century Wife Guy, both pitifully in love and, at first, disgusted by the feelings Josephine brings out in him. This bleeds into Napoleon's political maneuvering, where Phoenix is often a bumbling power player rather than the great commander history remembers him as. It is early in the film that we begin to see just how Scott will handle the man at the center of it — not with the reverence and care typically reserved for epics of this nature but with a massive eye roll.

Related video: Napoleon Movie - Ridley Scott (Dailymotion)

The humor certainly breathes some life into a film that often lags in between battles and moments where Josephine and Napoleon share the screen. Although they feel few and far between, Scott's battle scenes are sweeping and brutal. Austerlitz is a standout, the centerpiece that proves Napoleon's battle prowess. Still, even the director feels less concerned with the battles than he does with the man himself, though, painting a portrait of an immature man who can't help but give in to his obsession with power, whether it be exercised via stone-cold battle-time decisions, clumsy political maneuvering, or bumbling social situations.

napoleon-movie-coronation-joaquin-phoenix-vanessa-kirby
© Provided by ScreenRant
In a way, Phoenix's performance is pitch-perfect. It was unclear whether Scott would lean into the Napoleon complex of it all, but the director does just that, showing a disdain for the man that leads to hysteria as often as it does confusion. Inside Napoleon, it seems there are two films: one that plays into straightforward biopic conventions and another, an idiosyncratic comedy about a man whose hubris propels him to great heights where, once he arrives, he's unsure of what exactly to do. By the time Napoleon returns from exile to once again take over France, the film feels as if it's crumbling under its ambition, a fitting feeling when Waterloo rolls around.

To say Napoleon is a love story may sound strange, but in many ways, the film is driven by the conqueror's erratic desire — for victory, for Josephine, for a male heir, and France. That France often loves him back is a wonder in itself, but Scott's film does not seem to say the same. It does not lionize the figure nor does it crucify him. Napoleon doesn't even really try to tell the history of France's most tumultuous period with any sort of coherence. Instead, like the man himself, Napoleon is a confounding film, as exciting as it is plodding and as self-aware of its flaws as Napoleon was blind to his own.

Napoleon releases in theaters on November 22. The film is 158 minutes long and rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and brief language.

Key Release Date
Napoleon
Release Date: 2023-11-22
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, Matthew Needham
Rating: R
Runtime: 158 Minutes
Genres: Drama, Epic
Writers: David Scarpa
Studio(s): Apple, Scott Free Productions
Distributor(s): Apple TV+, Columbia Pictures

***
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon in Ridley Scott's new biopic - Kevin Baker

© Provided by The Telegraph
If, at 85, Ridley Scott has reached the final season of his filmmaking career, Napoleon is the ideal work of wintry grandeur to mark it. Scott’s 28th feature is a magnificently hewn slab of dad cinema with a chill wind whistling over its battlefields and round its bones: its palette is so cold, even the red in the tricolore is often the shade of dried blood.


Spanning 32 years, from the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 to its title character’s death on St Helena in 1821, it casts Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise, reign and downfall as both a prickly psychodrama and a sweeping military epic, in which the intimate lives of its central players and the fate of France itself become instantly and anxiously entwined.
Napoleon himself is played with startling blunt-force charisma by Joaquin Phoenix, who is working again with Scott for the first time since 2000’s Gladiator. Phoenix’s undisguised soft Californian accent is one of a number of details that might irk historical sticklers – television’s Dan Snow has already chimed in with a list of inaccuracies, to which Scott’s not unreasonable response was “get a life”. But on screen it’s oddly ideal, reinforcing the idea that this Corsican roughneck can never fully settle into the role for which history has him picked out.

We get the measure of the man almost instantly at the Siege of Toulon, as the French Republican forces lay siege to the British-occupied harbour fort. In the dead of night, as Napoleon leads the advance, a cannonball tears through the shoulder of his horse – the film earns its 15 certificate fast – though almost before he hits the ground he hurriedly barks “I’m OK,” and strides on, shaken but resolute, and smeared with the blood of his steed.

The whole sequence is astonishing – mounted on a scale and pegged out with a clarity that makes the filmmaking itself feel like the work of a supreme military tactician. But extraordinarily, Scott keeps on bettering it.

Vanessa Kirby as Jos;phine and Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon, in Napoleon - Aidan Monaghan
Vanessa Kirby as Jos;phine and Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon, in Napoleon - Aidan Monaghan
© Provided by The Telegraph
Waterloo, which serves as a climax (with Rupert Everett a treat as Wellington) stops your breath with pure spectacle. Yet the extraordinary toll of the battle in terms of both lives and basic humanity lost, is at the forefront of every shot choice. (Whatever CG is here – and given its sheer magnitude, there must be quite a bit – has scarcely felt less like ones and zeroes.) And during Austerlitz, as the Russian troops are forced by France on to the thin ice then bombarded with cannon fire, you can almost sense a godlike pair of compasses spinning overhead, strategizing every move.

David Scarpa’s screenplay paints Napoleon as a master tactician, but it also ties his thirst for conquest to his frustrated desire, once he’s been crowned Emperor, to father an heir. The womb of his first wife Jos;phine (a brilliantly sultry and shrewd Vanessa Kirby) is where the line of succession should spring, yet it remains the one piece of terrain resistant to his claims.

“It’s yours,” Jos;phine purrs, while pulling what we’ll tactfully call a “Basic Instinct” early in their courtship. Yet biology has other ideas, and this emasculation only stokes up his thirst for conquest elsewhere. Unexpectedly, it also furnishes the film with some of its more comic moments: during a squabble at a society dinner over his apparent infertility, Napoleon splutters that providence is on his side, raging: “Destiny has brought me to this pork chop!”

You wouldn’t describe the film as funny – and in its (admittedly rare) quieter moments, it can perhaps feel a little cool and staid. But Phoenix’s sore-thumb manner makes his loopier lines land well, while the supporting cast is packed with the sort of characterful faces from which a squint or a frown can be all a scene needs to lighten the mood. Paul Rhys’s venom-laced smile as Talleyrand proves a low-key secret weapon, and I hooted at Ian McNeice’s Louis XVIII, whose hairstyle and lapdog look separated at birth.

An ironic coda on Saint Helena takes Phoenix to where this role was perhaps always going to lead him: the crazy guy in the asylum who thinks he’s Napoleon. But only a true master general could corral a piece of cinema this rolling and rich.

In cinemas from Wednesday November 22


***
The True Story Behind Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Explained
The True Story Behind Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Explained
© Provided by MovieWeb
Anytime someone talks about great leaders, they can't do so without talking about Napoleon Bonaparte. Movies have already been made about this great leader, but one for the modern age will be coming this month with Ridley Scott's Napoleon. The film will see the director reunite with Joaquin Phoenix, whom he last worked with over two decades ago on Gladiator. If anything, it's about time someone took the task of chronicling Napoleon's historic career, and with a portfolio as large as his, Scott is the perfect man for the job.

The film will cover the most pivotal points of Napoleon's career, including numerous battles. It's a daunting task to cover so much in just two hours, especially considering Scott's got over 4 hours worth of footage, which will be released on AppleTV+. Given that it's a large period covered in just a few hours, creative liberties will be taken. But not everyone has the time to go to the movies. Fear not, because this article will cover the gist of what to expect. This is the true story behind Ridley Scott's film, explained.
Who Is Lady Josephine?
Scott’s Napoleon will explore the conqueror's early career to his downfall. From his earliest victories that distinguished him as a leader to his crowning himself as Emperor of France to his inevitable deposition and banishment, all will be seen through the lens of his volatile relationship with Lady Josephine, played by Venessa Kirby. The film won’t solely revolve around their relationship, but it’s important to the overall story and should be touched upon.

Related video: Napoleon | Behind the Scenes w/ Ridley Scott (Dailymotion)

Josephine is often described as highly intelligent and a manipulative survivor. When the two meet, she has already been widowed after her first husband was put to death via guillotine during the French Revolution. She would marry Napoleon in the year 1796, but their marriage would be tempestuous, and they would annul their union in 1810, when Josephine could not bear heirs. Despite this, their relationship would become infamous for generations after.

Napoleon's Career & Victories
To tell Napoleon’s story, Scott dives deep into his roots, going back to Napoleon's earlier career and victories that saw his stock rise considerably. At the start of the French Revolution, Napoleon led his troops to his first major victory in the Siege of Toulon. At just the age of 23, Napoleon devised the clever strategy to take the city from British forces by gaining control of a nearby hill, from which his troops could fire downwards on the enemy. This victory led to his promotion to Brigadier General. The Siege of Toulon secured the trust of the French Republic, solidifying his staunch opposition to the throne. He would later go on to defeat the Royalists in the battle of 13 Vendemiaires, which saw his victory achieved with canons as he and the opposition fought in the streets of Paris.

From there, Napoleon took control of the French army in Italy in 1796 and gained control of Austria by 1805 following the battle of Austerlitz. Two years later, he was in Egypt. The image of the General can be seen in the trailer and posters of Phoenix as the titular character standing with his back to the Sphinx. The plan for this campaign was to take over the region to gain a territorial advantage over England. However, his plan would not come to fruition as his forces fell victim to the bubonic plague, which led to their defeat at the hands of the British at sea and losing the Egyptian campaign.

Related: Ridley Scott Explains the Reasons Behind Gladiator 2's Decades of Development

Napoleon Takes the Crown
Upon returning to post-Revolution France in 1799, Napoleon took note of the changing political climate of the country and soon began imposing his brand of order. The governmental body put in place after the war was quickly losing power, opening an opportunity to take his status to even further heights. He soon formed a government known as the consulate and took control of the country. Napoleon faced continued threats from the royalists, including assassination attempts. But from danger comes opportunity because he used these to his advantage by using them to push for a more stable ruling system.

He officially crowned himself as Emperor, as seen in the film trailers, in a lavish ceremony officiated by the Pope on December 2, 1804. Napoleon would hold the throne until 1814, when he was deposed. The path to his ascension may have been paved with blood and violence, but his rule is credited with the development of the influential Napoleonic code, which established equal property laws and reduced the religious authority of the church in France.

Many still dispute his reign, with some seeing him as a glorious warrior and others a tyrant. The era in which he reigned is filled with controversy, much of which was a direct cause of his rule. However, modern-day France may not have come to pass without his leadership, as he established the current systems of education, justice, and government to lay the foundation for modern-day France.

Related: Best Actors Who Played Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon’s Demise
Napoleon may have been riding high as Emperor, but his ascension only rallied his enemies even further to fight against him. The Third Coalition was a union between Britain, Austria, and Russia, forged between 1803 and 1805. Together, they handed Napoleon his most major defeats. The first was the naval battle of Trafalgar in 1805, a defeat Napoleon would later repay in Austerlitz the same year. Unfortunately, Napoleon would find defeat again in 1812 with his failed invasion of Russia.

The campaign saw Napoleon deal heavy losses to Russian forces in Moscow, but no supplies were left to feed his starving troops into winter. His loss drew backlash, resulting in his exile to the island of Elba in 1814. He would briefly regain control of France, but the final nail in his coffin as Emperor came from his final defeat when he lost the battle of Waterloo in 1815 due to a series of misunderstandings that led his troops to impale themselves against the enemy’s formations. He abdicated his throne and found himself banished for the last time to the island of St. Helena.

Napoleon would spend the last six years of his life under constant surveillance before dying of stomach cancer on December 15, 1821, at 51. Since his time, many claims have been made about his reign. Some saw him as a bloodthirsty tyrant, while others saw him a hero. The debate still goes on today. Scott will likely show both sides of the coin in his movie when it hits theaters on November 22. Whatever he was, he was one of the greatest naval commanders ever. Above anything else, Napoleon brought France glory. With over 77 battles won out of 86, he’s a man few could rival. But as history shows, it doesn’t take much to topple a king.

***
Napoleon Already Sounds Like It's Continuing A 41-Year-Old Ridley Scott Movie Trend
Story by Ben Sherlock  •

Ridley Scott's latest film, Napoleon, has received mostly positive reviews and has earned a score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics have praised the epic spectacle, performances of Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, and the focused character study approach of the film.

However, many critics believe that the eventual director's cut of Napoleon, which is around four hours and 10 minutes long, will be better than the theatrical version and will provide a more complete and satisfying storytelling experience.
The reviews are in for Ridley Scott’s latest historical epic, Napoleon, and it sounds like the movie will continue a decades-old trend in Scott’s career. Filmmakers have been trying to make a biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte for years – a failed Napoleon biopic was famously a passion project of Stanley Kubrick’s – and, thanks to a big investment from Apple TV+, Scott has managed to finally do it. Napoleon frames the notorious tyrant, played by Joaquin Phoenix, through his relationship with his first wife, Empress Jos;phine, played by Vanessa Kirby. It was scripted by All the Money in the World’s David Scarpa and shot by regular Scott collaborator Dariusz Wolski.
Related video: Napoloen: Behind The Scenes With Ridley Scott (IVA - Movie Extras)
Napoleon was an incredible strategist. Her Majesty,Video Player is loading.
IVA - Movie Extras
Napoloen: Behind The Scenes With Ridley Scott
Napoleon is the latest in a long line of historical epics helmed by Scott. His first ever feature, The Duellists, was a period drama. Some of the most acclaimed movies of his career, from Gladiator to The Last Duel, have been historical epics that have similarly tackled an era of history with a giant cinematic scope. Some of his less well-received films have fallen into this genre, too, like Robin Hood, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and his Biblical opus Exodus: Gods and Kings. But the reviews for Napoleon suggest it’s falling into a different trend from Scott’s career than just its period epic genre.

RELATED: Napoleon Movie Is A Bigger Deal When Looking Back On 2 Other Ridley Scott Movies

Napoleon's Reviews Suggest Napoleon's Director's Cut Will Be Better Than The Theatrical Version
Close
The reviews for Napoleon are in, and they’re mostly positive. The film has earned an impressive “fresh” score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising Scott’s epic spectacle, the performances of Phoenix and Kirby (with some highlighting Kirby as the film’s M.V.P.), and the approach of a focused character study as opposed to a bloated life story. But the reviews haven’t been entirely positive. Some consider it a step down from Scott and Phoenix’s last collaboration, Gladiator. Many critics seem to agree that the inevitable director’s cut of Napoleon will be a better movie than the streamlined version coming to theaters (and, eventually, to the stream-waves of Apple TV+).


Jordan Farley’s review for Total Film mentioned that, even at two-and-a-half hours, Napoleon feels rushed, because there’s a lot of story to tell, and added that the director’s cut will likely give that story the necessary room to breathe. Chris Evangelista’s review for /Film mentioned that the movie feels truncated at two-and-a-half hours, and said that he spent the runtime assuming that the director’s cut will be better. In Alonso Duralde’s review for The Film Verdict, he hoped that the director’s cut would be able to “fill in the emotional and historical blanks” that the movie has in its current form.

Napoleon will be released in theaters on November 22.

Ridley Scott Has A Long History Of Director's Cuts That Are Better Than The Original

Liam Neeson leads an army in Kingdom of Heaven
© Provided by ScreenRant
The general critical consensus amongst the Napoleon reviews is that the inevitable director’s cut will be better than the theatrical cut. If Napoleon does eventually get a director’s cut release, it won’t be the first Scott film to get one. Scott has a long history of recutting his movies and rereleasing them in a different form, sometimes years after the original release. The most notable example is Blade Runner, which has several different versions out there. The cuts from 1992 and 2007 are generally considered to be the best (and an improvement over the theatrical cut, which was butchered by the studio in a bid to make it more commercial).

Arguably the best director’s cut of Scott’s career is Kingdom of Heaven. When it was initially released in its original form, Kingdom of Heaven was widely panned by critics. The extended director’s cut, in which Scott reversed all the changes he made to appease test audiences, was met with a much warmer reception and is considered to be far superior to the original. Even Alien, which is typically considered to be a masterpiece of horror cinema and a near-perfect movie, has a director’s cut (although it’s much more debatable than Kingdom of Heaven when it comes to whether or not the director’s cut is better).

How Long Will Napoleon's Director's Cut Be & When Could It Release?

Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon standing over a battlefield
© Provided by ScreenRant
Scott has said (via IGN) that he tried (and failed) to get his ideal cut of Napoleon under four hours. This director’s cut is about four hours and 10 minutes long, and Scott hopes to release it on Apple’s streaming service after the shorter cut’s theatrical run. Using the freedom of a streaming platform to release more than one version of a movie is becoming popular amongst auteur filmmakers. Zack Snyder is releasing both a PG-13 version and an R-rated version of his space opera Rebel Moon on Netflix. Anyone who’s disappointed by Napoleon’s theatrical cut can look forward to the four-hour director’s cut.

Source: Total Film, /Film, The Film Verdict, IGN

***
'Napoleon' review: Ridley Scott swings big with historical epic — but is it a hit?
Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby star.
By Kristy Puchko  on November 14, 2023
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'Napoleon' review: Ridley Scott swings big with historical epic — but is it a hit?
Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby star.
By Kristy Puchko  on November 14, 2023

Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon."
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon." Credit: Apple Original Films
Ridley Scott is on a fascinating tear, transforming historic moments of love and crime into films as bold as they are polarizing. The Last Duel dusted off a 14th-century rape case, revealing its hero and villains through three perspectives as a dynamic — and joltingly funny — battle of the sexes. Next, House of Gucci interrogated a murder plot from the point of view of a doting wife turned self-made widow. And now, Napoleon explores the life of the French emperor, chiefly through his war victories and tumultuous relationship with his beloved Josephine de Beauharnais.

However, where I reveled in the daring on display in The Last Duel and House of Gucci, Scott’s Napoleon has left me cold.

Napoleon feels more like a rant than a revelation.
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon."
Credit: Apple Original Films

If you don’t know the story of Napoleon Bonaparte beyond pop culture standards of his short stature, big ego, and ABBA-recognized surrender at Waterloo, Scott won’t be much help. Napoleon's script, written by David Scarpa, has a fitful pacing, leaping from highlights and lowlights with the casualness of a history professor chatting snoozily among his peers. Cursive title cards aim to add context with the whos, wheres, and whats, but they do so with a shrug, as if they are helpful reminders instead of introductions.

Dialogue delivered (chiefly through grumbling or snooty British accents) allows audiences the gist of political turns, while Scott's graphic and sprawling battle scenes sufficiently illustrate Napoleon's skills as a strategist. However, while casual viewers might get the broad strokes of this portrait, Napoleon doesn't offer enough definition to get emotionally invested.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Napoleon like a clown.
Joaquin Phoenix and Rupert Everett in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon."
Credit: Apple Original Films

Scott leans away from portraying Bonaparte as the short, rotund, and volatile buffoon seen in movies like Time Bandits or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. While Phoenix is shot to look shorter than others — including Vanessa Kirby's Josephine — a slight low-angle on his Napoleon lends an air of grandeur. Still, there's a recognized absurdity when the emperor's arrogance collides with his insecurities.

While Phoenix can cut a stern figure on a battlefield — reminiscent of his scowling Roman emperor in Scott's Gladiator — he can also play the fool, fleeing from politicians and pratfalling down a flight of stairs while proclaiming himself France's one true ruler. Phoenix ably straddles this paradox, defiantly responding to Josephine's calling Napoleon fat with an outlandish proclamation: "Destiny wanted me to be here. Destiny wanted me to have this lamb chop!"

Like he did with Beau Is Afraid, Phoenix pitches himself ego-less into the ludicrous aspects of this character. But where Beau was a simpering coward, Napoleon has a grand sense of self that prohibits him from seeing his own folly. This is true in war and romance. The film's final act, where he loses at both, might be seen as tragic, if only we cared.

Scott seems to take the audience's connection to this historic figure for granted. Napoleon is essentially foisted upon us as if his skill at war strategy alone is reason enough to root for him. Phoenix's performance is committed, Napoleon Already Sounds Like It's Continuing A 41-Year-Old Ridley Scott Movie Trend
Story by Ben Sherlock  •
***
Ridley Scott's latest film, Napoleon, has received mostly positive reviews and has earned a score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics have praised the epic spectacle, performances of Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby, and the focused character study approach of the film.

However, many critics believe that the eventual director's cut of Napoleon, which is around four hours and 10 minutes long, will be better than the theatrical version and will provide a more complete and satisfying storytelling experience.
The reviews are in for Ridley Scott’s latest historical epic, Napoleon, and it sounds like the movie will continue a decades-old trend in Scott’s career. Filmmakers have been trying to make a biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte for years – a failed Napoleon biopic was famously a passion project of Stanley Kubrick’s – and, thanks to a big investment from Apple TV+, Scott has managed to finally do it. Napoleon frames the notorious tyrant, played by Joaquin Phoenix, through his relationship with his first wife, Empress Jos;phine, played by Vanessa Kirby. It was scripted by All the Money in the World’s David Scarpa and shot by regular Scott collaborator Dariusz Wolski.
Related video: Napoleon: Behind The Scenes With Ridley Scott (IVA - Movie Extras)
Napoleon was an incredible strategist. Her Majesty,Video Player is loading.
IVA - Movie Extras
Napoleon: Behind The Scenes With Ridley Scott
Napoleon is the latest in a long line of historical epics helmed by Scott. His first ever feature, The Duelists, was a period drama. Some of the most acclaimed movies of his career, from Gladiator to The Last Duel, have been historical epics that have similarly tackled an era of history with a giant cinematic scope. Some of his less well-received films have fallen into this genre, too, like Robin Hood, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and his Biblical opus Exodus: Gods and Kings. But the reviews for Napoleon suggest it’s falling into a different trend from Scott’s career than just its period epic genre.

RELATED: Napoleon Movie Is A Bigger Deal When Looking Back On 2 Other Ridley Scott Movies

Napoleon's Reviews Suggest Napoleon's Director's Cut Will Be Better Than The Theatrical Version

The reviews for Napoleon are in, and they’re mostly positive. The film has earned an impressive “fresh” score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising Scott’s epic spectacle, the performances of Phoenix and Kirby (with some highlighting Kirby as the film’s M.V.P.), and the approach of a focused character study as opposed to a bloated life story. But the reviews haven’t been entirely positive. Some consider it a step down from Scott and Phoenix’s last collaboration, Gladiator. Many critics seem to agree that the inevitable director’s cut of Napoleon will be a better movie than the streamlined version coming to theaters (and, eventually, to the stream-waves of Apple TV+).

Jordan Farley’s review for Total Film mentioned that, even at two-and-a-half hours, Napoleon feels rushed, because there’s a lot of story to tell, and added that the director’s cut will likely give that story the necessary room to breathe. Chris Evangelista’s review for /Film mentioned that the movie feels truncated at two-and-a-half hours, and said that he spent the runtime assuming that the director’s cut will be better. In Alonso Duralde’s review for The Film Verdict, he hoped that the director’s cut would be able to “fill in the emotional and historical blanks” that the movie has in its current form.

Napoleon will be released in theaters on November 22.

Ridley Scott Has A Long History Of Director's Cuts That Are Better Than The Original

Liam Neeson leads an army in Kingdom of Heaven
© Provided by ScreenRant
The general critical consensus amongst the Napoleon reviews is that the inevitable director’s cut will be better than the theatrical cut. If Napoleon does eventually get a director’s cut release, it won’t be the first Scott film to get one. Scott has a long history of recutting his movies and rereleasing them in a different form, sometimes years after the original release. The most notable example is Blade Runner, which has several different versions out there. The cuts from 1992 and 2007 are generally considered to be the best (and an improvement over the theatrical cut, which was butchered by the studio in a bid to make it more commercial).

Arguably the best director’s cut of Scott’s career is Kingdom of Heaven. When it was initially released in its original form, Kingdom of Heaven was widely panned by critics. The extended director’s cut, in which Scott reversed all the changes he made to appease test audiences, was met with a much warmer reception and is considered to be far superior to the original. Even Alien, which is typically considered to be a masterpiece of horror cinema and a near-perfect movie, has a director’s cut (although it’s much more debatable than Kingdom of Heaven when it comes to whether or not the director’s cut is better).

How Long Will Napoleon's Director's Cut Be & When Could It Release?

Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon standing over a battlefield
© Provided by ScreenRant
Scott has said (via IGN) that he tried (and failed) to get his ideal cut of Napoleon under four hours. This director’s cut is about four hours and 10 minutes long, and Scott hopes to release it on Apple’s streaming service after the shorter cut’s theatrical run. Using the freedom of a streaming platform to release more than one version of a movie is becoming popular amongst auteur filmmakers. Zack Snyder is releasing both a PG-13 version and an R-rated version of his space opera Rebel Moon on Netflix. Anyone who’s disappointed by Napoleon’s theatrical cut can look forward to the four-hour director’s cut.

Source: Total Film, /Film, The Film Verdict, IGN


Ad but lacks the surprise of Matt Damon as a repugnant brute or the thrill of Lady Gaga as a sultry social climber. And where Scott's previous films were peopled with a tantalizing collection of curious characters, Napoleon regards its supporting players as little more than toy soldiers. They come and go with slight distinctions — an apoplectic remark here, a sneer there, a violent outburst or withering stare. But few make a mark on the narrative of Napoleon, save for Josephine. But she is a curiosity of another sort.

Vanessa Kirby is elegant and enigmatic as Josephine.
Vanessa Kirby as Josephine in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon."
Credit: Apple Original Films

Introduced in rags, walking tall out of prison as the Reign of Terror ended, this former aristocrat initially seems to view Napoleon as a strategic cover, protecting her and her children from the fickle French public. His attempts at flirtation are almost as comical as the repeated scenes of their fornication. In those, he humps at her like a dog in heat, while she looks bored, bordering on impatient.

Throughout their relationship, a crooked grin might flash across her face or a sharp giggle escape her lips. But even as she begins to respond to his plentiful romantic love letters with missives of her own, it's difficult to determine what's sincere and what is a survival strategy. As Napoleon's beloved, she has wealth, status, and a home far from the wars he wages. But — their appalling sex life aside — does she have feelings for him?

Kirby's performance, peppered with wry smiles and cold stares, refuses to give the audience an easy answer. Perhaps this is meant to reflect how Napoleon sees her, a maddeningly inconstant yet alluring woman. However, this dance becomes tedious in a runtime of two hours and 38 minutes. What is certain is that Napoleon loves her but is also a fool. And in this, perhaps he could be understood — who among us hasn't been a fool for love? But mostly, he's just grating.

Vacillating between sullen, snarling, and ill-fitted mirth, Phoenix's Napoleon feels like a chore to be around. Perhaps that's the point, Scott's means of offering a critique of the kind of blowhards that rise to power through force of will and atrocious social skills. But that doesn't make such a lecture entertaining.

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Ridley Scott aims high but falls short with Napoleon.
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte and Vanessa Kirby as Josephine in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon."
Credit: Apple Original Films

Despite its emotional blundering, Napoleon is astounding in other respects. Scott's battle scenes are immense, involving cannons, horses, and hordes of soldiers. Yet they are easy to follow and brutal in a way that demands a modern audience to recognize the abject horror of these epic historic conflicts.

Within these scenes of war, cinematographer Dariusz Wolski lays out awe-striking tableaus. The depth of field stretches for miles, with beige hills or light gray forts towering in the distance, suggesting the conquest to come. Meanwhile, in the foreground are Napoleon and his soldiers, starkly contrasted from the background by their dark uniforms of crimson and navy, accented by glittering gold accents. Even in a peaceful coronation scene, which flips the darkness to the back to emphasize a time of joy, such attention to detail makes these moments feel profound.

Spanning decades, wars, and scads of historical figures, Napoleon is undoubtedly an ambitious film. But throughout it, Scott feels frustrated with us. Perhaps annoyed by the mixed reception to his last two historical pieces, he seems to have lost patience with the audience. No longer will he enthusiastically unfurl his interest in the subject or bestow upon us characters who are chaotically compelling. Instead, here is an anxious egomaniac and his enigmatic obsession. Behold them as unknowable and inevitable…or don't.

In the end, Napoleon is bold but also unsatisfying.

Napoleon opens in theaters Nov. 22.

Topics Film


***
Napoleon Review: Ridley Scott's Historical Epic Only Scratches The Surface
Story by Chris Evangelista  •


Napoleon
© Apple
Ridley Scott recently went on record to reveal that he has a 4-hour cut of his new historical epic, "Napoleon," and I almost wish he had kept this info a secret for a little while. Because as I sat watching the theatrical cut of Scott's film about the infamous general and emperor, I kept thinking, "This is okay, but I bet that 4-hour cut is better." Alas, I can only work with what I've been given, and what I (and everyone else) have been given is a truncated experience. Even at 157 minutes, Scott's latest feels like it only scratches the surface. It's a CliffsNotes tour through the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.


And who was Napoleon Bonaparte? The film, in its current form, doesn't seem to really know. The legendary figure is played by Joaquin Phoenix, and while Phoenix is one of our finest actors, he can't quite crack the enigma that is Napoleon. Phoenix plays him as a stiff, almost childish oaf; a mama's boy, and a horny goon who is prone to outbursts and food fights. There's humor there for sure, and David Scarpa's script is often intentionally funny in how it portrays the character. But he remains elusive. We never really know what makes him tick. Hell, we never really learn why he was so powerful. In the film's telling, it's almost as if Napoleon stumbles through greatness. We know he's supposed to be great because everyone keeps saying he is, but the material never quite breaks through to give us a sense of how this man amassed such power. To go by the film it just ... sorta happened.
Read more: Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It)

Vanessa Kirby Delivers A Strong Performance
Napoleon
© Apple
"Napoleon" begins in the midst of the French Revolution, with a then-Captain Napoleon witnessing the execution of Marie Antoinette. It's bloody and gruesome, and fear grips the country as the guillotine becomes ever-present. In the midst of all this, Napoleon takes command and leads troops into battle — a battle he easily wins. This catapults him from captain to general, and before we know it, he'll be crowned emperor, too. How? I just saw the movie, and I honestly couldn't tell you how it all went down. Because everything feels rushed. One thing you can say about "Napoleon" — it's not slow. The film moves at near breakneck speed, seemingly sprinting through Napoleon's ascendency. At one point, a character matter-of-factly states that 15 years have gone by, and I almost did a double-take. Really? It sure didn't feel that way. 

Related video: Napoleon Movie - Ridley Scott (Dailymotion)

In the midst of Napoleon's military campaigns and battles — which Scott stages masterfully — is the story of his romance with Jos;phine, played by Vanessa Kirby. Kirby fares better than Phoenix here, perhaps because her role is freer and not burdened by carrying the entire film. Kirby portrays Jos;phine as playful and commanding, and the turbulent romance between the lovers is the film's highlight. At one point, Napoleon learns that Jos;phine has taken a lover and straight-up abandons his troops to go home and confront her. She's repentant, begging forgiveness. And then a curious thing happens — after the film cuts away from her apology, it then finds her in command, making Napoleon admit that he's nothing without her. It's the balance of this relationship that's truly fascinating, and I only wish the film had more of it.

Bring On That Director's Cut
Napoleon
© Apple
What "Napoleon" lacks in narrative it makes up for with style. Scott, ever the artist, knows exactly how to stage the film's huge, sprawling moments. Working with cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, the filmmaker is able to make nearly every frame of the film look like a classical painting, the type you'd see hanging large in an ornate frame in some quiet, cavernous museum. The battles and wide-open vistas are breathtaking and frequently overwhelming. A skirmish on a frozen, icy lake is a showstopper moment, particularly when cannon fire sends men beneath the ice, the cold blue water instantly turning red with blood.


Livestly
But still, the feeling persists that something is missing here. That Scott and company are merely lightly touching on things that require deeper exploration. Which brings me back again to that 4-hour director's cut. Scott's director's cuts have become almost legendary — his alternate cut of "Kingdom of Heaven" is an almost completely different — and far superior — version than what was released in theaters. Will "Napoleon" be the same? We'll find out soon enough. For now, though, we can only watch what's being officially released for now and wonder what could have been.

/Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Read the original article on /Film.


***
Ridley Scott's ‘Napoleon': What the Critics Are Saying
© Provided by Hollywood Reporter
Ridley Scott's epic Napoleon hits theaters on Nov. 22, but the review embargo for the film broke on Tuesday night, and the early reaction from critics has been largely positive.

Written by David Scarpa, the lavish period film, which clocks in at a meaty two hours and 38 minutes, stars Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix as the French military commander and later despot Napoleon Bonaparte and Vanessa Kirby as his consort, Empress Josephine. The movie charts Bonaparte's meteoric rise from lowly artillery commander to Napoleon I, Emperor of France, and takes in notable military engagements such as the battles of Austerlitz and Waterloo.

Among the early reviews, Napoleon has been praised for its epic scale, particularly the set-piece battle scenes that make the film a worthy theatrical experience. Critics also praised Scott for his ambition in telling Bonaparte's disparate story. There was praise too for Phoenix and Kirby's performances. Some critics took issue with the film's length and the feeling that maybe Scott's direction was a touch bloated.
As of Tuesday evening, Napoleon‘s Rotten Tomatoes score clocked in at 78 percent from 27 reviews and 70 percent on Metacritic from 19 reviews.

Napoleon is from Apple Original Films and Sony Pictures. The film will be released in theaters on Nov. 22 by Sony Pictures and then will stream on Apple TV+ at a later date.

Below are key excerpts from some of the most prominent early reviews.

In a mixed review, The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote that Napoleon, "for all its brawn and atmosphere and robustly choreographed combat, this is a distended historical tapestry too sprawling to remain compelling, particularly when its focus veers away from the central couple." Rooney added that "while Scott can be commended for his ambition, neither he nor Scarpa manage to build those many plot pieces into a fluid narrative."

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Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' premieres in France
In his five-star rave review in the Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote that the film is "a deliciously insinuating portrayal of the doomed emperor from Joaquin Phoenix, whose derisive face suits the framing of a bicorne hat and jaunty tricolour cockade." Bradshaw praised the scope of the film and Scott leaning into spectacle, writing that the director "doesn't detain the audience with metaphysical meaning and certainly doesn't withhold the old-fashioned pleasures of spectacle and excitement."

IndieWire's David Ehrlich was mostly satisfied with the film and found that Napoleon worked better as a comedy than a historical epic, given the series of laugh-out-loud moments in the film. "A stinging character study entombed within a sweeping epic that starts like a house on fire before stumbling through the climactic years of its subject's life with all the grace and purpose of the Austrian army trying to flee Austerlitz, "Napoleon" works best whenever it reads the French emperor for filth, which it does early and often."

Catherine Bray, writing in Empire Magazine, also found Napoleon worthwhile and described the film as "a historical epic which is constantly on the lookout for subtle ways to undercut historical epics." "Scott's take on Napoleon is distinctively deadpan: a funny, idiosyncratic close-up of the man, rather than a broader, all-encompassing account," writes Bray.

Less enthralled was critic Brian Tallerico who writes in his review at RogerEbert.com that Napoleon is "a series of accomplished battle sequences looking for a better movie to connect them." Tallerico is another who takes issue with the scope of the film, writing that "one of the problems is that David Scarpa's script tries to pack a lot of life into the running time of a single film."

Uproxx‘s Mike Ryan is another critic who highlights the comedy aspect of the "surprisingly hilarious" Napoleon. "I cannot take credit for this observation, but a friend of mine who saw the movie said, "It's like watching Tim Robinson play Napoleon," and this is pretty dead on. Oh, make no mistake, this is by design," Ryan writes, adding, "This is not my way of saying Napoleon is bad. It's honestly now one of my favorite movies of the year – a movie that, before I saw it, looked a little too stoic and "important." Instead, I probably laughed harder during this movie than I have during any new movie this year. And the laughs are genuine and intentional."

BBC critic Nicholas Barber was captivated by the spectacular battle scenes and plenty of pithy vignettes and writes that Napoleon is "an awe-inspiring achievement, although it may leave you with a greater appreciation of Scott's leadership skills than of Napoleon's." Barber writes that "the film serves as a terrific precis of Napoleon's career, a beautifully illustrated Wikipedia page that ticks off most of the major events in his adult life."

Writing for Total Film, Jordan Farley felt that Napoleon is one of Scott's "finest features in almost two decades." Farley writes that "the film can feel like it's in a race to squeeze everything in, while the essential politicking that unfolds on the fringes and in back rooms is never as gripping as when Napoleon and Josephine's deeply unhealthy relationship plays out."

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***
‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix looney tunes performance as Ridley Scott offers ho-hum biopic

How Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby kept it spicy on the ‘Napoleon’ set

Many famous quotes are attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

“History is a set of lies agreed upon” is one. “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake” is another.

And then there’s a less familiar line that’s uttered by the emperor of France in Ridley Scott’s movie “Napoleon,” starring Joaquin Phoenix: “Destiny has brought me this lamb chop!”


Excusez-moi?

Earlier, when the strategic genius is frustrated by rival Britain’s naval might, he whines like a little boy who’s been bullied at recess, “You think you’re so great because you have boats!”

Depicting one of the most consequential figures in all of European history as a sourpuss clown who crazily rattles off nonsense is a brow-raising choice by Scott, screenwriter David Scarpa and the always peculiar Phoenix.
After all, a person can’t very well forge a half-million-square-mile, multi-continental empire by being a total moron.

But that’s what this Napoleon is — a fool. Viewers spend most of the two and a half hours (Scott says his Apple TV+ cut will be a merciless four) laughing mockingly at the guy who commissioned the Napoleonic Code. Our ever-present thought bubble: What the hell is Joaquin doing?


‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix freak show
© Provided by New York Post
Joaquin Phoenix stars at Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.”©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Typical Phoenix gives us his same creepy, whack-job performance from “Joker,” only now Arthur Fleck is accompanied by a pointy hat, massive scenery, impressive battles and a supremely skilled co-star in Vanessa Kirby.

The actor’s looney tunes turn is especially confusing because Scott doesn’t otherwise seem to be trying to break any new ground for history epics. “Napoleon” is, by and large, a run-of-the-mill, if rather anemic, battlefield biography.


The film begins right when you would expect it would — during the French Revolution in 1789 — and speeds to the beheading of Marie Antoinette and the fall of Maximilien Robespierre. We barrel through Napoleon’s rise from artillery commander to his coronation as emperor, which he pursues in part to shake off his reputation as a “Corsican thug.”

‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix freak show
‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix freak show
© Provided by New York Post
Scott’s film charts Napoleon’s rapid rise from an artillery commander to the emperor of France.Alamy Stock Photo
Perhaps the character’s island upbringing is why Phoenix speaks in his natural American accent while everybody else around him — mostly Francophones and Austrians — chat in posh English brogues.

But that uniform chorus of Angleterre voices from actors such as Rupert Everett and Ben Miles becomes a jumble when France starts fighting, um, the British.

When Napoleon is not attacking neighbors, he’s going head-to-head with his wife, Josephine.

To prevent the movie from becoming a repetitive series of coups and bloody bouts, Napoleon’s relationship to the empress gets ample airtime — particularly the juicy drama of it. Josephine is oversexed and has a nasty habit of cheating on itty-bitty Napoleon, which infuriates the man with an inferiority complex named after him.


‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix freak show
© Provided by New York Post
Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) has a habit of cheating on her powerful husband,
Napoleon (Phoenix).©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

On one of the couple’s first dates, she spreads her legs “Basic Instinct”-style and says, “If you look down, you’ll see a surprise. And once you’ve seen it, you’ll always want it.”

Ew. That awkward comment proves true, and he obsesses over Josephine his entire life — even after he dumps her for a woman who can bear him an heir. The regal Kirby, who knows her way around a palace, turns the empress into a sparring partner for Napoleon. She’s vicious, loving and full of mischief.

However, as Scott showed with the plodding “House of Gucci,” starring Adam Driver and Lady Gaga as Italian fashion royalty, passionate relationships are not this director’s strongest suit. The entire movie, even the story of Leon and Josie, is as cold as a Russian winter.

‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix freak show
© Provided by New York Post
The best part of “Napoleon” are the epic battle sequences. ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Speaking of Napoleon’s botched invasion of Russia, the “Gladiator” director naturally fares far better with the many fight sequences. Overhead shots of horizon-wide cavalry charges, cannon fire, burning ships and other wartime sights are appropriately gigantic and brutal. The Battle of Austerlitz is especially exciting.

That’s all well and good, however it’s too bad Scott could not deliver a brilliant character study of one of the world’s great military leaders — and instead settled for letting a self-indulgent Phoenix fly over the cuckoo’s nest.

***
‘Napoleon’ Review: Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix Deliver a Film That Works Better as a Comedy Than a Historical Epic
Those worried about a glorification of the dictator needn't have feared. You won't be prepared for the way this film utterly humiliates the one-time Emperor of France.
BY DAVID EHRLICH

NOVEMBER 14, 2023 7:00 PM
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte, crowning himself Emperor, in Ridley Scott's "Napoleon"
"Napoleon"Sony/Apple TV+
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Ridley Scott has never been shy about mocking the infinite smallness of man’s thirst for power (a tendency made all the more enjoyable by the cigar-chomping brio of a director who runs his sets like a rogue general in command of his own private army), but I still wasn’t prepared for the extent to which his latest film utterly humiliates one of history’s most ambitious rulers.

Scott’s decision to reunite with Joaquin Phoenix should’ve been my first clue that “Napoleon” would be less than flattering of its namesake, as Phoenix’s turn as the sniveling boy-emperor in “Gladiator” paved the way for him to perfect the feral menace of male insecurity in films like “The Master” and that one where he played a mean clown. And then there’s the fact that several of Scott’s most recent efforts have offered unambiguous reminders of what he thinks about men who fly too close to the sun (“The Martian” and “Prometheus” both come to mind). But not even the shit-eating glee of Ben Affleck’s performance in “The Last Duel” suggested that Scott’s next epic would feel more like a comedy.


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Watching “Napoleon” — or at least the choppy and somewhat formless 157-minute version of it that will be released into theaters in advance of the much longer director’s cut that fans will invariably claim as a masterpiece at a later date — I couldn’t help but feel like Scott may have been caught off-guard himself. There’s no doubt he knew the film would be funny, but he seems to have been surprised by how far that funniness would take it, and/or unwilling to concede how little everything else would matter.


A stinging character study entombed within a sweeping epic that starts like a house on fire before stumbling through the climactic years of its subject’s life with all the grace and purpose of the Austrian army trying to flee Austerlitz, “Napoleon” works best whenever it reads the French emperor for filth, which it does early and often. So often, in fact, that David Scarpa’s acidly dry script never even bothers to poke fun at Napoleon’s diminutive height, at least not beyond a quick visual gag during the French army’s trip to Egypt — there’s no need for such cheapshots in a film that cuts Napoleon down to size in almost every other scene.


Besides, most historians believe Napoleon was approximately 5’8,” and that the complex that bears his name was more of a posthumous fuck you than an actual cross to bear. Phoenix splits the difference, playing Monsieur Bonaparte like a human accordion whose size appears to shrink or expand by several feet within the span of a single scene (thus making his Napoleon a natural accompaniment to Martin Phipps’ free-reed score, which Scott often ditches in favor of repurposing the music that Dario Marianelli wrote for Joe Wright’s “Pride & Prejudice”). Phoenix almost never plays his character for comedy (this Napoleon is rarely in on the joke), and the movie around him supports that decision by having each member of its multinational cast talk in their natural speaking voices, so that all of the characters seem at home with themselves even when their country is turning against them.

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We first spot Napoleon in the crowd at Marie Antoinette’s execution, which he watches with the “I wonder what’s for dinner” energy of a man who literally falls asleep when Directory head Paul Barras (Tahar Rahim) talks to him about politics. The quasi-sociopathic Corsican is as resentfully bored by the Robespierre of it all as Mark Zuckerberg was by his freshman year math classes at Harvard; he’s a genius on the battlefield, but his gift for military tactics doesn’t translate when it comes to people he isn’t trying to kill.

A British soldier makes the mistake of calling him a “shitbag” the night before the Siege of Toulon, which gives Napoleon all the gunpowder he needs to storm through the first of several high-velocity battle scenes, which do more to put some respect on the violence of late 18th century warfare than any movie since Roland Emmerich’s “The Patriot” (the siege kicks off with Napoleon’s horse taking a cannonball to the chest, and gets decapitation-happy from there). But when Napoleon spots his future empress Jos;phine (Vanessa Kirby) across a crowded room shortly after making his triumphant return to Paris, all he can do is stare at her like a creep. Later, when meeting the kids his crush had with her dead ex-husband, Napoleon can only mutter “My compliments to the chef of the family.”


Not that Jos;phine seems to mind such laugh-out-loud tactlessness. Kirby excels at playing strong women who shirk at the limits of their own power, and her underwritten Jos;phine seems motivated by nothing but the desire to bring the world’s most ambitious man under her control; their chemistry-free courtship ends with her hiking up her dress, pointing to her vagina, and showing Napoleon “a secret” that he will never be able to keep. It’s enough to make you wish the movie would more fully commit to the psychosexual power games between these two dang-ass freaks, even if it doesn’t waste any time leveraging them into Napoleon’s debasement.

Their sex scenes are played for laughs, as Scott mines the inherent hilarity of watching a future emperor furiously pound away at someone from behind, and the one between Jos;phine and the lover she takes eight seconds after Napoleon leaves for Egypt are almost as funny; “Napoleon” is never more perceptive or illuminating than when it finds its title character fuming over the fact that his wife has naturally inherited a greater hold over him than he’s able to exert over Europe. And while Napoleon ultimately isn’t the reason why he and Jos;phine are unable to conceive an heir, this movie also gives us several unforgettably sharp expressions of male impotence, none better than when a frustrated Napoleon turns to a British counterpart and snaps “You think you’re so great because you have BOATS!”

We’ve been writing about this guy for more than 200 years, but Scott reduces him to just another loser who went to war over what he lacked in life and died with nothing else for company. His greatest victory finds him sitting on a throne covered in bird shit and then watching his enemies set fire to his prize. “Napoleon” is a portrait of the most pathetic of all great men, or perhaps the greatest of all pathetic ones, and it excels — when it excels — because it’s the rare historical epic that isn’t afraid to be embarrassed for its subject.


It’s humbling enough to be a person, but it’s downright humiliating to want to be so much more; Napoleon’s thirst for strength makes his every weakness into a laughing stock (there’s more than a little Beau Wassermann to the way Phoenix wheezes and panics whenever Napoleon is in a bind, just as I saw flashes of John McEnroe every time he kicked something out of anger), and those weaknesses are all the more compelling because of how forthright this movie is about his strengths. He is a tactical genius, to a point, and he’s also a child at the mercy of his own wants. He is “bent on peace at any cost,” but it’s a peace that can only be brokered between his id and his superego — it has nothing to do with France. 

Unfortunately, this Ridley Scott epic about Napoleon Bonaparte does, in fact, have quite a lot to do with France, and as the invasion of Russia gives way to Napoleon’s divorce and subsequent exile to Elba, it struggles to intertwine his personal battles with his political ones. The epistolary sections never manage to sing with the raw passion of Napoleon and Jos;phine’s actual letters to each other, and Napoleon’s standing in the French government begins to change so rapidly that I began to appreciate how he must have felt while listening to Paul Barras drone on about the matters of the day.


Even if Scott hadn’t already promised a director’s cut of the movie, and even if the trailers hadn’t teased epic “Master and Commander”-worthy naval battles that are nowhere to be found in the theatrical version, it would still feel as if large and necessary chunks of “Napoleon” were missing at its current length. Napoleon loses any sense of agency as the movie enters its final third, and the great tactician — the author of his fortunes until the bitter end — begins to seem at their mercy.

It’s a turn that can be measured by the movie’s gradual downslide from the light and lilting tone of its first half (which pokes fun at Napoleon by refusing to take him more seriously), to the dour sludginess of its second. Waterloo makes for a clear and terrific setpiece that’s almost on par with the digital spectacle that Scott creates from the cold death of Austerlitz, but by that point Napoleon’s outsized ambitions have been long subsumed by a film so lost in its epic sweep that it’s become the butt of its own, frequently scathing joke.


***
Napoleon Review: Little Man, Big Movie
Story by Audrey Fox  •
11/15/23


Napoleon in Egyptian battle
Napoleon in Egyptian battle
© Columbia Pictures/Apple TV+
EDITORS' RATING: 6/10

As far as historical figures go, Napoleon's kind of a big one (despite, ironically, commonly being perceived as diminutive). Trying to make a movie that captures both his genius and his very real flaws, as Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" attempts to do, is a tall order indeed. But despite its powerful battle sequences, it falls somewhat short of its goal, spreading itself thin -- much like Napoleon himself during his infamously disastrous invasion of Russia -- by trying to cover too much ground. Joaquin Phoenix puts in a nuanced performance of the incomparable Napoleon Bonaparte, but the scope of the biopic overwhelms everything else it has going for it.


When we first meet the young Corsican soldier in "Napoleon," he's angling for a promotion amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution. He's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder, hailing as he does from a small backwater island and being considered little more than a coarse outsider to French society. So the fact that he's particularly eager to prove himself is hardly a surprise. The film follows him through his many military exploits, as he marries the charming Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) and rises through the ranks, building a larger following with every battle he wins. But nothing lasts forever, and although Napoleon eventually becomes emperor of all France, it's a tenuous position, one that relies on his ability to produce an heir and, more importantly, have continued success on the battlefield.
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The Man, The Soldier
Napoleon and Josephine being intimate
Napoleon and Josephine being intimate
© Columbia Pictures/Apple TV+

In the lead role, Joaquin Phoenix is most successful in highlighting the contrast between Napoleon the soldier and Napoleon the man. On the battlefield, he is calm, measured, and always a step ahead of his opponents. He commands respect from his troops and is obeyed without hesitation. But in his private life, he's kind of a mess. Phoenix sheds all sense of ego in creating a vision of the famed Napoleon as a man who frequently appears ridiculous before his wife, sending her endlessly fawning, needy love letters while she's happily carrying on an affair back in France.

Related video: Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' premieres in France (Reuters)
This one, This one, this one,
Reuters
Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' premieres in France
His relationship with Josephine is complicated, but no less compelling for it. Although they have a few rough patches early on in their marriage (to put it mildly), they develop a genuine friendship and become prized confidants. In the aftermath of Josephine's affair, they both force each other to say that they are nothing without one another. And in a way, this is true -- after all, it's only after their relationship is torn asunder that Napoleon's position as leader of France is threatened. His desperate bid to sire an heir is just one more example of him trying to prove himself as a man, a soldier, and an emperor.

How Much More Could We Pack Into This Thing?
Napoleon looking through spyglass
Napoleon looking through spyglass
© Columbia Pictures/Apple TV+
The biggest problem with "Napoleon" is that it simply attempts to take on too much. To cover the entirety of Napoleon's military career, to say nothing of his romantic relationships, political intrigues, and repeated exiles, is a fool's errand. In order to try and tackle such a gargantuan Wikipedia article of a narrative, it has to flit from battle to coup attempt and back again, and as each of the events is barely touched upon, they often fail to make much of an impact. In the moments when "Napoleon" allows itself to devote time to the kind of set pieces that Ridley Scott is known for, it's stunning. The Battle of Austerlitz in particular is breathtaking in its horror, all fog and ice as men are led to their doom.

These are also the moments at which we can most take in exactly why Napoleon is such a captivating figure. The ways in which he -- and by extension, the film -- manipulates the battlefield to his own ends, arranging men and cannons as though they were little toy soldiers, is incredibly satisfying to watch. But these moments are much rarer than they ought to be in a film about one of history's greatest generals, and "Napoleon" suffers for it. What might have worked better is a less chronological approach, focusing instead on one major battle or campaign with flashbacks to earlier in Napoleon's career. Realistically, you could make an entire film about the invasion of Russia -- instead, it occupies a mere 10 minutes or so of "Napoleon." This approach also means that it takes quite some time before we actually get to see Napoleon in action as a successful commander, and with Joaquin Phoenix's emotionally detached performance, there's not much for us to latch onto in the first third of the film.

Despite this, there are certainly high points that stand out in "Napoleon." It has an excellent supporting cast, from Rupert Everett's haughty Duke of Wellington to Ben Miles' cooly intelligent diplomat, Coulancourt. Whenever it's able to build up some narrative momentum, it's a joy to watch, and although it's over two and a half hours, it never drags. It's just a shame that it spends so much of its runtime jumping from topic to topic just as we're beginning to get invested in what's put before us. Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" is certainly ambitious, but it's also unwieldy, and the performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby aren't quite enough to completely rescue it from its missteps.

"Napoleon" hits theaters on November 22, before premiering on Apple TV+ at a later date.

Read the original article on Looper.