I went in wanting and expecting to like it but came out thinking it was a disjointed mess.
I did like Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby as Napoleon and Josephine, and the battle scenes, although sparse and lacking context, were visually impressive. Regrettably, this is where the luminosity of the film dims. The rest of the cast is never given an opportunity to perform or bring their characters to life. Most are not even mentioned by name in the dialogue. For example, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington and the man who brought Napoleon to heel at the Battle of Waterloo, is introduced at the beginning of Act 3 with an on-screen title card--very lazy storytelling.
The film vacillates between the intimate drama of Napoleon's tumultuous marriage and abrupt, though strikingly vivid, battle sequences. Yet it fails to stitch these disparate scenes into a coherent narrative. It never delves into any of the social reforms or policies that Napoleon implemented and reshaped Europe, nor does it explain the sociopolitical causes behind the battle scenes. Furthermore, it fails to show what a brilliant and charismatic leader Napoleon was or to justify why his troops were so loyal to him.
The film also completely glosses over his time spent on the island of Elba. In fact, if you're not familiar with Napoleon's history, you might not even recognize that sequence of events and why his troops rallied around him to help him regain power. It was all very strange and bordered on incoherent, as if Scott, burdened by the runtime, chose to excise the soul of the story, leaving only the skeleton of historical events.
The production value is great-the sets and costumes looked amazing and, despite lacking context, the battle scenes were well-shot and looked great on the big screen.
Ridley Scott has mentioned in interviews that he has a 4-hour director's cut that will be released when the film goes to streaming. I'm hoping the additional runtime adds the much-needed historical context about the sociopolitical environment in Europe at the time and doesn't just pad out the runtime with more marital drama.
◼TL;DR: Despite being visually impressive and the strength of its two leads, Napoleon is a jumbled mess of a story that borders on the incoherent.
6.5 out of 10.
I did like Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby as Napoleon and Josephine, and the battle scenes, although sparse and lacking context, were visually impressive. Regrettably, this is where the luminosity of the film dims. The rest of the cast is never given an opportunity to perform or bring their characters to life. Most are not even mentioned by name in the dialogue. For example, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington and the man who brought Napoleon to heel at the Battle of Waterloo, is introduced at the beginning of Act 3 with an on-screen title card--very lazy storytelling.
The film vacillates between the intimate drama of Napoleon's tumultuous marriage and abrupt, though strikingly vivid, battle sequences. Yet it fails to stitch these disparate scenes into a coherent narrative. It never delves into any of the social reforms or policies that Napoleon implemented and reshaped Europe, nor does it explain the sociopolitical causes behind the battle scenes. Furthermore, it fails to show what a brilliant and charismatic leader Napoleon was or to justify why his troops were so loyal to him.
The film also completely glosses over his time spent on the island of Elba. In fact, if you're not familiar with Napoleon's history, you might not even recognize that sequence of events and why his troops rallied around him to help him regain power. It was all very strange and bordered on incoherent, as if Scott, burdened by the runtime, chose to excise the soul of the story, leaving only the skeleton of historical events.
The production value is great-the sets and costumes looked amazing and, despite lacking context, the battle scenes were well-shot and looked great on the big screen.
Ridley Scott has mentioned in interviews that he has a 4-hour director's cut that will be released when the film goes to streaming. I'm hoping the additional runtime adds the much-needed historical context about the sociopolitical environment in Europe at the time and doesn't just pad out the runtime with more marital drama.
◼TL;DR: Despite being visually impressive and the strength of its two leads, Napoleon is a jumbled mess of a story that borders on the incoherent.
6.5 out of 10.