A Powerful Historical Epic
Summary
Napoleon delivers all the spectacle we have come to expect from a Ridley Scott epic with excellent performances from Phoenix and Kirby. I did find some of it was very dull visually and hard to see what was going on but I think that may be our local theatre rather than the movie itself. At 158 minutes the pacing rarely lags and the battle sequences are truly epic making this well worth watching on the big screen.
Plot: Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.
Review: Any time a new historical epic is released by Sir Ridley Scott I absolutely must see it on the big screen; it’s a genre we rarely see anymore, and he is arguably the best modern filmmaker at creating the sheer spectacle I love about these movies.
I’ve heard many complain that Napoleon isn’t historically accurate, but I don’t really care; it’s a movie made to entertain, not a documentary, so I just enjoy it for what it is.
Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic in the role capturing the ego, petulance and military strategy Napoleon was known for but it’s too bad he never even attempted a French accent. I did find that took me out of it at several points as it just sounded like Joaquin Phoenix.
Practically everyone in the cast has an English accent so it’s hard to decipher who is battling who during some moments and it didn’t help that so much of the film was too darkly lit to see what was happening. I find this with so many movies recently, so maybe it’s our local theatre but if anyone else has this issue do let me know, so I’m not seen as a liar.
Aside from these minor quibbles Napoleon is a thoroughly engaging historical epic and is the kind of movie that needs to be seen at the theatre rather than at home as the battle scenes are truly spectacular, as only Sir Ridley can do. They are brutal and visceral, really making them feel immersive and impactful.
Despite the epic battle sequences Napoleon is a surprisingly intimate tale with the heart of the story being the relationship between Napoleon and his first wife Josephine (the always magnetic Vanessa Kirby). He clearly adored her more than anything but when she couldn’t provide an heir then the marriage began to sour.
Phoenix manages to make us feel somewhat sympathetic towards Napoleon mostly due to his sheer charisma despite the man actually being a monster responsible for the deaths of millions.
It doesn’t quite have the emotional resonance of Gladiator, but I still found myself into the story and the runtime never dragged; when the pacing slows for character moments the audience was still fully engaged (at least ours was as you could hear a pin drop for the majority of the film).
The music score isn’t that memorable in terms of melody, but it certainly has some incredible moments especially the Russian battle sequence which was one of the many highlights.
There are almost too many amazing sequences to name here but Waterloo was every bit as epic as you’d expect and it had to be as it’s such a famous battle.
Overall, Napoleon isn’t without its flaws, but Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby are mesmerizing and the battle scenes are what cinemas were invented for giving us arguably Sir Ridley Scott’s best film since Gladiator.
