Napoleon (2023)

Try as I might, my prior knowledge of Napoleon Bonaparte heading into the latest movie based on him is considerably less than normal (I was going to make a height joke here, but couldn’t think of one).

Aside from knowing him as one of the greatest generals in history, being considered short, and having a complex named after him, I knew nothing more (unless you count him being a fan of water slides thanks to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). Even still, it seems to make sense that director Ridley Scott, equally as fearless as Bonaparte (and in his mid 80s, no less) would make a film about the historical figure, which results in the film Napoleon.

The film starts right away with a young Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix, in his first reunion with Ridley Scott since 2000’s Gladiator) at the execution of Marie Antoinette. The film is basically his ascension from humble soldier to the almost mythical figure we know today. Along the way, he falls in love with the widow Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby) and they eventually marry. Whenever he is in town, not doing anything in the political realm, Napoleon and Joséphine are making love rather often (he desperately wants an heir).

With a director like Scott, you would expect the battle scenes to be on an epic grand scale and not pull any punches when it comes to brutal violence. That is indeed the case, as the battle scenes are indeed a marvel to behold. The surprising thing for me was how little there were (I counted about three or four). That is not entirely a bad thing, as the film’s run time is a little less than three hours. Even still, the ones we get are the ones that (I imagine) are the key battles in his military career.

Some critics (especially French ones) have been critical about the historical accuracies of the film. Since I have already stated I know little about the source material, I cannot say for certain what specific complaints are being made, but I can understand the frustrations. Still, movies in general should not be blamed for factual inaccuracies in general. Movies are about feelings and emotions more than they are about facts. 

The acting may not be in the vein of awards consideration, but that does not make it bad. Both Phoenix and Kirby are giving performances that may not jump off the screen at you, but they are never not playing real life people. These are two actors who are virtually incapable of giving bad performances.

Parents, if you have read this far, you should know that this is not a movie for kids. The R rating is justified for it’s intense battle scenes and fair amount of sexual content (though little nudity is shown). 

Perhaps my biggest flaw with the film is that I simply got what I expected. Yes, the aforementioned battle scenes are brilliant, but don’t add anything I have not entirely seen before (to be fair, the theater I was in did have a light that would not turn off or stop humming). While Napoleon is indeed a person who would be rich to dive into character wise, the film still felt more interested at times to tell us historical facts.

It has been said that Scott will release (via Apple TV) a director’s cut of the film that is over four hours long. This is not surprising, since he is as synonymous with “director’s cut” as anyone in Hollywood history (only Oliver Stone would challenge him to the title.) 

Thankfully, the movie is still worth a watch, holding our attention just enough. If it had any other issues, I may start to have a Napoleon complex about it.

Overall: