Napoleon Review

 

Napoleon is an epic historical drama film based on Napoleon Bonaparte. It was produced by Scott Free Productions and Apple Studios and distributed by Columbia Pictures and Apple Original Films. Napoleon is written by David Scarpa and directed by Ridley Scott.

The story is while Napoleon has shown to be a very accomplished military commander, he still seeks approval from Europe's other major powers. Soon, Napoleon will learn that this obsession will lead to his downfall.

Initial Reaction

The true reason as why I wanted to see this was because of Ridley Scott. Even if the story isn't great, you can still expect to see a beautiful looking movie. Hopefully I get both a gorgeous movie in the sense of story and look.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

First let's start with the pacing. Now at first it didn't seem all that bad, matter of fact it was decent enough. But then we go into territory where some scenes just drag on. Now for the big issue everybody keeps talking about, the historical accuracy. First off, whenever Ridley Scott makes these kinds of movies, there never historically accurate. Just look at Gladiator, that wasn't accurate and that's a beloved film. Then there's historical movies that Ridley Scott had nothing to do with, and they're loved, such as Braveheart. But my slight issue with the story wasn't the historical inaccuracies, it was somehow, despite the pacing, the movie almost felt like it was telling an abridged version of events. What I mean is one moment we'll be focusing on Napoleon's life outside of the battlefield, then we're straight off to battle, then personal life, but now we got to get to the next war. It kinda makes me wonder if this is a similar situation to Ridley Scott's 2005 movie, Kingdom of Heaven? Where the theatrical cut is a mixed bag, but the director's cut is much better. I really hope that's the case.

Pros

Three things the movie did right. Easiest compliment to give is Ridley Scott's directing. Regardless of the quality, there's no doubt that when Ridley Scott is behind the camera, you can expect the movie to look great. The other bit of praise goes to Joaquin Phoenix's performance. Whether it's a theatrical cut thing or not, there's no doubt that Joaquin is more than capable of giving a spectacular performance. Then there's the battle scenes. There's amazing. There bloody and chaotic, much like a real war would be. I'd go into more details, but I don't think words alone would do those scenes justice.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, Dec 2nd, where I may or may not have a review for John Woo's Silent Night. If there's not a review for that, then expect a review for The Daily Wire's newest movie, Lady Ballers. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.