“I am the first to admit when I make a mistake. I never do,” this is quote by Napoleon Bonaparte played by Joaquin Phoenix truly reflects what this movie was: a biographical rant about a foolish leader and his crusades marching his country to its death. With a run time of 2 hours and 38 minutes, this action-drama biography includes many intriguing aspects: harsh battle scenes brilliantly done by director Ridley Scott, spicy diplomatic drama, and a main character's struggle with sanity. Much like Star Wars, the movie starts with bland yellow text drifting across the screen explaining Napoleon’s young life, this instantly transfers into a gruesome battle scene that earns Napoleon a promotion for his tactics in the victory and ultimately leads to Napoleon’s rise to the top of France.
“Ridley Scott was able to really bring Napoleon’s strategy to life, especially his recreation of the battle of Austerlitz, I had great graphics and explosion's, an all-around great battle scene,” stated viewer and avid Napoleon fan Melvin Northrup (11).
I enjoyed that this movie includes many battle scenes that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.
“Ridley Scott was able to really bring Napoleon’s strategy to life, especially his recreation of the battle of Austerlitz, I had great graphics and explosion's, an all-around great battle scene,” stated viewer and avid Napoleon fan Melvin Northrup (11). Throughout this film, the viewer is put on a timeline that transports them through Napoleon’s life in royalty, warfare, politics and infertility and makes for a fulfilling biography that leaves the audience well educated. Joaquin Phoenix was also able to bring the character of Napoleon to life. His performance makes the audience feel like they are watching an autobiographical film.
Despite these positive attributes, Napoleon was lackluster in many aspects of what makes a movie great. The slow cuts left the viewers drooling while the screen seemed at a standstill.
“The movie did not grasp my attention, I was constantly finding myself adrift thinking about other things, because of the slow nature of the videography,” said Marshet Redman (11) a passionate movie enthusiast. Napoleon not only had very slow shots for its 158-minute run time, but Napoleon’s character seemed flavorless. This might be due to the directors/actor's commitment to keep the role as authentic as possible. Even if that is the case, the main character being lifeless makes the movie extremely boring. Napoleon also has had many mixed reviews, according to rottentomates.com only 58% of people enjoyed this movie.
At the end of the day, this film is an acquired taste that is likely to be enjoyed only by someone well-versed in the genre.
I would personally give this film a 6.85/10.
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