Ridley Scott Gives Us Only A Partial Picture In “Napoleon” | Movie Review
Napoleon has a lot to offer.
Director Ridley Scott's latest work, the historical epic, chronicles the fascinating life of French socialite Napoleon Bonaparte, chronicling his rise and eventual fall - with only a second rise and fall - his search for love and perhaps his utter obsession with his wife , Josephine. . 
Joaquin Phoenix appears in a scene from the film “Napoleon”. (Apple TV+)
“Napoleon” presents us with countless battle scenes, a philosophical exercise at which Scott was a master.
And although he delivered a mixed performance from Joaquin Phoenix - at 1.70 meters tall and with a hat over his shoulder, he is undoubtedly the equivalent of Napoleon - he succeeded. The level of excellence that we get from co-star Vanessa Kirby as Josephine expect.
It's quick and generally entertaining.
Napoleon has a lot to offer. However, it leaves you wanting more.
Even at nearly two and a half hours long, "Napoleon" feels like a "Cliff's Notes" version of the story of the French military leader, the Emperor. Hopefully the film will reach the promised four hours when it's released on Apple. TV+ (In theaters this week and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, originally produced by Apple Studios.)
We feel like we're moving along very quickly in his career, even though the film doesn't touch on his childhood, just showing us how he was on the verge of several military victories. As Napoleon advances, he rises (the men shout, "Long live the Republic!" as a captain is promoted to brigadier general) and climbs (later, during the coronation in 1804, other men shout, "Long live the Emperor!"). I managed this relatively easily.
For a while at least, Josephine represents his greatest challenge, and when he meets her at a ball, he is surprised when she asks him about his clothes and he strangely replies that it is just his military uniform.
She quickly texts him to enjoy his company and massages his neck while she sniffs.
While they were eating lunch at a sidewalk cafe, she moved her chair closer, but this subsequent action suggests that she has this dynamic power. Even after their marriage, his flamboyant behavior becomes a major distraction for France, which seeks fame in distant lands.
From the fight sequences, scenes in the Phoenix videos and Kirby's participation on the screen with more screens in the film, thanks to that of Kirby ("The Crown", "Pieces of a Woman"), they can be transferred later. Some. The lines of dialogue are, to say the least, a complicated relationship between them, and the film lacks some pop when Napoleon isn't exercising - or engaging in some other activity - that he simply adores.
To make matters worse, none of the other characters in the film are well developed, including Napoleon's brother Lucien (Matthew Needham) and Paul Barras (Tahar Rahim), a key figure in the French Revolution. Napoleon's encounters with rival heads of state such as Tsar Alexander I of Russia under Édouard Villepinte are entirely believable, and it is in these scenes that Phoenix does his best work.
Elsewhere, the actor, who played the evil Roman Emperor Commodus in Oscar-winning director Scott's 2000 film Gladiator, said the director wanted the role after his breakout role in 2019's Joker, but the Performance often feels static.
But here too, the fight sequences are supposed to be slow. Although it seems very modern in its implementation, it fortunately doesn't seem overly stylized, which could push it into the world of the "Napoleon" action film. A scene from one of the caravans in which French troops fire artillery shells and lure the enemy Napoleon into a snowy, half-frozen lake? Great stuff.
As a character study, “Napoleon” is effective, but very effective. An acquaintance once described him as “a man who advocates for peace at all costs.” The text left for the pre-credits scenes suggests that Napoleon was very concerned about costs, but we only get that impression then.
What does the film say about him at the end? At least with this theatrical version it's a little darker, wrote David Scarpa - the screenwriter of Scott's 2017 film "All the Money in the World" and the upcoming "Gladiator 2" -
Maybe we'll find out in an hour and a half.
Napoleon
To the note
Duration: 158 minutes
Where: In the theater
Stars (out of four): 2 1/2
