Napoleon

Review: The newest addition to Ridley Scott’s filmography, this film does feature strong performances, specifically from Joaquin Phoenix & Vanessa Kirby. However, I do think there were more negatives than positives. The tone overall was very strange and inconsistent. I love comedic undertones in any type of film, but it really missed the mark for me in this one. To give credit where it’s due, there were a handful of jokes that made me let out a good chuckle, all of which were delivered by Mr. Phoenix. The film also jumped around a lot to cover such a big timeframe (1793-1821) and it could’ve really benefited from maybe spending more time on a single event. I understand with biopics it can be extremely difficult to cram so much into a 2-3 hour film, which is why I think one specific event usually works better for a figure as daunting as Napoleon Bonaparte. It also didn’t provide a ton of context for the events occurring so nothing felt as weighty as it probably should have. I would imagine someone going into this film blind (I myself only have a novice grasp on the French Revolution & Napoleonic Wars) may have a hard time following. The jumping around also makes it feel more like a group of scenes than a single succinct story.

High: Easily the coronation scene. The brief monologue by Joaquin Phoenix was great and seeing part of that scene in the trailer really had me intrigued.

Low: I highlighted a lot of lows in my review, but the lowest low for me was the dialogue. It, like the tone, was very inconsistent. Sometimes a joke was made & sometimes it was extremely direct to where it felt robotic. The dialogue between Napoleon & Josephine was especially uncomfortable and could’ve been catastrophic with weaker performers. I think of the two Napoleon protagonists (Bonaparte & Dynamite), Jon Heder gives a less awkward performance.

Rating: 4.5/10