Napoleon

Name - Napoleon
Released - 2022
Director - Ridley Scott


It must be one of the most hyped films for some time building on the back of the reputation of Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott. Joaquin who was pretty amazing in the cinematic gem Gladiator also directed by Ridley Scott many years ago brings them back together for Napoleon. I understand there is a sequel to Gladiator underway too, but of course without The Gladiator as he died.

Ridley Scott did a great job with Gladiator and also a few other great films since then too, so the expectations for Napoleon were being hyped pretty mad. However, a quick glance at the ratings and you can see that it wasn't so well received.

I finally got to watch it when it dropped on Apple TV recently and I can say I agree with the critics, what a disappointment! Oh man, it was pretty hard to sit through the whole thing it was farcical. If this is the best they can do for one of historys most famous people, Ridley Scott needs to pack it up now.

One of the worst thing about the film is was there was no fluidity to it, one scene didn't flow into the next very well, it felt all over the place. Also, if anyone has watched Downton Abbey, the costume dramas really need to be believable, and here there was something missing, it just wasn't convincing.

It seemed as though they were making Joaquin to wear the hat so you knew who he was throughout the film. When you might expect to be impressed to the accomplishments of Napoleon, they somehow look ridiculous with the low effort CGI and comical appearances of Joaquin with his hat on. I kept finding myself shouting to him to take the bloody hat off. No one was wearing a Napoleon hat to bed!

Joaquim whom I really like in many of his films, was very dismal in this film. Whilst he strikes a commanding figure, he seemed totally out of his depth here. He couldn't bring Napoleon to life, perhaps they really needed a french person to play the character, as it seemed like they had placed John Wayne as the main character, it didn't fit.

Which brings me on to the main fault, it seemed all totally surreal and unfrench like. Watching Emily in Paris has more french flair than this film. You just thought that they made the film without consulting any french people or historians and made it without dealing with any french people either. The effect is some weird american costume drama that looks and feels really odd.

It could be they didn't know how to portray Napoleon and seemed fixated on his wife and some weird sex scenes which brought nothing to the story. I was hoping to see something about the rise to power of Napoleon and of some of his amazing battles, but it was all so weirdly put together that you could get nothing out of it.

It was a real lost opportunity that seemed rushed, cheaply made and it was like watching stale scenese with Joaquin oddly muttering things to himself that noone could understand.

If you haven't watched it yet, its for sure one to avoid and a great example of the hubris of Ridley Scott to produce such garbage. His best days are long behind him.

Thanks for reading.

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36 comments
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I love Sir Ridley Scott but 10 minutes into Napoleon I left cause it seemed boring and only IMDb people saying it has too much focus on his wife.

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Yes, it is very obsessed with his wife!

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I mean she is played by the hot Vanessa Kirby but still quite annoying as this movie should be more about war and strategies of war by Napoleon but instead we get this romance story. Usually I finish off Sir Ridley Scotts movies even his recent Alien prequels let's hope he gets back in form for Gladiator 2 somehow.

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Yes. she was somehow lifeless in the role, but I think it was more Joaquin who was just lifeless. I really hope they come up with something good for Gladiator 2, but without the heavyweights from the first film, I do not have high expectations after watching this.

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Am shocked by your statement regarding Joaquin playing a lifeless role cause I seen his joker movie and that movie made over a billion dollars thanks to his acting meaning the script of napoleon was not good enough very disappointing to see.

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I think he was brilliant in The Joker, but totally failed in this,. I think probably alot harder role to play than you might think. Gladiator, he wasnt the starring role, which makes a huge difference too.

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Yeah but his role in gladiator as the menacing evil was great too. I have made a decision to not watch Napoleon.

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Who can forget the masterpiece and famous " Gladiator" which is always being recommended by everyone.

Interestingly and sadly, I haven't watched this Nepolean Movie. But, it doesn't mean that I didn't want to watch. Infact,I tried to watch it on some website but quality wasn't clear.

It's hype is still entrenched in my mind but you have picked so many drawbacks of the film.

If I give response on the base of your critics then I agree with you that costumes should be realistic and there should be smooth flow in the events which is highly important to connect and to dwell deep in the movie.

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Yes, the Gladiator film stays in my mind as a masterpiece. Sadly Ridley completely let us down with Napoleon. I think you didnt miss anything if you skip this one!

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If you haven't watched it yet, its for sure one to avoid

Thanks for the warning! I was tempted to watch this as Ridley Scott was directing ...

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Its a big fail Ed, quite a few better things on to catch at the moment I think. Im currently enjoying the F1 on Netflix.

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I didn’t think it was that bad.

showed how power can corrupt a man, also the battle with the British at the end was very good, showed how his battle tactics can be countered, even though the smashing the ice was a master stroke winner

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it was really disjointed for me and had no flow. I couldnt relate to Joaquin at all in the film. You could also never guess they were talking about France through the film, plus the bad CGI.

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I noticed this movie on Amazon Prime the other night and it was one of the movies I was going to see in the next few days but after reading your review I think I will see other movies first. Thank you for this review because I will use my free time in a better way instead of watching this movie :)
!DHEDGE
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Thats a good move as it is really bad! There are many better things to watch right now!

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I haven't watched it yet, but my French friend (perhaps unsurprisingly) hated it and thought it was insulting to French history. I watched another review that said it played fast and loose with history, changing a lot even for a Ridley Scott film. A lot of people also seem to be saying that Joaquin is too old for the role and it shows.

I have to admit, all the negativity around the film has made me not really interested in seeing it.

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I really got that vibe that they were playing fast and loose with history and was so detached from real french history, you couldnt be more far away. Many of the scenes I would find insulting if I was French, especially with the scenes with his wife and some of the out of context pomp scenes. A huge fail in my book, part of the fare from Hollywood these days. I think only a French Director with French actors could make this film good. It really felt like they had a cowboy playing Napoleon, I wonder if Ridley Scott has even been to France after watching this film.

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Sometimes I always wonder if a director is not paid well for a movie to be like this. Well, the trailer was interesting which is mostly because they usually make trailers seem more interesting but the review you gave about the actual movie would not even make me watch it

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Yeah, the trailer seems quite good, but the movie is a big disappointment sadly.

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I watched a video essay on how the movie was a flop and the author made similar remarks about it, they missed the heart of it, it's very essence. I think they would've done better if they had consulted and involved French natives who carry the French spirit.

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I actually found the trailer quite impressive but I was surprised about one thing. At 1.43 it says witness the rise of an emperor but there is a sex scene. WTF?! 🤣

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I agree,@mypathonfire and I would add that "Great" directors perhaps at some point in their careers get caught up in the "God syndrome" and come up with scripts and directions that have nothing to do with the real characters, really only creating a film with "their" vision of the character.
Having a lot of money to make epic works is not always a guarantee of making it, the epic work.......

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Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there. This film was too big for Ridley Scott and adding in some CGI scenes and a star lead actor are not enough to make a good epic these days.

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I've not watched it before, but you are warning not to try 😂

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