Superbly-executed battle scenes aside, there is something vacant in Scott’s unflattering treatment of one of France’s most infamous historical figures.  

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Look no further than Abel Gance’s 5½-hour-long 1927 silent epic if you want arguably the finest screen treatment of one of France’s most infamous historical figures. 

In comparison, Ridley Scott’s Hollywood version seems vacant, or at least something feels missing from its theatrical cut.  Scott is said to possess a 4-hour director’s cut that could be released on Apple TV+ in the near future. 

Just like what the superior director’s cut did for Scott’s own Kingdom of Heaven (2005), this may rectify some of the film’s existing problems. 

One of the glaring issues is that we don’t quite get into the headspace of the titular character—showing him writing yearnful letters to his beloved Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) while he is out invading lands doesn’t cut it.  It is too perfunctory to work in an ambitious epic like this. 

While Joaquin Phoenix plays Napoleon like a cheeky double, Scott’s rather unflattering treatment of the historical figure is at least consistent. 

“I found the crown of France in the gutter.”

Some have described the film as a comedy, an irreverent portrayal of a powerful man who has pathetic mommy issues—sometimes all he needs is a hug, but that doesn’t make him any more likeable. 

While it isn’t a riveting film by any measure (though it is surely more watchable than Robin Hood or Exodus: Gods and Kings), Napoleon is more interesting when the camera is on Josephine. 

As Napoleon’s first wife, she’s the heart of the story and provides the gravitas needed to anchor a biopic that is at risk of being too by-the-numbers if also scattershot in approach, and reduced to a series of battle sequences. 

Scott has always had a way with grand-scale action and Napoleon once again cements his reputation as a masterful stager of violent clashes between ginormous armies.  There are some truly spectacular moments in this, particularly the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz.

Grade: B-

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