Napoleon Review: Ridley Scott’s Ambitious Historical Epic Clearly Has More To Show

Putting Ridley Scott back in the saddle with Joaquin Phoenix almost feels like it’s a no-brainer – especially when the project is the historical epic Napoleon. With the boys getting the band back together, and with such a lush looking product in the offing, the anticipation has been mounting as we have gotten closer to the unfurling of this cinematic release. 

While its ambitions definitely make it one worth taking in on the big screen, the end result clearly has more to show its audience. The result is a picture that feels engaging and energetic, but also incomplete when considering the big picture.

Roughly covering the years of 1793 to 1821, the movie observes Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) going from rising star of the French military to head of state, ultimately taking his place as a lonely exile. Binding the story in writer David Scarpa’s screenplay is two things: Napoleon’s ambitions for France and his iconic love affair with Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). 

Both subjects are covered to an intriguing degree in Napoleon, but when it comes to influencing the story, one side is the clear winner. And that’s where a variety of complications stem from, as the way this movie is being marketed compared to the actual story that’s being told, is going to confuse some audience members looking for the Gladiator-style resurgence the trailers have promised. 

Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix’s reunion is ever-engaging but a bit slight.

Warts and all, it’s good to see Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix teaming up again for Napoleon. Taking away concerns like historical accuracy, or even the fact that a film about the French Revolution and the ensuing historical shifts has barely any French accents, it’s certainly a delight to see a winning team back at work. In fact, the confidence of these cinematic dance partners is part of what makes the navigation of a film with such an uneven tone a somewhat successful endeavor. 

At the same time, one has to ask if this movie would have played better without knowing that Sir Ridley Scott has an extended cut already in the works. Napoleon’s relatively brisk clip feels even more notable when keeping in the back of your mind that a 4.5 hour version of this same story is supposedly going to arrive on Apple TV+ in the future. With Killers of the Flower Moon running about 3.5 hours in theaters now, one could see that both filmmaker and studio compromised on the matter; perhaps in a bid for commercial success.

Napoleon still plays well at a little over 2.5 hours, including some amazing battlefield set pieces as well as a constant undercurrent of dark humor that’s pleasantly surprising. But again, this isn’t Gladiator 1.5, as there’s quite a bit of surprising emphasis placed on a storyline that most may not be expecting to be the dominant thread in Joaquin Phoenix’s historical portrayal.

Audiences are bound to feel a bit of a bait and switch due to the heavy emphasis on Napoleon and Josephine’s romance.

It’s Napoleon and Josephine’s rocky relationship that truly feels like the bedrock of Ridley Scott and David Scarpa’s collaboration. We’re introduced to Vanessa Kirby’s Empress-to-Be pretty quickly, and we see her and Joaquin Phoenix fall in with each other just as fast. Were the trailers not filled with cannon fire, conversations about the good of France, and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” blasting as the soundtrack, this might not be a problem. 

Alas, this is most likely going to be where audience expectations and Napoleon’s reality clash the most. Again, the battles we do see are stunning, as cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, production designer Arthur Max, and costume designer Janty Yates join forces for a visual feast that never lets up. But in-between visceral and bloody battles that show soldiers in various states of disarray and bodily maiming, there’s a beating heart that’s given more importance than we’ve been led to believe.

The good news on that front is that Napoleon does seem to be a nice compromise when it comes to date night, as the romantics and the military tacticians can share popcorn very easily with this one. The bad news is that if you don’t set your expectations accordingly, you might be scratching your head as to what exactly you’re supposed to take away from the sprawling epic you’ve just watched. Especially when there's sequences accompanied by a blinding white transition that almost feel like a signal for where some extended passages of Napoleon's narrative may be slotted back in. 

The visually stunning Napoleon seems bound to feel more complete in its already promised extended version.

Telling the story of Napoleon Bonaparte in a cinematic context has always been a daunting task. Legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick once poured a lot of time, budget, and energy into a script that’s still trying to find its way in front of cameras. With Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, the world sees that it can be done, provided you know which side of the French emperor’s life you’re supposed to pay attention to. 

It all circles back to the 4.5 hour cut that the filmmaker is supposed to provide to Apple TV+ at a later date. With the Kingdom of Heaven filmmaker seemingly working a miracle between the theatrical and extended cut of that particular project, judging Napoleon too harshly at this point feels a bit wrong. Then again, knowing that there’s already a version of this movie that’s poised to come off as the “complete” experience, and having that product not be the one in theaters, feels similarly improper. 

Napoleon may divide its audience when it comes to whether it’s a success waiting to happen or a failure that’s just waiting to be confirmed. While that particular debate is set to play out at a later date, the lush world that Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby’s performances take place in definitely deserves to be seen in theaters. 

Let’s hope that at some point the complete Napoleon experience has the same honor, as in its current state, it’s a confusing mix of too much and too little. Ridley Scott was definitely cooking with this project, and it's a shame that we've been fed an appetizer rather than the main course.