REVIEW: Napoleon is old fashioned, expensive movie magic

In the 1970s, Stanley Kubrick wanted to make a gigantic film about one of the biggest figures of French history. His film about Napoleon would’ve starred Jack Nicholson as the Emperor and Audrey Hepburn as his wife Joséphine, but the cost grew too large and the film was cancelled. While elements of the film were reused for Kubrick’s 1975 masterpiece Barry Lyndon, and Steven Spielberg is still attempting to make a miniseries about him, Napoleon hasn’t received the biopic treatment in a major motion picture in several decades. While Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure does show the often forgotten water park-loving side of him, we haven’t seen a proper take on the Emperor of France since the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Luckily Ridley Scott (the director of Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator) is here with another banger featuring incredible battle scenes using realistic effects. At 2 hour and 40 minutes, Napoleon depicts the French Emperor’s life from the French Revolution to his death in exile in 1821. Played by Joaquin Phoenix (from Beau Is Afraid, Walk the Line, and Joker), this film gives equal focus to his military might and immense battles he earned his respect from, as well as his personal life with Empress Joséphine (played by Vanessa Kirby from the Crown and Pieces of a Woman).

While the film gives roughly equal focus to his personal and professional life, it makes a clear point that both are always connected in his pursuit of power. Ruling France and being seen as a great ruler is the clear desire of Bonaparte’s life, and everything he does is constantly working towards that. This film goes back and forth between the two following his life chronologically with gorgeous detail in every element. From the outfits worn, to the intense battles depicted this is a film made with incredible aesthetic accuracy. That said, like many biopics of non-English speaking people all French characters are surprisingly fluent in English.

Phoenix’s performance is constantly going between this almost psychosexual desire for his wife, and a power hungry desire for control of France. Frequently a terror on the battlefield and often one at home, his plays Napoleon like a little boy constantly yearning. As expected, it’s an impressive turn for Phoenix, one of our finest working actors.

But the best performance goes to Kirby as the woman constantly chasing after her love, but never quite good enough for him. While Napoleon adores Joséphine, she never seems to quite please him and Kirby constantly plays that confusion with a unique clarity. Any one who has seen Pieces of a Woman know she is an incredibly powerful actress, and at such a young age she has decades to continue impressing audiences. While this film will probably be seen as another notch in Phoenix’s career, it’ll be a highlight of Kirby’s.

But where the film truly succeeds is in the one thing audiences know Ridley Scott has always been great in. The expansive battle scenes, of which this film shows six of Napoleon’s many military accomplishments, are astoundingly brilliant. These are created like an old-school film, with minimal CGI and maximal amounts of extras in era-appropriate uniforms. While many audiences may enjoy seeing the computer-created clashes of superhero films and modern blockbusters, this feels like you’re watching something truly real. Bullets flying through flesh, cannons destroying dozens of people and horses. It feels like you’re actually back at the Battle of Waterloo, watching history unfold. Few make films like these anymore, so thank you Ridley Scott for going this hard.

Napoleon is a terrific movie, a modern version of an old-school Hollywood epic. It’s exciting, thrilling, and dares to impress audiences with some of the battles scenes in several years. But it’s also a fantastic drama about a complicated love between a man only sees his destiny, and the woman who only sees the man she adores. This film gets a 3.5/5, you can watch it in cinemas now. I highly recommend watching this film on the biggest screen possible, whether IMAX or 70mm.