'Napoleon' review: Grand visual spectacle comes with unignorable flaws
What's the story
Ridley Scott's epic war drama (and not a biopic) Napoleon feels like the first paragraph of someone's Wikipedia entry—it packs too much information and yet provides only a cursory glance without stretching its legs toward the details.
The film is audacious and often awe-inspiring with its sets, performances, dialogues, and action pieces, and yet cries due to the lack of profundity and depth.
Information
Be informed that not everything in the film is true
Scott has filmed Napoleon based on his understanding of the French emperor and while most of the incidents are reportedly true, some instances (usually the exaggerated theatrics) can be chalked up to cinematic liberties and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Plot
What is the plot?
Napoleon follows Napoleon Bonaparte's (Joaquin Phoenix) rise, military conquests (the credits say he fought 61 battles), marriage and divorce with Joséphine de Beauharnais, his obsession with an heir and his power thirst, the defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and the exile to St. Helena.
His troubled marital life receives a lot of spotlight, exploring Napoleon as a husband, not merely as a commander.
#1
Battle scenes are breathtaking and exquisitely executed
In a film about an ill-famed military commander, the battle scenes are naturally the most important, and Scott has presented them in a grand, awe-inspiring manner here.
These scenes are dauntless and nearly perfect, and despite so much going on the screen, you can't help but be mystified by the beauty of it all.
They warrant to be watched—and appreciated—on the 70mm screen.
#2
Phoenix is a steal-stealer in this one
Another jewel in the crown of Napoleon, of course, is Phoenix, who looks, walks, and talks like a man of authority even on occasions when he hasn't quite achieved what he intends to.
Amid this show of mayhem and macabre violence, he finds his footing and stays astonishingly consistent; his eyes speak more than he does, and his dialogue delivery belongs to acting books.
#3
The music keeps the shows going
The background score is one of the biggest bullets in Napoleon's arsenal, and there are multiple junctures in the film when it uplifts sequences.
What fun is it to watch horses slashing through a troop of soldiers without a rousing war anthem to supplement it, anyway?
Be it the introductory guillotine scene or Napoleon's crowning, the movie wouldn't be as watchable sans its music.
Dialogues
Pay special attention to the dialogues
The dialogues deserve another special mention, especially the ones that chronicle Napoleon-Beauharnais's romance.
He tells her, "I am not built like other men" and "My achievements seem slight because they keep us apart."
At a later stage, unrelated to romance, he declares his rabid passion for his duty, "I love France too much."
"France...Army...Josephine," he utters and then goes silent forever.
#4
Problems: Can you sit through such a long film?
One of my biggest gripes with Napoleon would be its overbearing length; at about two hours and 40 minutes, it's needlessly long, and so many parts could have been either shortened or completely eliminated.
At several points (specifically during the battle scenes), I wondered whether Scott should have taken the OTT route instead and given us something on par with Game of Thrones.
#5
Scenes feel incomplete and disjointed
Another aspect that gnaws at the film is how several scenes seem to exist simply in isolation and don't come together with the movie eventually.
This renders them with a feeling of incompleteness and being painted with broad strokes doesn't always bode too well for all movies.
A better approach would possibly have been to zoom in on fewer aspects (like their married life).
#6
More on the above problem
Speaking of Napoleon and Beauharnais's marriage, while all scenes between them are enjoyable (and elevated superbly by the actors, especially Phoenix), they don't come off as complete here and there, and the itch of not watching something well-rounded annoys you.
Some other scenes exist only for the sake of it, stripped of momentum.
Add to it the length, and one could momentarily doze off.
Verdict
Phoenix/Scott's fan? Watch in theaters, or else, on OTT
Napoleon is the kind of film you cannot entirely hate or entirely love because of its stupendous merits and disappointing demerits.
Capturing the essence of a historical figure in under three hours is a hard ask, but films—both in Hollywood and Bollywood—have done so repeatedly.
Napoleon is somewhere there but fails to realize its potential completely.
It's impressive, but not scott-free.
Verdict: 2.5/5 stars.