Napoleon has been a historical figure that filmmakers have wanted to make films about for years. Stanley Kubrick was very close to making a film about this French dictator but that turned into Barry Lyndon. Cary Joji  Fukunaga was very close as well before Ridley Scott took the reins for this latest incarnation of the French military genius. He has a lot of practice making these kinds of films.

Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) was a captain in the French army when he was approached by a higher-up in the government to ask him about his strategy revolving around a fort in Toulon, France. This became The Seige at Toulon. This changed his trajectory regarding his career. He was promoted to General and the rest of the story is history as they say. He parlayed his career in the military as a strategic miliaryman into the leader of the country.

As they say, all men have an important woman beside them and in this case, it’s Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) an ex-prisoner who was part of the previous regime. She caught the eye of this hungry man. He had a ravenous appetite for food and women. She satiated his need for female intimacy. This was more than just a romantic trist for Kirby’s character. It was a strategic move on her part to get involved with this man. She saw where he was headed and wanted to be a part of his rise to the top. 

This relationship between Napoleon and Josephine wasn’t an exclusive one though as far as one of them is concerned. Kirby’s character had other things in mind. This leads to some sexual inadequacies on one of their parts. With Napoleon wanting an heir it was important for the martial union to bear so fruit. That would secure his place as the leader of this constantly bombarded country by its surrounding neighbors in Europe. 

There is more than just a romantic relationship focused on in this biopic though. This man was considered one of the best military strategists in the history of the world. So as Ridley Scott has made historical epics before fiction or otherwise. Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and The Kingdom of Heaven come to mind. He knows how to stage a battle sequence. This film has some amazing battle scenes that are filled with blood and violence. Even his historic losses are visually displayed on screen. Those are the best parts of this film. They are very well conseived and constructed by Scott.

With all historical epics, there comes political intrigue that comes with all the war scenes. The political machinations are weaved throughout this two-and-a-half-hour epic. Something tells me Ripley’s four-hour cut will have much more of these political scenes. Like the other historical epics in Scott’s filmography, these scenes play a big part in making the movie more interesting in the end.

With a lot of war films based on real people, the one thing that gets lost in all the battles and so forth is the script. The Script by David Scarpa is very good but it lacks the extra that I think could have made a difference in this story. There is a blandness to the dialogue and with Phoenix not using a French accent the story lacks a little genasaqua as they say. It just doesn’t go to the next level I wanted it to.

The production design and costumes are pretty amazing in this historical biopic. There are dozens of military uniforms and gorgeous gowns worn throughout the film. I was instantly brought into this late 17th and early 18th-century world that Scott and company have created. He knows how to make these kinds of films. With the budget he probably had he was able to make the film look very authentic. From the war scenes to dinner scenes this movie looked very good. Add in the cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and you have a pretty good historical epic.

Napoleon isn’t the best historical epic I’ve ever seen but it’s pretty good. The war scenes are epic, no pun intended. They showed how brutal and bloody war is at this time or any other time. The political intrigue was good, not great. I would have liked to have more of this. The relationship between Napoleon and Josephine was handled well but could have been a bit better. The performances by Phoenix and Kirby were adequate but not next level like I hoped for. This is a solid historical biopic; it’s just not on the level of some others I’ve seen in the past.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen