NAPOLEON

Review: An epic action drama depicting the rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and the volatile relationship with his beloved wife Josephine.
Director: Ridley Scott
Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett, Mark Bonnar, Paul Rhys, Ben Miles, Riana Duce, Ludivine Sagnier, Edouard Philipponnat, Miles Jupp, Scott Handy, Youssef Kerkour, John Hollingworth, Abubakar Salim, Thom Ashley, Jannis Niewohner and Julian Rhind-Tutt
Year: 2023
Genre: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama and History
Conclusion: 4/5
I do think that this is a very brave film for Ridley Scott to direct. I have to say that although this film is 2 hours 38m in length, I never once got bored or looked at my watch. I thought that the editing was very good. All the battle scenes were breath-taking, although really grim. Because of all the spectacular battle scenes, I do think it is a film that needs to be seen on a big screen. They couldn’t have done this film without Joaquin Phoenix. This film reunites Sir Ridley Scott with Joaquin Phoenix after Gladiator (2000). I thought Vanessa Kirby as Josephine was brilliant, as this was a challenging and unusual role. I have to say though that I never felt any emotion with either of their characters. I thought that Rupert Everett gave a really good performance as the Duke of Wellington. I very much enjoyed seeing John Hollingworth. Jodie Comer was originally cast as Empress Josephine, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. I was very impressed by the high quality of the production and I loved all the Napoleonic costuming. The film relies on the visual impact of the cinematography and less on the script. As I hardly knew anything about the story of Napoleon, I did find it really helpful that dates and place names appeared on the screen for each of the episodes. One of the most impressive aspects of the film is the musical score which adds a lot to the atmosphere. I very much enjoyed all the locations that were used, especially the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. I know there have been some arguments about historical accuracy, but in my view, bringing this story to the big screen has been a great achievement for Ridley Scott..