It should not be this hard. It should not be this hard to write a review of Sir Ridley Scott’s latest movie “Napoleon”. But it is. The main reason is that I can not decide if I liked the movie or not.
“Napoleon” is interesting. The movie is well-written and masterfully shot and Joaquin Phoenix is superb. I watched the movie together with my wonderful wife in an IMAX theater. “Gladiator” is one of the best movies ever made, and probably my current problem with Napoleon lies with me trying to compare the two. Remember both movies had the same director. Having said that, “Gladiator” had something a little extra. One is Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack and the other are the battle scenes in the Coliseum. “Napoleon” has two big battles – Battle of Austerlitz and Waterloo, and one smaller one – Toulon. And that is it. Considering that during his life Napoleon had 60 battles and he managed to win 54, I was expecting more.
After the movie, I watched an interview with Mr. Andrew Roberts. He is a historian and an author, and he has written one of the best biographies I have ever read – Napoleon. During this interview, he said that from the 2-hour and 38-minute run-time, only 38 minutes are truthful. The rest is fiction, not backed up by any evidence. And what did Mr. Scott reply to the acquisition that a lot of what is depicted in the movie is simply made up? “Were you there?” I admire Mr. Scott immensely, he is a master in his craft. But to say something like that?
Also, apparently, it took Mr. Scott only 61 days to film the whole movie. Which is impressive. As I said, Mr. Phoenix is superb at this interpretation of Napoleon. The same can be said of Mrs. Vanessa Kirby as Josephine. Also, the cinematography is great. Mr. Scott has said that his movie has humor in it, people are supposed to laugh during “Napoleon”. And we did. Mostly during Napoleon’s and Josephine’s sex scenes. Did we laugh that much during Gladiator? No, Maximums did not have any sex scenes or any other comedic relief moments.
Can I recommend it? I can recommend the book below. Written by the abovementioned Mr. Andrew Roberts. It is a massive book, full of detail and well-narrated. If you are at least remotely interested in the man who many consider to be the greatest general who has ever lived, then I can wholeheartedly say this is a book for you. But caution. Now comes the question of whether I can recommend the movie. If you watch it right after you read the book, then you will be in for a disappointment. Also, Napoleon was a master statesman. Yes, a movie about a bureaucrat may not be well received. But choosing not to mention any reference to Napoleon’s political accomplishments in France and in Europe is a bit disrespectful, to say the least.
Thus watch with your own caution.
Have you seen a waterless urinal? I have. And now you have as well. These urinals are installed at Kinepolis in Brussels. Since this was the first time I saw a urinal without a water flow, I could not resist at taking a picture and mentioning it here. Maybe there is a connection between a urinal and the movie “Napoleon”? Food for thought.
Waterloo from Brussels is 19.9 kilometers away. A train ticket to Waterloo costs less than two cappuccinos. And I have not yet visited this historic site. That must change.
“Napoleon” most likely is going to come on Netflix. Wait for it there. I did not expect a documentary when I entered the cinema or watched the trailer. Nor should you. Sadly, the trailer is much better than the movie. Also, a film score worthy of the name “epic” was also absent.
Ahh, Ridley!
Kind regards,
Olaaf
