★★★ (out of 5)
Napoleon is surely no Gladiator… perhaps Ridley Scott has lost his spark. This film just is not on the level it should be — it’s handsomely made, has some stellar battle sequences and stunning production design, and yet it leaves you feeling like you watched an insanely long, bloated movie that rushed through everything (it’s both too long and not long enough). Truly, it felt like we were watching the greatest hits of Napoleon.
Napoleon conquers most when Ridley Scott unleashes his technical prowess for the epic battle scenes. The immersive sound, large-scale violence, and filmmaking are on display in a way rarely seen today. However, everything outside of that is a fascinating and frustrating misfire. Joaquin Phoenix’s pathetic and often hilarious socially awkward performance clashes with the film’s self-seriousness to a fault while Vanessa Kirby is inconsistently utilized (she is very good though). And my god the dialogue is bad, making for some truly questionable line deliveries. This movie really was just a whole lot of nothing. Perhaps a longer runtime in the 4-hour director's cut will help to fill in some gaps but until then, what we have here is a handsomely mounted disappointment.
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