Andy Walker

There’s a lot wrong with this as a film and little right. The historical accuracy is basically non-existent. Perhaps 10% of the events represented are accurate. That would be fine if this was actually a GOOD film. It’s not. The pacing is extremely uneven. Napoleon is portrayed as a master genius whose charisma alone makes soldiers desert their king at a word. Which feels utterly at odds with the wooden, at times monosyllabic performance Phoenix provides up to that point. But undoubtably the biggest issues is the utter lack of on screen passion conveyed by Kirby & Phoenix. The story conveys these are some kind of soulmates torn apart by destiny. - The actual on screen emotion is about the same level most people feel when watching paint dry. This is a bad film, with bad script, bad acting and bad direction. The only redeeming feature is some truly stunning battle scenes that are up to Scott’s usual standard.