aaron adams

The theatrical version is a resounding disappointment. There is so much missing in this film that, besides not telling a well rounded story of Napoleon's career, it is very difficult to follow without some prior knowledge of what's going on. There are innumerable inaccuracies, but I was expecting that, and inaccuracies don't bother me too much if the film is authentic. But this isn't. Joaquin Phoenix is completely miscast, or at the very least received poor direction. His portrayal of the Emperor completely lacked charisma and dynamism, both of which Napoleon had in spades. In this film he's basically a man-child that is completely obsessed with his wife. You see none of his mastery of strategy and tactics, nor do you see much in the way of how he changed France and Europe forever. There's nothing here that makes you understand why so many would fight and die for him. As for the battles, oh boy. There are only really 3 battles; Toulon, Austerlitz and Waterloo. Toulon is okay, and certainly the most accurate of the three. Austerlitz is a mess, it takes one small part of the battle, some of the Austrians fleeing across a frozen pond, and based the entire battle around it. For some reason the French stay in their camp and fight the Austrians between the tents 🤷‍♂️. Waterloo has the bare skeleton of the battle kind of right (the rain, the cavalry charge, the flanking by the Prussians) but none of the stakes. 1970s "Waterloo" is just infinitely better. There are some other battle scenes, and I do mean scenes, like it's one shot. Borodino is just a cavalry charge, that's it. And Napoleon is in the wrong uniform. The battle of the pyramids isn't even a battle, he just fires on the pyramids and that's it. The entire retreat from Russia is just one scene of the army marching through the snow, then it cuts to Napoleon abdicating. The 1813 campaign, including the very important battle of Leipzig, is just not there. Neither is the six day campaign of 1814, where Napoleon has some of his best tactical moments. This film does have good costuming and set design. I thought the score was okay, and Vanessa Kirby as Josephine is a stand out, but other than that, there nothing here to watch. I hope the full directors cut will be better, but unfortunately I don't think it will.