Zach Taylor

I see a lot of comments on Phoenix acting or not be the correct actor for the role. Even that he didn’t portray one of the most interesting men to have lived. I think he actually did a pretty good job. He portrays the weirdness and awkwardness of Napoleon very very well. The movie revolves around two central ideas that are very accurate his love of Josephine and France. What could have easily gone wrong is the portrayal making him this cold, war hungry, power hungry leader and that was avoided. The idea throughout the movie is Napoleon rooted in his love for Josephine and her influence, and this is portrayed very well throughout. Those who are expecting action and battles you will be disappointed although this is not the point of the film. Those who call it boring is simply because we have been conditioned to need action or something visually stunning at every second of the movie. This movie is not that. Those who think this movie is not well done is simply because they would not have had the ability to sit through a longer movie allowing more detail into Napoleons life. Napoleon did a vast number of things within his lifetime, 61 battles fought. There simply is not enough time to show all of it for the attention span of a modern viewer and it helps if you have a basis of understanding of Napoleon and his life. Overall I thought this movie was shot very well and the acting was what is expected. Did it feel rushed at times? Sure, but do I think it is needed in order to fit important pieces of his life? Yes. For those who criticize and say it fell flat ask yourself, if they went into more detail, if they drew out the battles longer would you have the ability to sit and watch for 5 hours. Many simply cannot. And honestly at a little over 2 hours it is a longish movie, but it did not feel like 2 hours so kudos to them. I will be excited to watch the directors cut as I believe many of the critics of the movie can be solved and a longer film with more detail. For history buffs like myself keep in mind this is not a documentary or even a biopic, this is a Hollywood film and with that said it goes give a good balance of history with Hollywood accent to beef it up. France…Army…Josephine were his last words. That is the movie and frankly the life of Napoleon in a nutshell.