Navid M

I hate this film. It lacks any depth from the writing and the acting to even the editing. Phoenix does not nail Napoleon whatsoever (and I say this as a big Joaquin Phoenix fan); Napoleon was a smart and charismatic guy who earned an entire era of history named after him; Phoenix’s potrayl instead shows him as a sniveling coward that would leave anybody wondering why an entire country would follow him as their emperor. His relationship with Josephine was also a snooze fest that had nothing to say other than “ig they’re both crazy and co dependent”. The editing of this film was also atrocious. It felt like I was watching Napoleon’s life as a microsoft powerpoint or a set of bulletpoints rather than as an as an actual story. It felt leas like they adapted Napoleon’s life and more like they adapted a middle schooler’s history project on Napoleon’s life instead. This doesn’t even bring up the fact the film skips over his campaigns in Italy and Germany while giving a totally inaccurate portrayal of his Egypt campaign. The only thing remotely likable about the film was some of the battle scenes, but by the time we reached the conclusion at the battle of waterloo, I was nearly asleep and eager to leave the theater.