Jonathan Stewart

I was disappointed by Napoleon. Joaquin Phoenix is miscast. He's one of my favorite actors, one of the best there is, but this was not a role for him. Everything about the movie is unsatisfactory: from the storytelling, to the visuals to the sound to the character development. Are we supposed to like Napoleon? Hate him? Both? I get nuance, but we're not really given enough to form an opinion on anything here. The one good thing I can say about the film is costume design was convincing. Otherwise, it's just a mildly entertaining spectacle and a disappointment if you're expecting history to come to life.

Remember that scene in Matrix Revolutions where insomniac Neo talks to sleepwalking Councillor Hamann about the Zion sewage system? That's kind of what the first hour of this movie is like. Not much happens. There's a lot of exposition, which is mostly meaningless. There's some action, but nothing visually new or particularly exciting. The second half picks up a bit and luckily the movie doesn't take itself that seriously (a rag-wearing skuzzy Merovingian cursing at Neo!) so you can kind of go along for the ride without judging too harshly. It really plays like a made-for-Netflix movie, entertaining but ultimately forgettable. If you think it's going to be Earth-shattering, you'll be disappointed. If you go in with realistic expectations, you'll enjoy it.

It's a meta-commentary by Scorcese on his entire career. The bad guys were always relatable. Sure they kill people and do "bad guy" things, but we like them. Not here. The characters are repulsive right from the start. We're immediately filled with dread for what's to come. Unlike his past films, Scorcese makes this one about the victims, about the consequences of the killings, about societal indifference and racism and above all about greed. Greed has been a driving force in many of Scorcese's films, but here it's shown in all its horror. Scorcese has a cameo in the final scene that sums it all up very briefly, simply and appropriately. I won't spoil it, but it left me speechless. I couldn't get out of my seat when the credits rolled and it took me until the end to collect myself and walk out, because it wasn't just about this tragic story, but about all violence and crime . . . and greed.