Cleisthenes on Nostr: Sadly, Napoleon was very meh. It was a movie that simultaneously didnt go into enough ...
Sadly, Napoleon was very meh.
It was a movie that simultaneously didnt go into enough detail for people who are familiar with Napoleonic history and not enough detail for those with no familiarity.
The battles were rushed and lackluster with sub par CGI. Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix were fine but what I found interesting, and not all that surprising, is that it felt like the writer and director (Scarpa and Scott) do not like Napoleon.
He was portrayed with almost no heroism (compared to Maximus and Balian especially) and with a surprising amount of buffoonery. It made Napoelon more human but also very flippant for the greatest military mind that ever lived. I also found the casting of Rupert Everett as Wellington to be very bad. Way too old. The ending script I also found particularly egregious wherein they blamed Napoelon for the +3M dead of the era even though it was the rest of Europe declaring war on France repeatedly. That was the biggest proof that this film was not rooted in admiration but condemnation.
Overall, Napoelon was a movie made by two British guys who clearly do not like Napoleon but tried to tell his entire story which meant the movie was long but also rushed. Wouldve been much better to focus on a single battle (I would have chosen Austerlitz) with flashbacks and epilogue than to try and cover 1789-1815 which they did. There is apparently a 4-hour cut coming out but I very much doubt it will be any better.
Grade: C-
It was a movie that simultaneously didnt go into enough detail for people who are familiar with Napoleonic history and not enough detail for those with no familiarity.
The battles were rushed and lackluster with sub par CGI. Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix were fine but what I found interesting, and not all that surprising, is that it felt like the writer and director (Scarpa and Scott) do not like Napoleon.
He was portrayed with almost no heroism (compared to Maximus and Balian especially) and with a surprising amount of buffoonery. It made Napoelon more human but also very flippant for the greatest military mind that ever lived. I also found the casting of Rupert Everett as Wellington to be very bad. Way too old. The ending script I also found particularly egregious wherein they blamed Napoelon for the +3M dead of the era even though it was the rest of Europe declaring war on France repeatedly. That was the biggest proof that this film was not rooted in admiration but condemnation.
Overall, Napoelon was a movie made by two British guys who clearly do not like Napoleon but tried to tell his entire story which meant the movie was long but also rushed. Wouldve been much better to focus on a single battle (I would have chosen Austerlitz) with flashbacks and epilogue than to try and cover 1789-1815 which they did. There is apparently a 4-hour cut coming out but I very much doubt it will be any better.
Grade: C-