Wait...Is 'Napoleon' Good?

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[@chrisianlewis]

I’m in this. Played a soldier for 3 months. Scott really didn’t give a shit about the safety of the soldiers during battles scenes. Many injuries on set. Enjoy our pain.

[@majorsjustin04]

Which battle

[@chrisianlewis]

@@majorsjustin04 All of them set in fields or snow (not the Egyptian stuff which was filmed in Malta)

[@OliverRehn]

That's really cool! Congrats man!

[@chrisianlewis]

Thanks man. A few of us soldiers are planning to see it together next week.

[@Dan-yy6tt]

🫡🫡🫡

[@antonydharwood]

I was an extra on set for this and can confirm, there were hundreds and hundreds of people making up the battle sequences. It genuinely felt like going into a war at times (while still obviously being a movie set)

[@spookyfoster]

Incredible dude! I was trying to catch the extras in the battle scenes were done up by cgi, but I couldn't catch it. Everyone in the cast sold it, definitely looked really fun to act out.

[@chrisianlewis]

Me too my brother. Many memories... awesome painful memories. Were you part of the Kings Cross station pick up?

[@antonydharwood]

@@chrisianlewis I wasnt the Kings Cross Station pick up no, but I was taken from Euston to the Waterloo set and did a couple other bits such as the Fifth Regiment trying to stop him after his exile. I had a lot of days cancelled on me unfortunately so missed out on some of the other big set pieces, I heard they were quality though!

[@chrisianlewis]

You probably dodged a bullet. those 4am start times were brutal 😂 are you based in London?

[@antonydharwood]

@@chrisianlewis I’m not based in London no, had to move out and rent an airbnb so the cost of everything got pretty intense and I had to drop out from production after Waterloo had been filmed. Great fun but yeah, brutal early morning starts

[@joaquinwaters1810]

The bit where Phoenix goes “nom nom nom” while slowly sliding back in his chair is destined to be a meme

[@dasmysteryman12]

Full disclosure: I am a historian in training whose master's thesis is basically set in the last third of this film. But what I look for in historical films is not accuracy but whether they portray their subject well. The main set pieces of the film are incredibly spectacular, this is my first Ridley Scott historical film, and I understand now why. Vanessa Kirby is a gem. But for me, the film is so messy, uneven and frazzled that I don't see how it developed its theme of men who have too much power doing crazy things. And, incredibly hot take: Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is far more superior than this, I don't care.

[@lopezklu]

It was mde by a brit, of course they muddied napeleon’s legacy with this beautifully shot turd sandwhich of a movie

[@ben-dx4sp]

is that really a hot take

[@ACDCdude89]

I saw it on Wednesday and honestly wasn't that blown away by it. I think the beginning was good and the battle scenes were great, but everything else seemed rushed and I was a bit bored during it

[@patrickbolin2007]

I really liked the movie and thought the beginning was horrible lol

[@ACDCdude89]

@@patrickbolin2007 That's fair haha I think the scenes that really stood out for me at the beginning were mostly the French Revolution and then the first battle scene

[@spider496]

I will watch Waterloo (1970) again and forget this one exists😂.

[@dg1h1t]

lol, it doesn’t tell anything. The movie is shit. The actor didn’t have to work with anything . Don’t pay for this movie. You would not learn anything or understand Napoleon

[@kylemiller1763]

Bored seeing a massive battle scene every 35 min? Tough crowd

[@officialmasqq_594]

I didn't quite understand why they set the prequel to Napoleon Dynamite in the 1800s or what this had to do with that movie in general but overall I also enjoyed this film

[@Ken-tv3ir]

Comment of the day. Thank you

[@Itsme-qo2le]

I thought the art direction was wonderful, I for one loved the desaturated look. But! One thing I can't get over: Sure not everyone is interested in the history of Napoleon, though the disrespectful comments towards historians from Ridley Scott were bad enough on their own. And to see him butchering most of the historical aspects of the movie in the name of storytelling is just... confusing. Especially when you realise how tragic the reality was. And how easily you could convert that to a moviescreen. (I'll write about that in the answers.) Why so utterly butchering that. If Scott were a bonapartist, while it would make him an arsehole, bending the story would make sense. But he isn't, so it makes even less sense. You want to tell a story about a powerful egomaniac and his romantic life, don't try and tell it in the same breath with the story of one of the most dramatic and influential figures in history. Make someone up, would be my solution. The worst part is, that the movie paints itself as a historically accurate biopic. Caring about accuracy in movies or not, it's untruthful and should be criticised as such. There is just an undeniable responsibility you have as a filmmaker of this calibre.

[@SwiftRelish]

100000% i was so frustrated with the blatant disregard for the history behind events portrayed in the film.

[@Itsme-qo2le]

Just some of the big things they screwed up (coming from my partner who is striving to become an historian specialised on the napoleonic era, he knows his sh*t) I'll start with the worst one in my eyes, that alone should explain the frustration: The battle of Borodino (before Moscow) was one of the most gruesome and bloodheavy battles ever. 70.000 deaths. Soldiers, some had just marched for 2 days without break, on the brink of total exhaustion, had to go straight into battle and fight for their lives. Imagine that. Than imagine in the following weeks on the way back from Moscow a sudden temperature drop so deep, with an exhaustion so big, you couldn't stop for your friends who cried for help, dying, because you far more likely die of frost when standing still, than them having any chance to survive. And imagine than having to march back through Borodino, through the frozen corpses of ~35000 french soldiers who, as you just know now, died for nothing. Real horrors we can't even begin to understand. Now think back to those lousy scenes depicting those horrors. But rewriting history is all in the sake for a more cinematic story. Sure. Other things: 1. Missing a few major campaigns (Italy, before Egypt, Spain, which was a huge deal etc.) 2. After the Russian campaign they just... skipped one of the most essential YEARS! of his life and career?! 1813 just didn't exist. The allied banned together and beat Napoleon in a battle of huge dimensions near Leipzig, Germany. It's his defeat, exile is his punishment, and they just skipped it whole and played it as Napoleon went to Alba because the French were disappointed in his Russia campaign, more than one year earlier? 3. They never bombed the pyramids!? Why would they? And how? Not with those canons they could. Also the battle was miles away. 4. They missed his almost personal feud with great Britain and the Duke of Wellington especially. He also was a military genius, and just hit the screen much to late at the Waterloo battle. 5. The scene with the ice at Austerlitz? A myth that is 100% proven completely wrong, but often still told as fact until today. The originator of the myth? Napoleon himself. Propaganda painting France in a victorious light. The battles result was more of a 50/50. Weird choice for that movie. While being a bad human being, he was a brilliant strategist. The movie doesn't make that justice. The army was his life as much as Josephine was, maybe more. All those facts just ignored, told completely wrong or frustratingly underwhelming, with others fabricated (not even very interestingly, you just screw up the whole dimensions his actions had, and it gets boring, and that's the reason of this big ball of frustration. That's it, sorry hah There is so much more

[@SwiftRelish]

@@Itsme-qo2le Took the words right out of my mouth!!!

[@crazymangoz9583]

@@Itsme-qo2le to add to your list, another major issue was the coronation. They make it look like he randomly stepped out of line and stopped the pope from crowning him, but in reality it was planned in advance and agreed to by the pope. Still enjoyed the film though

[@jefflowes1767]

The Last Duel goes hard and feels totally of the moment imo

[@xy2447]

yeah the rest of the fights look nice but i didnt get the same importance feeling

[@thesenate3009]

Yeah, The Last Duel is just shy of a masterpiece if you ask me and the way it takes a very old true story to comment on important themes of today is brilliant.

[@pizzaman6784]

That movie really needs an extended version too. I feel like a lot of the battle scenes were shortened, and it would make the movie a lot more epic.

[@publiusventidiusbassus1232]

I thought it was Hollywoodized cheap nonsense littered with outdated historical myths. Saw it in theaters and thought it was trash. It felt actually insulting how blatantly it was riding the "me too" environment yet couldn't really decide on whether it would be satirical or serious, and it just ended up feeling tasteless. Going "haha look how silly medieval people were!" every 5 minutes (despite most of the historical "social commentary" being based on utter myths) its Scott's obsession, with the cartoony depiction of Middle Age France and the ridiculous changes to the real life trial severely watered down its core theme for me. I feel like that's fair for all of Ridley's historical movies. Pretty enjoyable for the average movie goer, his fans or filmmaker enthusiasts, but 9 times of out 10 they're a trash fire for history buffs and people familiar with the topics.

[@MaticTheProto]

@@thesenate3009huh?

[@samidayal5408]

I’m sorry, I really did not like this movie, it felt way too misguided in terms of how it presented it story, and honestly going into the movie I never felt like I knew more about napoleon as a person or how he rose to power, the decision to have it centre around napoleons weird relationship with his wife felt odd because when they did cover his rise to power it was interesting but they really did it I couldn’t help but feel bored from this movie because the thing I wanted to see being napoleon himself just felt half baked, they expect everyone to just know who napoleon is right out the gate without ever giving us a reason to care, so in my opinion it just felt like Oscar bait rather then a engaging story about such a interesting individual

[@annikalarson1613]

I haven’t seen it yet but I’m doubtful I’ll like how the Josephine/Napoleon dynamic is portrayed. In real life she was significantly older than him but Vanessa Kirby is 20 some years younger than her counterpart. It definitely was part of what made her a controversial figure to the French public and they just chose not to tackle that at all by creating a new reality.

[@cybercriminal3110]

She's the right age, Joaquin is the one miscasted age-wise, which they chose to ignore because he's too talented. Casting an almost 60 y/o woman and then pretending she's expected to be able to bear a child would be ridiculous.

[@korosuke1788]

Why focus only on those two actors? The entire film was ahistorical, boring garbage. Just watch Waterloo. You'll have more fun and learn that some of the best phrases in the film are actually accurate.

[@Naked_snake_]

Can we all agree that The frozen lake battle is the best part of the whole movie I mean come on!

[@DIY_Miracle]

Only as far as "cool" factor goes. There's a lot of great moments of writing and shot composition that were incredible. So many of the scenes were really faithful recreations of classical paintings of some of his great moments, like the scene of Napoleon placing the crown on his own head is powerful.

[@Paulmatthew22]

Unless you know history. Then it's awful

[@blacbraun]

No, for the battle sequences Waterloo beats all the other ones. The movie though as a whole is just like a "Best bits of Napoleon"

[@DIY_Miracle]

@@Paulmatthew22 If you know "history" but don't know any of the art history surrounding it

[@lettuceman9439]

The Battle of Austerlitz was the deciding battle which would officially put both Russia, Austria and Prussia out of the Coalition. The Battle itself heavily relied on Napoleon's Marshalls specifically the Cavalry lead by the most courageous/Suicidal officers of the time. The Entire Battle is called Napoleon's Masterpiece for a Reason.

[@Emlizardo]

"Not as completely pointless as people make it out to be." That's quite the endorsement.

[@samuelbarber6177]

I don’t really like Ridley Scott is my problem. Not as a Director, but as a person. I find comments of his like telling a historian who commented on the inaccuracies in the film to: “Get a life.” It just makes it hard to make me want to watch this film.

[@daRealB-Rex]

save your money. This isn’t Blade Runner Ridley Scott, this is Exodus Gods and Kings Ridley Scott

[@Blackgriffonphoenixg]

to be fair, I'd tell a historian to bugger off and watch a documentary instead too. You'd tell someone entering a McDonald's and asking for pad thai to read the room as well, wouldn't you?

[@spinosaurusstriker]

@@Blackgriffonphoenixg A more accurate analogy would be a food inspector commenting that McDonald's new salad is not really healthy and the owner of the building saying that he can go and fuck off bc its mc donalds and nobody goes there for the nutrition , a completly uncalled for .

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

@@Blackgriffonphoenixgshouldn’t have marketed his film constantly as some serious prestige historical drama. Also seriously, the stuff the screenwriter made up (90% of stuff that happnd in the movie) was so much more boring than real life, seriously, Napoleon is the most interesting insane figure and yet we have to watch him act like a manchild rather than see any achievements. If they wanted to sell a mcdonalds they shouldn’t have pawned it off as a fucking luxury restaurant and some super revolutionary story of real history, like Ridley just make a fun action movie i dont care, just dont be an asshole about a historical topic that you never bothered to read a single book on. Whats the point of making a Napoleon movie if u dont care to look up or read about the guy and just use wikipedia info, thats so much more boring than any faithful movie would be

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

​@@Blackgriffonphoenixgthe point is the story was already written for him and he still botched it so bad. That's why he's salty and snapping put at critics. He's literally acting like the petulant Napoleon character he created.

[@JoJoJoker]

“I don’t like or care about history, but I liked Napoleon 2023.” That’s the worst review we could possibly get for this movie.

[@stickfiguratively6468]

I think that's kinda the point though. The only people who will TRULY hate this film are history buffs because they're so obsessed with historical accuracy, but ignore what makes a film a good one. It doesn't help that people already went into this movie with low expectations. Napoleon was a genuinely good film, and while it wasn't great from a history standpoint (it literally leaves out Napoleon's greatest ever campaign in 1813), you can't base a film being good based on "it's not accurate."

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

​@@stickfiguratively6468historical inaccuracies aside, this was still a terrible movie. There was no plot, no vision, and the pacing was off. The story was already written for him and he still botched it.

[@starkingbiker]

bro I can’t relate- I thought this was an utter slog. So blatantly flavorless and absolutely not thrilling except for some scenes. And the problem is the editing, it feels very fragmented and not like there’s any progression. I didn’t feel like any time passed in the film and then suddenly 15 years passed? I don’t know, very underwhelmed and bored by it.

[@DasherInkYT]

Saw this earlier today. I was pretty surprised by how engrossed I was in the film, especially after seeing the lukewarm reaction many people have had to it. Definitely a worthy watch.

[@MaticTheProto]

Nah. Maybe for people who also think dogshit is the greatest dish…

[@DasherInkYT]

@@MaticTheProto dam bro it’s a movie 💀

[@MaticTheProto]

a terrible one. What did you like? The almost complete lack of battles, the shit sex scenes, the ahistorical everything? Or perhaps napoleon being a stumbling socially incompetent idiot? let me guess: "but it looked nice reeee". Get some standards@@DasherInkYT

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

​@@DasherInkYTyeah, a dogshit movie

[@davidhowell5585]

Feel like you put all my thoughts into words. I really enjoyed it

[@SteveDCM]

Napoleon is one of the works of all time

[@pascalg16]

One of the works of art of all time? Edit: Okay now after my suggestion you changed your comment and I look like an idiot.

[@wawo9193]

Spoiler alert!

[@thefantasticfrank8946]

Karsten, i love your videos, but i'd really love to see more videos about certain topics in movies, like your videos on dance party endings, 4:3 or one-shot films. I'm an aspiring film writer and i need some tips pls

[@winterywillow.]

At first, I was puzzled with what is going on in the film because the trailer had me thinking that it was going to be a terrifying, historical piece - and the very first scene of the film delivers that. But then there is a shift in the tone and I did not mind it much. The satrical nature of the film is depicted well with how the wars are handled, and Joaquin's portrayal of Napoleon, a powerful man who is egoistic and needs external validation from everyone around him. Some of the scenes are lovely, but other than that, I did not care about the battle scenes at all because of the time jumps. This film was underwhelming, but I enjoyed the humorous elements. I hope we get a more historically accurate film or series on Napoleon in near future.

[@reat964]

Exactly my thought. The battles are cool to watch but because they aren’t justified by narrative progression, it was hard to care about them or him winning.

[@TheRunningLeopard]

Honestly the comment that best sums up my opinion so far, and I personally enjoyed being able to watch a film where it de-mythologizes Napoleon. While I wish it was a bit more historically accurate, at the end of the day this was a man with a huge ego but an inability to thrive without validation from those around them and damn is it nice to get a laugh.

[@thejustifier5566]

Napoleon whimpering like a dog in one scene creeped me out.

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

All of the 'love' scenes weirded me out. Not only Scott's obsession with putting as many on screen as possible, but also with how they all played out.

[@BrianJosephMorgan]

I thought it dreadful, with Josephine straight from 2021.

[@scapeagoat2520]

Waterloo (1970) exists

[@mainHERO88]

I’m surprised that you liked this as much as you did. I think it was ruined by focusing so much on Josephine and so little on what makes Napoleon so interesting and so important to history. It made him look like a buffoon and it didn’t explain why he was so brilliant, so feared, and so respected. Napoleon is known for his tactics and his speeches and this movie made him look like he was constantly scared and saying dumb things all the time. The battle scenes did look really good but they were always way too short and historically inaccurate.

[@klaus472]

I was worried going into this since i heard mostly mid things about it and was very surprised that the movie was awesome i thought joaquin phoenix definitely nailed the performance and its one of the few movies that I wanted to see more of and wouldnt have minded seeing a 4 hour cut of it

[@rudolphschmidt313]

If you think he is a good napoleon then you know less than nothing about napoleon

[@thejustifier5566]

Phoenix in Napoleon was creepy and weird.

[@jonathanford7055]

uhhh how? Joaquin phoenix plays a creepy old guy when Napoleon was a young charismatic guy. (24 years old when leading his first battles).

[@klaus472]

@jonathanford7055 napoleon was a really weird and creepy guy sometimes bc he was socially awkward and didnt know how to talk to women that's at least what I've heard I'm not a historical expert

[@rudolphschmidt313]

@klaus472 Straight British propaganda painting him as a weird creep. Do you think weird slimy creepy joaquin pheonix would have anyone follow him as their emperor? Napoleon was an incredibly charismatic strong person who the bravest of the brave looked up to for inspiration. And also not like it even matters but in the book "Napoleon the great" it goes into detail about 30 women Napoleon slept with as an officer so it doesn't seem he had any trouble in that department.

[@ryanjosephdp]

DUDE. The ciematography does look super wierd and flat. Its not even that saturation more so the contrast and looks un colormanaged.

[@themachphantom]

Ngl... i did not feel it at all. Felt a lot like the movie was doing a bunch of "and this happened!" without honestly really providing any context as to why I should care about anything going on on the screen. Also best sex scene of the decade? Wasn't even the best sex scene this month (See: Dream Scenario)

[@Mr_Case_Time]

Karsten!!!! I hope you get a chance to check out ‘The Curse’, which is Nathan Fielder’s newest nightmare. It also stars Emma Stone, she’s been on fire lately right? Anyway, happy Thanksgiving.

[@brandonhawkinson9209]

Cant believe they allowed the amount of innacuracies and glossing over his war strategies, only to turn it into a bad "love" story. So upsetting ridley scott made this. If you know anything about napoleon from school or history, there's no way this won't take away from the experience in a HUGE way. A pretty movie sure.

[@iinvaderrand]

I liked this film. The battle scenes were great, and the movie was acted very well. For me, the issue was that at times it showed napoleon as an opportunist rather than a ruthless tactician. Especially when it came to him taking power. It showed it well on the battles though.

[@samfilmkid]

I’m gonna wait until the four hour cut on Apple to make up my mind because I could just tell there were a lot more scenes that fleshed things out, but for right now here are some initial thoughts: I thought Joaquin was doing his usual “horny, neurotic weirdo with mommy issues” schtick that he’s been doing for the last decade or so. Don’t get me wrong, that schtick has led to some great performances, but it felt like with this he was the obvious choice and then he made all the obvious choices as an actor. He did everything I expected him to do with Napoleon and then stopped. It seems like it really should have been called “Napoleon and Josephine” but that makes it sound like a sweeping romance, which it is DEFINITELY not either!

[@laux2308]

I heavily agree when I went into this I was a little worried because of the reviews but I came out of it thinking it was great and thoroughly enjoyed it

[@drichards4426]

Did you know anything about Napoleon at all going into the movie?

[@juanbarb57]

This movie was horrible, yeah it had a couple of funny scenes that made me chuckle a couple of times, but it tried to be both a historical epic, a dark comedy and a captivating romance and it failed miserably at all of these concepts, the editing was distracting, the pacing was awful, I felt like there wasn't any coherent narration tying anything together, Joaquin Phoenix looked bored in every single scene, the historical innacuracies were too distracting for anyone even remotely familiar with the historical context, and the battle scenes, while visually pleasing and quite bloody, which was refreshing, were so brief, simplistic and horribly color grated that it just took me out of the experience completely.

[@keithmichael112]

I'm going to wait for the 4 hour version

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

Don't. Just wait until the battle scenes make it to KZbin and enjoy them for free. That was the only decent part of the movie

[@keithmichael112]

@@Anarchristian_Beanz It seems like this and Rebel Moon have really soured people on the idea of a directors cut. I think it's starting to feel like a scam

[@sullivandmitry1416]

I am certain that the 4 hour cut will be a masterpiece, as that was Scott’s intention to begin with. Apple wished him to cut it for theater showings and he had to remove the cut he wanted.

[@ales_moc]

I am excited to watch the longer version too. But apparently Scott said in a recent interview that it was his decision to put the shorter version to theaters.

[@MaticTheProto]

With the bs in the movie the longer runtime will just prolong the pain

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

Do you really need 1.5 more hours of awkward, toxic 'love' scenes?

[@Heartland.Productions]

I really enjoyed it, but there’s the slightest disjointed feel, like the pacing is a bit off. Makes me very excited to see the 4hr extended cut.

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

A bit?

[@m.hreels9822]

I thought you said it perfectly. I agree 100% with how you felt. This movie is a very mixed bag with audiences so far. But I'm subscribing to your channel just because I was really impressed with your opinion on this. Good job. You formed words I couldn't after watching this 👍🏻

[@sophie7780]

.....is this how i find out ridley scott did house of gucci

[@Naked_snake_]

I remember his son coming up and then we get like one scene randomly later of him holding his son and showing him a map to me that was like ridley Scott telling me I had to cut it down real bad

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

Yeah we had to cut out all the boring Napoleon stuff so we could focus on Josephine.

[@franciscoruizincaurgarat8524]

I really think the last duel is a great movie. More people should see it.

[@forzaflash]

I watched ot yesterday and I really liked it. I think there isn't much I can add that Karsten didn't already say, so I'll simply reinforce the lovely power of forming your own opinion haha Because when I saw people were trashing on the movie I was like, ight so its probably good then 😅😅😅😅😅😅 I find it fascinating to see a man with such passion and love for his country wanting to do right by it, but also being insecure and reactive, he was brilliant of course, but with how little men in power act today, it low key made me wish the ones in my country at least cared for it... The battle scenes were stunning but I also liked they were played quite straight, especially thematically. I'm hyped to see it pan out, but I am also not particularly hyped at war literally, I do think it took the time to show the horrors of war and not to glorify them... But still make them a bit cool regardless hahah I had a much better time I thought I would

[@alsenar2]

I watched it yesterday and was really disappointed. Especially by the historical inaccuracies. It made me realize that you can't just show the life of Napoleon in around 3 hours. Huge parts of Napoleons life/career were missing.

[@lesryglrhfohser]

Why do film nerds love Climax? Like how much acid have you actually taken to actually relate?

[@sandman0545]

This movie is gorgeous and well shot, but it felt a bit messy/uneven. It felt like its main core was Napoleon’s toxic co-dependant love with Josephine, but it felt like the movie climaxed when Napoleon returned to France and found she was dead. It made Waterloo afterwards feel like a hollow, tacked-on, inconsequential bit as a result, that could have been a 30-sec montage.

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

Bingo. I was so excited when Josephine died because I thought we could get to some actual plot now. Then I get a rushed battle and more of her monologing after death. I'd be willing to bet she had more lines than him and that there are more 'love' scenes than battle scenes.

[@SabRina-zero]

I thinks. This is better a series

[@r4h4al]

Going to be an interesting 4 way battle for best picture.

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

How low Hollywood has come

[@xy2447]

to be honest I loved this movie, it would have been really good if it was just longer. It did everything well. Entertaining, nice to look at. There should have been more time spent on the development of characters on screen, and more time before the battles so they actually feel impactful in the historical sense.

[@techshrek2827]

I heard the 4 hour cut is going to be released on apple tv after the theatrical run

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

2.5 hours and they still couldn't fit in the development you mention, yet you still think it's a good movie. We could have gotten that development of we hadn't been so focused on Scott's Josephine obsession.

[@xy2447]

how about you appreciate what you got. Make a better movie yourself@@Anarchristian_Beanz

[@tylerhackner9731]

Definitely a work that exists

[@TEditsV1]

Yay I agree!

[@michaeledwards6683]

the movie “seems like it’s from another era” oh so it’s good

[@whorod8895]

Thought this was pretty bad personally. The movie kinda jumps around randomly in time like it’s giving a quick slideshow of his life. The battles are boring. And worst of all Napoleon himself is boring. Scott instead spends the whole movie making fun of him and dedicates half the time to an undeveloped romance between him and Josephine. The movies not even remotely accurate and it feels super random to me

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

I haven't seen this yet, but I still want to, despite all the historical inaccuracies. I love history and I do care about accuracy, but I care about movies being entertaining more. I really enjoyed Gladiator and 300, for example, even though both of those are also very inaccurate historically.

[@spudreviewsmedia]

4 stars being just good is kinda wild

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

The fact that this movie got 4 stars at all is wild

[@uhuhuh1966]

The 4hr cut will be

[@ren.666]

Near the end they play the the theme of barry lyndon which i thought was pretty cool. The rise and fall of napoleon

[@somenubplayinggames4415]

Seeing stuff like the pyramids get hit kills me as how dumbly inaccurate that was, but happy if they didn't completely mess it up

[@lucasrichter1390]

Kubrick wanted that film, to be made from Spielberg, after his death. Like AI & some kind Schindlers List. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@joeysinclair5266]

the pacing and structure of the movie was so horrible though barely felt like a story at all

[@pizzaman6784]

0:08 Woah, that's a very indy "cool kid" looking list!

[@Rembreiker_lychec9257]

To be fair, when it comes to older filmmakers such as Ridley Scott, the only thing they lose with age is a fear of failure.

[@Jonathan_Collins]

Ridley Scott is pretty impressive in the directing arena. He's 85 and just put out Napoleon and still has a bunch of unrealized projects. He's a real example of making movies until his body gives out. He's filming Gladiator 2 right now even.

[@shitmypants5275]

Clint Eastwood too

[@renegadecamera6892]

I heard that on apple tv we will get the full version, which is 1:55 longer

[@xy2447]

really? that would be great. Where did you get that info from.

[@sullivandmitry1416]

@@xy2447just look it up, it’s all over the place.

[@kashe747]

The film was wonderfully shot in a down to earth manner. No fancy over glorifying scenes, but just raw and gritty. And the direction of the movie to depict Napoleon Bonaparte as a flawed man and not the over glamorized general as people like to think he was, is an excellent decision. Napoleon Bonaparte was in fact in real life a flawed man aswell. While though unquestionably being a strategic military talented man, but people cannot possibly think Bonaparte was a genius man 24 hours a day 7 days week. This movie was about the man behind the General. Bonaparte was in fact a petty, egocentric, perverted and brutal dictator that is flawed in every aspect of the word and lead millions into their deaths because of his ambitions. Napoleon victories were in fact not victories, because it was due to the cost of huge amount of losses of lives. His marriage was also a mess, even though it is said he did genuinely love his wife Josephine, but even that was questionable. While not depicted in the movie but Bonaparte was said to have committing adultery right before his coronation, he also had an affair during his campaign in egypt right after knowing Josephine was having an affair back home in Paris. So the relationship between Josephine and Napoleon was an utter mess. There was also several assassination attempts against Napoleon Bonaparte, and thus shows he was not as loved and adored as people think. However the movie was for the most part historically accurate, both the events of Bonaparte aswell as the brutal battles and the senseless treatment of loss of lives and gives us a window how immoral times it were back in the days.

[@andydufresnefromshawshank5866]

This movie is like cramming the Lord of the Rings trilogy into a single 2 and a half hour long movie

[@williampitt1537]

From the trailer alone, seeing a stoic Napoleon in Phoenix’s performance convinced me the movie would be weak.

[@sobekmania]

My favorite aspect of this movie is how Marie Louise (Napoleon's second wife) and Napoleon II (Napoleon's son with Marie Louise) only get two minutes of screentime in this whole film. It's emblematic of how history basically forgot about the two of them after the Napoleonic Wars.

[@juliamar2372]

based on the difference between my bf's and my reactions I think the disregard for history is detrimentally distracting for anyone moderately knowledgeable about napoleon but the movie is just fine at entertaining the median viewer (me)

[@juliamar2372]

from what I've heard the main reason it's annoying is that the real history is interesting in ways the movie refused to be (like josephine being 6 yrs older than him instead of 15 years younger . . .) plus the movie mostly erases the reasons that napoleon was super successful, so he comes across as just a weird guy stumbling into powerful situations

[@reat964]

As someone who doesn’t know alot about napoleon, it was distracting to me too. Him shooting cannons at pyramids took me back.

[@gawkthimm6030]

@@reat964 there was a battle nearby to the Pyramids thats real enough, but nothing hit them.

[@drichards4426]

@@juliamar2372 The real life story of Napoleon is 100x greater than the movie. So watching it hurts the soul. If Ridley actually read one book on the guy, this would have been one of the greatest movies of all time.

[@TacoTco]

It was an amazing film! Not everything was historically accurate, but that's fine as it's hard to realise. Very captivating and the movie captures his military career very well. Could have been more political, but that's ok. The actors were astonishing, you could see how the perfectionism of Joaquin Phoenix made the characteristic image of Napoleon.

[@Paulmatthew22]

Whatever. Read a book. Barrf~

[@TacoTco]

Everyone can have its own opinion, even the books! @@Paulmatthew22

[@dobridjordje]

​@@Paulmatthew22*Shits in your bed*

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

Yeah i dont need my movies to be a history lesson but this movie captured zero precent of his military career we spent 2 hours on him acting like a manchild in front of Josephine. You learn nothing about his achievements or what makes him such a well known iconic figure, waste of time

[@NoaH-zt8tn]

please revisit the last duel

[@musicaleuphoria8699]

I like the spectacle of the movie in IMAX, but not the way it tries to fit the whole of Napoleonic Wars into one bloated movie. So many other major battles left out. More fitting as TV series, which I don't think Ridley Scott is up for. I prefer other movies isolated to certain parts of the war like Master and Commander, Waterloo, and the War and Peace (Russian version). 4:40 I think that is the intention, and absolutely loved that battle scene, ending such a horrifying demise.

[@danilkishinskij1548]

finally, there is something we can do

[@detroitdave9512]

Lots of people in these comments haven't seen Waterloo 1970

[@TheGoldSwordSquad]

Whilst the battle sequences are spectacular and the two lead roles are great together and very enjoyable to watch there’s no narrative thread in this film. It’s just a jumble of battles and scenes of Napoleon and Josephine with no consequence or context surrounding these events. Things happen but we never see the wider impacts or outcomes. Enjoyable movie but a failure in trying to tell the story of Napoleon and how he changed the world

[@benardman2665]

Is "sincerity" suppose to mean the man that reunited europe while having over seas territories in the west like entire islands and a third of America, his crazy revolutionary ideas spread thtough out the the out world. Out of Everything a napoleon movie could be, it just hyper focuses on his relationship with his older first wife. This dude didnt do what he did becuase his first love cheatwd on him. He was a man with a mission that would complete his own wars on the front. One of the last generals to due so

[@joshsipe5216]

I didn’t like it at first and then it clicked and I like it now.

[@idkssdsds]

i just don't get why they couldn't hire an older actress for joséphine de beauharnais

[@harshailapakurty]

I liked it too!

[@koendijk6648]

Most ridiculous sex scene from Scott is definitely Cameron Diaz having sex with a car in The Counselor...

[@soldiersvejk2053]

At the music score us good. Very OG.

[@D_an_]

I liked it. It isnt perfect and has problems sure, but I dont understand why its getting so much vitriolic hate. I even seen people claim the marvels was better than this film. Which blows my mind that anyone could possibly form that opinion in their brain.

[@iammatthewdavid03]

I mean it’s their opinion that they liked the marvels than Napoleon

[@somenubplayinggames4415]

What type of twisted individual claims that

[@jonathanford7055]

Anyone who knows anything about Napolean dislikes it because not only is it crazily inaccurate in terms of events, it's a terrible depiction of the main character. Napoleon was a charismatic young man who could convince thousands of others to fight and die for him, not some creepy old incel.

[@tycesfriend4584]

I really wanted to like this movie but it was such a disappointment, terrible depiction of napoleon, underwhelming battles . The passing was terrible how are people supposed to understnd whats going on with all the time jumps . I only understood what happened because of my prior knowledge of the napoleonic wars. The genius and charisma of Napoleon is never shown instead he is creeper brute not a surprise Ridley Scott is British anyways 5/10. Also im not expecting 100% historical accuracy but at least respect history this movie was just blatant lies that people will believe because is supposed to be a HISTORICAL EPIC unfortunate the movie visual are great and this movie could of been awesome maybe the long cut can improve the story and passing for now i give it a 5.5/10

[@jamesm2078]

Napoleon is a little draggish like a lot of other movies from the last two years and repetitive, yet I still was interested with most of it. There were aspects that I appreciate a lot, such as the production design, cinematography, costumes, and Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal like usual. The title just makes me think of Napoleon Dynamite, but better yet, think of it as a more serious Pirates of the Caribbean.

[@Anarchristian_Beanz]

No, think of it as a toxic Josephine fanfic written by Ridley.

[@isaacs3822]

Hey Napoleon was average height for the time!

[@hydqjuliilq27]

I like some of his movies but I can’t really wrap my head around why Ridley Scott seems to be the latest person for which people on social media are developing an idolization. It’s mostly just “haha old British guy cussed at interviewer” like that’s the most exciting thing going on in movies right now. Even if some people generally like Napoleon or his older hits, him just calling new movies stupid and acting like he’s the last genius filmmaker left has gotten him this cult of fans who are willing to validate anything he says and defend him like he’s their daddy. I just don’t get it, is being this grumpy troll really what he’ll be remembered for among all the good and bad movies he’s made?

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

Im surprised that he even has cult fans considering how hit and miss his films have been for the last 20 years since Black Hawk Down. I mean seriously Gucci and All The Money In The World and Exodus and Robin Hood? This dude has a cult following? I thougjt that was reserved for ppl like Snyder who appealed more to young cinephiles. Ridley Scott made amazing films in the fucking 80s and since then he’s been on a downslope, Kingdom of Heaven DC was great but doesn’t excuse his arrogance over now pretty much giving up on making a movie about the subject in the title and instead just insulting anyone who criticises him. How ppl are cheering that on is beyond me? Seriously, Scott keeps pretending like Napoleon is a serious prestige period film and then refuses to read anything, why make the movie about Napoleon if most of it is made up, and subsequently much more boring

[@railroading5726]

the battles didnt have scale

[@ThisisNOHA]

You can love a movie while still acknowledging it's a deeply flawed hot mess, and that's how I feel about this one. A second viewing confirmed it was meant to be a comedy, one that was horribly marketed as a serious historical epic when it was closer to big-budget Blackadder meets Drunk History. I loved the setpieces and couldn't have cared less about how little sense they made (The Battle of Austerlitz especially). If I want an authentic historical epic on the Napoleonic period, I'll fire up Waterloo. I find it refreshing in this day and age that a filmmaker on Ridley Scott's level just doesn't give a shit about what anyone thinks. Like his similarly batshit The Counselor, it will develop its cult following in due time of people who get what he was going for.

[@EUSA1776]

DESTINY HAS BROUGHT ME THIS LAMB CHOP

[@CarlosGarcia-rf5tw]

you thought a movie about the French revolution, instigated by wage disparity and wealth inequality, was unnecessary, in today's day and age?

[@doolerz81]

No, no it is not......to put it short

[@MrDreik88]

Good but not very good, what a brilliant review

[@jasonaxiak6316]

I enjoyed this film

[@eddiew2325]

I’m a history buff and this movie made me cry because of how spot on accurate it is

[@VulKus117]

This film greatly disappointed me. It is less historically accurate than a Futurama episode.

[@mgorshkoff7929]

Yeah, the battle scenes are great. However, battles of Austerlitz and Borodino from soviet "War and Pease" are so insane that the film should deserve a real "casualties and losses" section in the wikipedia article. So I'm not impressed

[@MEGATHEBOY]

THANK YOU IM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT LIKED THIS

[@risingsonfilms]

Yes, the movie is good. I saw the first day came out. I enjoyed it. Yes it’s not accurate at all. a movie to be accurate to enjoy it. There are plenty of great films on the man and miniseries and documentaries on him that can provide that for me I think this movie was excellent.

[@kikomastre4255]

I genuinely can't understand how this thing can be taken seriously. Like, the parts where they try to get us to really feel awe or respect or something genuine just do not work, the movie feels like Scott thought he was directing a comedy. Honestly, the impression I got is that Ridley Scott quickly skimmed the wikipedia page for Napoleon, though "Yeah this is stupid" and then just filmed a two and a half hour hate-fueled fan fiction. The movie sometimes feels like it would be released by the British government if they had cinemas in the 1820's. It was great for a laugh, honestly I don't think I have laughed so much in a theater in a long time. When the movie implies that Napoleon is returning to France from Elba because his ex-wife was visited by the tsar I lost it, same with deserting Egypt for the same reason. And the historical inaccuracies aren't the only source of comedy in the movie, for example I loved how, because everyone spoke English, they differentiated the brits from the rest by just hiring the most thick-accented Englishmen they could find. I will definitely watch this movie again when its aviable for home watching, I can't wait for how fun this train wreck will be when drunk. 10/10, Ridley Scott made one of the greatest comedies of our time.

[@Enriqueguiones]

No, it's not. The entire thing is just a mess. Also, if Mr. Scott hates Napoleon SO MUCH then, he has the moral duty to tell the truth. What he did that was so evil or destructive? You just can't answer that question with lies. What the director does in this movie is to criticize a man of his own invention, not Bonaparte.

[@m.hreels9822]

I thought it was just okay

[@raff1944]

i am become napoleon, guy who did thing twice

[@LivingFire_BurningFlame]

My only concern is, how the hell do you capture a career like Napoleon's in one movie? Over a period of 25 years, he literally led one of the most interesting lives in history, during one of the most interesting times in history. Countless movies and miniseries have focussed on just a few aspects of his life, and the French Revolution that precipitated his rise to power. More books have been written about him than about anyone else, ever.

[@engineergaming7606]

I've read theres going to be a directors cut of with an extra hour on Apple+, so hopefully it fleshes his life out a bit more.

[@TheGoldSwordSquad]

Yeah they don’t really. The whole movie felt very rushed in my opinion and like it was only scratching the surface of Napoleons life. We see the battles but don’t really get to see any context or outcomes. We don’t really see anything about how Napoleon was as a ruler either. The film only shows him on the battlefield or in bed with his wife

[@rourbina9297]

Was waiting for this one, Napoleon was based tbh