Opinion: Napoleon (2023)

Like most people I always have high hopes for Ridley Scott movies and Joaquin Phoenix movies so the reunion between the pair warranted a trip to the cinema.

Napoleon (2023) is what I expected it to be. It explores Napoleon's origins all while keeping a modern day audience interested in a story from the 1700s by exposing his relationship with Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

As is the case with most historical fiction, the story presents factual information but some elements may have been embellished for entertainment purposes. Nonetheless, the film was entertaining and includes many memorable scenes. The most intense scenes of course being Scott's portrayal of a Napoleonic battlefield.

Despite the fact that the movie is essentially a biopic of an Emperor/Military commander, there is a healthy balance between the focus on his career and the focus on his personal life which would keep most people in the audience happy.

The focus on his personal life definitely would bring the story of Napoleon to a wider audience and the trailers did not deceive as they included battle scenes but also somewhere in the mix you would have seen a more 'playful' side to Napoleon in his scenes with Josephine.

Although the running time might be considered lengthy to some, 2 hours and 38 mins, I think it was definitely needed in order to cover Napoleon's rise, exile and his eventual death. In fact, it is likely that an extended version may be shared with audiences once the film is available on streaming platforms. It has been suggested that the running time would be over four hours long. Personally, I would definitely be curious to see it.

I imagine in the longer version we would see more of Josephine, prior to meeting Napoleon as well, and maybe get more of an insight into tactics that were used by Napoleon in Battle.