Napoleon

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Napoleon

R

Released Nov 22, 2023

2h 38m

Biography

History

Drama

War

Action

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Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

336 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Verified Ratings

"Napoleon" is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.

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Critics Consensus

Ridley Scott is intent on proving the emperor has no clothes in Napoleon, a slyly funny epic with bravura set pieces and a divided runtime that keeps it from outright conquering.

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Audience Says

Napoleon has plenty of terrific acting -- and action -- but it struggles to present a complete picture of the man in spite of its lengthy runtime.

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Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

Mr. Phoenix's Napoleon could never have commanded so much as a squadron of the Salvation Army, and though the movie is sprinkled with a few reasonably hearty battle scenes, overall it's something like Mr. Scott's Waterloo.

Dec 5, 2023

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Christy Lemire

Breakfast All Day

I found it impressive and kind of startling at times, but I was not emotionally moved.

Rated: 7/10

Dec 2, 2023

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Philip De Semlyen

Time Out

Ridley Scott delivers a spectacular but flavourless French history lesson.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 1, 2023

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Calum Cooper

Cinerama Film

A paint-by-numbers biopic that seems woefully indecisive in its opinion of the man whose story it’s portraying.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 19, 2024

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James Preston Poole

The Cosmic Circus

I’m invigorated and inspired by the fact that a movie like Napoleon can exist in the modern era ... the blend of war epic and farcical romance, acted and directed masterfully, is the kind of full spectacle that we go to the movies for.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 13, 2024

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Nick Bhasin

Junkee

I mean, the movie was perplexing at points, but this reads like someone having an out-of-body experience...

Jul 12, 2024

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Melissa D

Terrible acting. Hard to follow timeline.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/20/24

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Timothy F

yawn, yawn and yawn. it was too long and read about it in a history book. you'll find it more interesting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/28/24

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Rose Aranda

GREAT MOVIE VERY ENTERTAINING

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/07/24

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John M

I love Ridley Scotts work, including some recent films of his, like The Martian, All the Money in the World and The Last Duel. As for Napoleon, I went in with fairly high expectations and left disappointed, overall. As most are saying, this is an incredible technical achievement. Just like with films such as Exodus: Gods and Kings, Prometheus and Alien Covenant, Ridley Scott, gives you visual feasts for your eyes, where every frame is literally something you could place on your wall as a painting. Similarly to the aforementioned examples, the story suffers tremendously as a result. In this case, we get a series of events that only barely connect to one another, as if being read from a historical textbook. What is missing is what I considered to be the emotional connection to the characters and whats happening to them on a humanistic and relatable level. Why we should care about Napoleons exploits beyond its historical significance? I surmise that will all be answered and brought back into the picture in the four hour cut, but until then, this is what it is.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

Joel B

I thought that the main characters were poorly developed and never engaged the audience with their struggles. I dont think that the gratuitous sex added to the story. Events in the story seemed disjointed, rather than connected. Without the time and place subtitles, the audience would have been totally lost. I enjoyed the grand scale of the movie, in the tradition of Ben Hur and El CID. The costumes and scenery were beautiful and the battles were exciting. Overall, the acting was good but not memorable or compelling. The movie did make me think about the parallels between Napoleons time and Trump in modern time. It also made me want to learn more about Napoleon.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/24

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Noel

50 shades of napoleon…

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/16/24

Full Review

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Ridley Scott

Director

Joaquin Phoenix

Napoleon Bonaparte

Vanessa Kirby

Josephine

Ben Miles

Coulancourt

Tahar Rahim

Paul Barras

Ludivine Sagnier

Theresa Cabarrus

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Napoleon: Movie Clip - Coronation

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Napoleon: Exclusive Movie Clip - Vote

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Napoleon: Exclusive Movie Clip - Battle of Austerlitz

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Napoleon: Final Trailer

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Napoleon: Featurette - Ridley Scott

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Napoleon: Trailer 2

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Synopsis

"Napoleon" is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.

Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: Mark Huffam, Ridley Scott, Kevin J. Walsh
Screenwriter: David Scarpa
Distributor: Apple Original Films / Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Scott Free Productions
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Brief Language|Some Grisly Images|Strong Violence)
Genre: Biography, History, Drama, War, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 2023, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 9, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.2M
Runtime: 2h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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