Ridley Scott's directorial debut The Duellists was set during the Napoleonic Wars, but period drama didn't feature the man himself.
46 years later.
Joaquin Phoenix - Napoleon
Vanessa Kirby - Joséphine
Tahar Rahim - Paul Barras
Mark Bonnar - Junot
Rupert Everett - Duke of Wellington
Youssef Kerkour - Marshal Davout
Ian McNiece - Louis XVIII
Ben Miles - Caulaincourt
Summary
The turbulent rise and fall of military genius Napoleon Bonaparte is played out in chronological order.
Command and conquer
Ignoring nationalities (literally), historical inaccuracies include Napoleon present during Marie Antoinette's beheading and meeting Wellington in person.
Given his admiration for Ancient Egypt, there's no fucking way he would've ordered his army to target the pyramids.
That's just the tip of the iceberg you understand.
Phoenix's portrayal is quirky, egocentric, funny and ruthless, but 'power-hungry upstart' can throw silly tantrums and film seems to make fun of the man every chance it gets.
Why do we need to see him taking a shit?
David Scarpa's script is generally competent, but Phoenix barking: "You think you're so great because you have boats!" at a British ambassador was unintentionally hilarious.
Kirby excels as a cruel slut and Everett is great value in the last 20 minutes.
"Boney's Old Bird Caught Out of the Nest Again"
Yeah, that's how newspaper headline bizarrely shames her promiscuity.
WTF?
Battle sequences initially last as long as Napoleon in bed, but Austerlitz and Waterloo (albeit with CG) are decent.
However, battles have no strategy and just have thousands of troops mindlessly running towards opposing army.
Want som free advice? Check out Waterloo (1970) instead.
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