Directing: B-
Acting: B
Writing: C+
Cinematography: B+
Editing: B-
Special Effects: B+

There’s a battle sequence in Napoleon, one among countless, in which Napoleon tricks an enemy onto a snow-covered, frozen lake, and then pummels the shit out of them, breaking the ice and sending many faceless and nameless soldiers into an icy grave. With a bunch of incredibly rendered shots from beneath the surface, the sequence is as spectacular and thrilling to watch as any in this film, and arguably in any other film this year.

When it comes to Napoleon as a complete film, however, you could go out of your way to watch just this one sequence, and get just as much out of it. Who needs two hours and 38 minutes covering decades of broad historical events, without any character dimension to speak of?

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in the title role is so understated as to be to its detriment. Where is the notorious megalomania? Perhaps we are meant to take this as what distinguishes this Napoleon from any other film about the man. Honestly, it didn’t take long for me to get bored.

Ridley Scott is now 86 years old. His poliferous output in such later years is astonishing—he’s directed seven feature films in the past ten years alone. But have any of them been great? Maybe one. It’s starting to feel like Ridley Scott is just hell bent on proving he can keep doing the job until he finally keels over.

Napoleon is getting reviews that are mixed to positive, and I’m clearly leaning toward the mixed side. I kept hearing how funny the movie is. I didn’t laugh once. They say the film is flawed but incredibly entertaining. I nodded off more than once. Even incredibly well executed battle sequences start to get dull when they are virtually all that’s on offer.

Okay, so the film also explores Napoleon’s relationship, marriage, and ultimate divorce from Joséphine, here played by Vanessa Kirby. She and Phoenix have fair chemistry, but again, virtually everything this film covers is never explored with any depth. Even in a movie this long, that goes with the territory when a single film attempts to cover decades of people’s lives. Napoleon and Joséphine’s relationship proves to be no exception.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed . . . some of it. When it finished, I was glad it was over.

*You’ll see a shot just like this a couple dozen times. Fun!*

Overall: B-