64
Metascore
62 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawPhoenix is the key to it all: a performance as robust as the glass of burgundy he knocks back: preening, brooding, seething and triumphing.
- 83ColliderRoss BonaimeColliderRoss BonaimeNapoleon is a grand film, both in terms of Scott creating a story with a size we’ve rarely seen from him, and the bold, large choices made by a completely game Phoenix.
- 80The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeThe Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeThe film’s epic nature embraces not only size and scope but also the exquisite craftsmanship on display, from the detail work of Janty Yates and Dave Crossman’s costumes to cinematographer Dariusz Wolski’s ability to differentiate a successful battle from a disastrous one simply through his lighting choices.
- 80It feels like a tantalising trailer for the longer and presumably richer and deeper film that is still to come.
- 80The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinThe director’s 28th feature is a magnificent slab of dad cinema, with Phoenix a startling emperor and Vanessa Kirby brilliant as his wife.
- 80Total FilmJordan FarleyTotal FilmJordan FarleyEpic in scope, intimate in execution, Napoleon is a thrilling, surprisingly funny account of the infamous French Emperor’s rise and fall.
- 67IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichWaterloo makes for a clear and terrific setpiece that’s almost on par with the digital spectacle that Scott creates from the cold death of Austerlitz, but by that point Napoleon’s outsized ambitions have been long subsumed by a film so lost in its epic sweep that it’s become the butt of its own, frequently scathing joke.
- 60SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSlashfilmChris EvangelistaThe feeling persists that something is missing here. That Scott and company are merely lightly touching on things that require deeper exploration. Which brings me back again to that 4-hour director's cut.
- 50RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoRogerEbert.comBrian TallericoSay what you will about Scott’s most divisive movies—they’re usually big swings with big ideas. What’s so disheartening about “Napoleon” is how small it ultimately feels.
- 50New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNew York PostJohnny OleksinskiIt’s too bad Scott could not deliver a brilliant character study of one of the world’s great military leaders — and instead settled for letting a self-indulgent Phoenix fly over the cuckoo’s nest.