After a couple days of eating turkey, I figured it was a good time to go watch a movie instead of working on anything more important. That’s what too much turkey does to you I guess. So today’s post is a later one, but hopefully nonetheless interesting.

Napoleon is Ridley Scott’s latest film in theaters, and I for one was a little nervous going in. He’s is one of the few directors who has films in both my favorites list (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner) and my condemned list (Prometheus, Robin Hood). I respect the man for taking his visions to the big screen with such gusto, but sometimes he misses the mark. He’s such a strong filmmaker though, that I don’t think it’s ever his vision of the story that sends the films awry. I’ve written plenty of stories that ended up in the garbage bin, and none of them seemed like they would make for a poor result. I have the liberty of destroying my mistakes though. I don’t think that after having millions of dollars poured into a big film production you can just say “oh well, I tried my best” when it doesn’t go quite the way you wanted.

Thankfully, ‘Napoleon’ is one of those films that worked out well, mostly. It isn’t my favorite movie, but it was quite a showcase of historical scenes (albeit with a rather liberal sense of artistic license), battle, politics, regency, and of course Napoleon’s lust for power, among other things. Costumes, set design, and special effects were all top notch.

While it was a fun movie to watch, I felt a little strange walking away from it. For a movie called ‘Napoleon’ I don’t think I really understand Napoleon very well after leaving the theater. I don’t understand much about the character other than that he felt most comfortable at war, placed his cannons well, and somehow made all his men love him. He loved his wife Josephine and called her his closest friend, but it was never really clear why he loved her so much besides their physical attraction. He loved his country, clearly, but I don’t know why he loved it. He hated the English but didn’t have any direct interaction with them besides the very first battle, and the very last battle, and in neither of those did he actually meet any British people. Maybe these facts are simply not known. I’d prefer if some had been made up.

All in all, it was a good watch, especially in theaters, but I don’t think I’m going to see it twice or call it a cinematic masterpiece. If you like big battles and Joaquin Phoenix, then definitely give it a go.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley