Despite the missteps that were Alien: Covenant and House of Gucci, to this day, the arrival of a Ridley Scott film is a major occasion. Hence our considerable excitement for his latest historical epic, Napoleon, starring Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix — and the first reactions, while divided, are promising enough.
The almost three-hour affair depicting the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte — legendary military commander, statesman, and Emperor of France — has been fielding major praise. From its ambitious scale and storytelling to the performances of Phoenix and co-star Vanessa Kirby (initially Jodie Comer) as consort Empress Joséphine, there’s apparently a lot to love.
The Guardian called it an “outrageously enjoyable cavalry charge of a movie.” IndieWire framed it as a “stinging character study entombed within a sweeping epic.” Empire thought it was a “funny, idiosyncratic close-up of the man, rather than a broader, all-encompassing account. But you can check out some of the highlight Napoleon first reactions via Twitter below.
Previously titled Kitbag, the forthcoming blockbuster has been brought to life by Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras, Ben Miles as Caulaincourt, Ludivine Sagnier as Theresa Cabarrus, Matthew Needham as Lucien Bonaparte, Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, Phil Cornwell as Sanson ‘The Bourreay,’ Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander, and plenty more in addition to Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby.
But the Gladiator actor isn’t the only collaborator Ridley Scott has reunited with. The screenplay has been penned by David Scarpa, who wrote All The Money In The World; prior to that, you may have encountered Scarpa’s work via Amazon Prime Video‘s hit series, The Man In The High Castle, of which he also served as co-showrunner.
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is scheduled to hit theatres next week on November 23rd before eventually making its way to Apple TV+, where a tasty four-hour cut will be made available for your streaming pleasure — check out the trailer below.
