Folks, it's time to move on from sentimentalizing a sociopathic, mass-murdering egomaniac like Napoleon. What's next? A charming comedy about Hitler's escape to Uruguay? A romantic romp about the love life of that adorable everyman, Stalin?
As a comedy, this movie is dead in the water. No surprises, no insights, and a completely unbelievable Napoleon. (I love Ian Holm, but this is not a good role.) The movie is not absurd enough to function as satire, not smart enough to please history buffs, and too leaden for whimsy. And, for better or worse, nothing and no one in this movie seems even remotely French; Napoleon and his henchmen are like old Oxford chums keeping a stiff upper lip.
An infinitely better movie about the same subject (Napoleon's possible escape from St. Helena) is "Monsieur N," which is funny, subtle, thought-provoking, and (for better or worse) very, very French (even though half the dialogue is in English, with Richard E. Grant as Napoleon's military warden). That film, too, is overly sentimental for my taste, but much more intelligent than this pointless misfire.
As a comedy, this movie is dead in the water. No surprises, no insights, and a completely unbelievable Napoleon. (I love Ian Holm, but this is not a good role.) The movie is not absurd enough to function as satire, not smart enough to please history buffs, and too leaden for whimsy. And, for better or worse, nothing and no one in this movie seems even remotely French; Napoleon and his henchmen are like old Oxford chums keeping a stiff upper lip.
An infinitely better movie about the same subject (Napoleon's possible escape from St. Helena) is "Monsieur N," which is funny, subtle, thought-provoking, and (for better or worse) very, very French (even though half the dialogue is in English, with Richard E. Grant as Napoleon's military warden). That film, too, is overly sentimental for my taste, but much more intelligent than this pointless misfire.