Film Preview: Napoleon (2023)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(July 16, 2023) Original
(October 22, 2023) New Trailer (#2) — New Posters (#3-#8)
(November 19, 2023) New Posters (#9-#13)
(November 26, 2023) New Trailer (#3) — New Poster (#14)

Release Date:

November 22, 2023

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The film takes a personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte’s origins, and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor viewed through the prism of his addictive, and often volatile, relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.”

Poster Rating: C- / C / C+ / C+ / C / C- (2) / C / C (2) / C (2) / B- / C+

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1, C-) While the hat is iconic, the face is not, nor is the background. The title is too small while the tagline is too large. An overall disappointing effort. (#2, C) This feels more emblematic of the character and the title is more striking, but the thin lettering almost makes it blend into the background. While it’s an improvement over the prior, it’s still a rather lackluster effort.

(#3, C+) I’ll give this one a small amount of credit for the blood-like title cutting across Josephine’s neck, but that’s the only benefit of the doubt this rather dull design gets. (#4, C+) It’s an action piece, to an extent, but it’s not action that the casual passerby will be terribly engaged by. That said, it’s for French audiences who might see the bleu, blanc, et rouge and get somewhat excited. (#5, C) It’s a poorly structured design. The front-facing Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t exactly excite and the inconsistent lighting between the background and him only accentuates its weakness. (#6-#7, C-) These designs are the same with the second being a bit bolder and more close-up and that might make it a bit more appealing to the aggressive types, but it’s hard to see how either of these designs entice. (#8, C) The visually striking tandem between the Sphinx and Napoleon’s hat is interesting, but isn’t going to sell anyone on the film. Still, it stands out sufficiently from the other efforts and those who would be shocked that Napoleon reached Egypt might be more intrigued by it.

(#9-#10, C) Two uninspired character posters where there should have been three (one for the blanc of the French flag). Who would really want to own these? (#11-#12, C) For once, the IMAX version is the better, but not sufficiently better to encourage attendance. (#13, B-) A decent attempt to be creative, the faded paint splotches speak to the thematic nature of Napoleon’s rise to power and his reign, but it probably won’t bring much inspiration to the viewer.

(#14, C+) A scene from the film that’s effectively displayed in a vertical format. It’s uninspiring, but not empty like so many others.

Trailer Rating: C / B- / C

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1, C) The trailer opens well, putting us into the French Revolution with flair, but then it settles into the accent-agnostic dialogue, almost eradicating all good will the film might have had. It’s an unfortunate return to an era of Hollywood film that has grown antiquated and nothing in the trailer suggests otherwise.

(#2, B-) Digging into the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine is the right direction for the trailer to go. Historical epics often struggle to reach broad appeal because they lack an interpersonal touch. While that’s somewhat tackled here, it still feels like a biopic in need of some focusing.

(#3, C) There’s very little dialogue or narrative drive behind this trailer, focusing in on the action sequences and the critics’ reviews, which all seem written specifically to be canned into trailers rather than being an organic opinion written by a strong writer. That alone drives this trailer down a bit in its cynical, attention-grabbing nature.

Oscar Prospects:

Ridley Scott hasn’t had a lot of Oscar success in the last few years, but this seems like just the kind of film that will bring him back into the limelight.