Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

jm10701 I know almost nothing about Napoleon, but I do know a good movie when I see it, and this is not one. I didn't know Europeans could make movies this bad, but it rivals the worst that ever came out of Hollywood. It's like a six-hour marathon episode of Dallas. If Napoleon had been even 1% as boring and stupid as he is in this movie, no one would remember his name.I can't stand John Malkovich, and I like Isabella Rossellini as a person but she's not much of an actor. I've loved some of the European actors in other movies, but I've never even heard of Christian Clavier and don't wonder why.But what makes this so unbearably bad are the moronic writing and directing. Everybody talks and acts like they're in a 1980s American soap opera, not at all like real historical human beings or even like well-developed fictional characters.Costumes and sets aren't enough to make me love a movie; there have to be believable characters behaving more or less like real human beings. Everybody in this one is as phony and stupid and annoying as J R Ewing.

Andrew Kim With an exceptional performance by Clavier, and the rest of the Napoleon cast, this multi-million dollar miniseries is highly underrated. It depicts Napoleon's life well for such a short lifespan, but there are a few mistakes that accompany the film.First, Malkovich wasn't the best choice to play the renowned diplomat Talleyrand. Malkovich portrays him in a rather bland and placid manner, and the director shows him as a bit of a weakling, whereas Talleyrand was one of the most powerful men in all Europe -- even after Napoleon's defeat.Second, Alain Doutey as Marshal Ney... not as enthusiastic as the real Marshal Ney would have been. His famous line, repeated in the film, was said unenthusiastic and without spirit.Simoneau would have done better had he shown elements of the Duke of Wellington to contrast the two military leaders... we definitely didn't really want to see the blubbering Louis XVIII, or the King/Prince of Spain, for that matter.Other than that however, the rest of the performances were fantastic. Josephine, Caulaincourt, Caroline Bonaparte, Murat -- and of course, the Emperor Napoleon, were all shown true to form.

AJS218 On the plus side: the costumes and interiors are magnificent, Isabella Rossellini is good as Josephine, the historical events depicted are presented accurately, and the series gets better as it goes along (don't give up after the muddled first episode!).On the minus side: we never really get a feel for what Napoleon actually stood for or why and how he was such a military genius, the film dwells on his private life when it could be dealing with the huge social and political issues of the time, the actors playing some of the secondary characters are laughably bad (Murat, Ney, Marie-Louise), and one has to strain to hear the dialogue (due to the foreign accents, background noise and music).As for Christian Clavier, it's amazing how the comments on his performance stretch from "brilliant" to "trash." My own view is that he was off the mark as the younger Napoleon, but as the mature Napoleon had basically the right look and plenty of gravitas.A good contribution to the body of film about the Emperor but also full of flaws.

Tasku As an overall experience, I enjoyed this movie. Or is it a mini series for TV? I don't know, I bought it as a DVD, and watched it as a movie.Spectacular costumes and architecture from the 19th Century, colourful and luxurious, it completely drew me into the film. Christian Clavier plays the part well, and I find him believable as Napoleon.I would've liked to see more battles, since the only ones shown in this film are the ones Napoleon lost. Surely he didn't loose all his battles, if he conquered so much of Europe? The French armies long march into Russia and Moscow is only quickly shown in this film - as they arrive in their spotless blue and white uniforms, and as they leave all tired and beaten. For a campaign that cost the lives of some 200,000 - 300,000 French soldiers, I was a bit disappointed. Surely in a 6 hour movie, there would've been time to show these historic events in closer detail.Battles are few, but they are well done, almost making you stomp your head on the wall, screaming: "Stop acting like robots and dive for cover!" - as the French march in their well formed lines into enemy fire, and fall on the ground dead. War is so pointless, and there is no glory in it.But why oh why did Napoleon speak English in his broken accent, instead of French? I would've liked to see a French Emperor speak his own language, even if I would've had to read the meaning of his words from the subtitles.