NAPOLEON

Cern said:
'm no pedantic stickler for detail, I definitely think a good story can take precedence over precise facts, within reasonable limits. But there needs to be some basis in truth, otherwise why bother doing a biopic in the first place?
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I felt the same with Bohemian Rhapsody, I was a massive Queen fan and saw them from before their first album and then got bored after the 6th album.
In that time I knew everything about them and read every bit of news in 70s music papers.
When the film came out I was so upset at the inaccuracies.
The stupid thing is that John Deakon and Brian May were advisors on the film so no idea what went through their heads.
eg Before they even got their first album contract Freddie was playing Bo Rap on the piano,
During the scene where they were waiting to get a contract Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy was playing.
In the film in 1980 May was recording We Will Rock You but it was released in 1977 :)
Before they went on for Live Aid Freddie told the band he'd got AIDS, complete rubbish and so on.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
I felt the same with Bohemian Rhapsody, I was a massive Queen fan and saw them from before their first album and then got bored after the 6th album.
In that time I knew everything about them and read every bit of news in 70s music papers.
When the film came out I was so upset at the inaccuracies.
The stupid thing is that John Deakon and Brian May were advisors on the film so no idea what went through their heads.
eg Before they even got their first album contract Freddie was playing Bo Rap on the piano,
During the scene where they were waiting to get a contract Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy was playing.
In the film in 1980 May was recording We Will Rock You but it was released in 1977 :)
Before they went on for Live Aid Freddie told the band he'd got AIDS, complete rubbish and so on.
Click to expand...

I was a huge Queen fan back in the day too, especially up to and including Jazz. I've kept away from the film as I'd heard about the inaccuracies. Messing around with chronology of songs is irritating, especially if you know how they were conceived (often a good story in itself anyway). But messing around with the narrative, I don't get why the other band members allowed that. But from what I hear, they airbrushed a lot out of the story anyway. You get the feeling that when bands reach this sort of size, it becomes more about preserving the legacy of the band itself as a commercial entity rather than any concern for members past and present.
 
Watched the Directors cut (hadn't seen the edited one. It was the first time watching it).

Honestly one of the worst films I've ever watched, and I normally love Ridley's work (Gladiator and Black Hawk Down are two of my favourite films ever).

It barely even has a plot. It's just loads of events cobbled and cut together with little context.

The portrayal of Napoleon was absurd. They made him out to be a socially inept weirdo.
Not sure if this was the writing/directing at fault or Joaquin's fault. Probably both. It was poor writing of the part and an equally poor performance. I was expecting more of a Commodus like character, but for some insane reason we got the Joker.

How are we supposed to believe he had the charisma to gain the unwavering support of the French soldiers and rise up to the top of the leadership of France if he acted like this? Ridiculous. Everyone around him seemed to hate him or think he was stupid.

There were never any scenes showing excellent political accumen, and even the battle scenes were light on showing his strategical prowess.

The love story was awful. Every scene appeared to show them hating each other, yet we were supposed to believe they loved each other and wrote heartfelt letters to each other all the time.

Joaquin looked far too old through most of it and Vanessa Kirby looked far to young. No attempt at aging anyone was made so it all looked stupid.

I just have no idea how the creators of this thought it was anywhere near approaching good.

2/10 - massive waste of 3 and a half hours.
 
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