This film adds to a worrying pattern in movies today, where important historical stories are reworked into empty displays focused on visual thrills. While there are some strong performances and the battle scenes look impressive, Ridley Scott doesn't manage to maintain a consistent tone, which results in jarring changes between serious moments and unexpected humor. The detached way the movie portrays the suffering of countless people highlights the conflicting messages within it, concluding with an uncertain impression of Napoleon himself. Excessive artistic freedom leads to some ridiculous historical errors, like the odd absence of French accents from the cast. Even though the film moves along at a decent speed, the two hours and thirty-seven minutes still feels too short, and I don’t think that the supposed longer version would resolve so many fundamental issues.

Source on TMDB