Joaquin Phoenix seems in a scene from “Napoleon.” (Courtesy of Apple TV+)

“Napoleon” affords a lot.

The most recent effort from the endlessly prolific filmmaker Ridley Scott, the historic epic dramatizes the fascinating lifetime of French determine Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing his rise and eventual fall — solely to be adopted by a second rise and fall — and inspecting his love and, maybe, downright obsession together with his spouse Josephine.

Because it does so, “Napoleon” presents us with quite a few battle sequences, the form of spectacle-filled workout routines at which Scott is so adept.

And whereas it will get an uneven efficiency by Joaquin Phoenix — who actually seems the half at roughly Napoleon’s peak at 5-foot-8 and usually sporting the bicorne hat, ends pointed to the shoulders, that’s synonymous with him — it’s lifted by the extent of excellence from co-star Vanessa Kirby, as Josephine, that we’ve come to count on.

It’s fast-moving and customarily entertaining.

“Napoleon” affords a lot. And but it leaves us wanting extra.

Even at about two and a half hours, “Napoleon” performs just like the Cliff Notes model of the French army leader-turned-emperor’s story, so we hope we do get the promised possibility of a four-hour reduce when the film lands on Apple TV+. (In theaters this week and distributed by Sony Footage Releasing, it primarily is an Apple Studios manufacturing.)

It feels as if we’ve been escorted too shortly by his profession, despite the fact that the film spends no time on his childhood, introducing us to him solely when he’s on the precipice of the primary of many army victories. As “Napoleon” progresses, he ascends (“Lengthy stay the republic!” males shout as he’s promoted captain to brigadier normal) and ascends (“Lengthy stay the emperor!” different males shout later, at his 1804 coronation) with relative ease.

At the least for some time, his biggest problem is Josephine, with whom he’s smitten upon their assembly at a ball when she asks him about his costume and he considerably awkwardly replies that it’s merely his army uniform.

Quickly after that, she sends him a notice asking for the pleasure of his firm and, after smelling it, he rubs it in opposition to his neck.

At their lunch at an out of doors cafe, he pulls her chair nearer to his, however it’s a subsequent act of hers that means she is the one with the ability on this dynamic. Even after their marriage, her rumored habits will grow to be a terrific distraction to him as he’s attempting to realize glory for France in a faraway land.

Except for the battle sequences, the scenes through which Phoenix and Kirby share the display are the movie’s strongest, thanks largely to all that Kirby (“The Crown,” “Items of a Girl”) can convey together with her eyes and even just some strains of dialogue. Theirs is a fancy relationship, to say the least, and the movie lacks a sure pop when Napoleon isn’t sparring — or conducting one other exercise — with the lady he can’t assist however adore.

It doesn’t assist that not one of the movie’s myriad different characters is remotely well-developed, together with Napoleon’s brother, Lucien (Matthew Needham), and Paul Barras (Tahar Rahim), a key determine through the French Revolution. Napoleon’s conferences with rival heads of state, akin to Édouard Philipponnat’s Alexander I, the tsar of Russia, are fairly compelling, nevertheless, and Phoenix does a few of his greatest work in these scenes.

At different instances, the actor — who portrayed the villainous Roman Emperor Commodus in Scott’s Academy Award-winning 2000 movie, “Gladiator,” and whom the director says he wished for the function after seeing his glorious work within the titular function of 2019’s “Joker” — is just underwhelming. Little doubt Phoenix goes for subtlety, however the efficiency steadily feels flat.

Once more, although, the battle sequences are there to choose up any slack. Whereas they seem very fashionable of their execution, they fortunately fall in need of feeling overly stylized, which may have nudged “Napoleon” into the realm of the motion film. The scene from one of many trailers the place the French forces hearth cannonballs at an enemy Napoleon has lured onto a snow-covered semi-frozen lake? Nice stuff.

As a personality examine, “Napoleon” is efficient however solely SO efficient. At one level, he’s described by somebody who is aware of him as “a person bent on peace at any value.” Textual content the viewer is left with simply earlier than the closing credit roll suggests “Napoleon” is kind of involved with that value, however we by no means actually get that impression till then.

What’s the movie finally saying about him? As penned by David Scarpa — author of Scott’s 2017 movie “All of the Cash within the World” and his upcoming “Gladiator 2” — at the very least with this theatrical reduce, it’s a bit murky.

Maybe that additional hour and a half will inform us.

‘Napoleon’

When: Nov. 22.

The place: Theaters.

Rated: R for sturdy violence, some grisly pictures, sexual content material and temporary language.

Runtime: 2 hours, 38 minutes.

Stars (of 4): 2.5.