Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, much like its titular figure, is a puzzling series of contradictions. It is a film that feels both epic in scope and small in content. At times it carries the dramatic weight of a classic historical biopic, but also plays out like an irreverent comedy.

The film’s comedic beats, of which there are many, are where Scott’s true feelings about his subject are most evident. When Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) declares to his unfaithful wife Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) that “I am not built like other men,” it is delivered in such an unserious way that it is impossible to miss the dripping irony. Scott’s version of Bonaparte is every bit the petty, insecure, and egotistical man his character claims to be above.

A petulant child who throws throw tantrums at the dinner table for others to see, but sheepishly is not bold enough to stand up to his own mother, Bonaparte comes off more as a buffoon than someone to be feared.

Whether it is Phoenix’s delivery of lines such as “you think you’re so great because you have boats,” while snapping at a British official who refuses to cave to his demands, or scenes such as the one where bird poop falls on the arm of the vacant Russian throne that Bonaparte sits on, the film repeatedly knocks the tyrant off the pedestal he tries to stand on. This creates a perplexing dilemma for the film, as it struggles to balance the portrayal of Bonaparte as both a man-child and a brilliant war strategist.

Scott’s film takes great care in capturing the gruesome and tedious nature of war. The audience can practically feel the harsh elements that Bonaparte and his soldiers endure, the splatter of blood from decapitations of soldiers and cannonballs lodging in horses, and hours of waiting for the battle to begin. All of this makes the stakes in each conflict, both leading up to and during The Napoleonic Wars, feel dire and the victories more spectacular. However, even with the moments of triumph, Scott bookends the film with the sobering number of soldiers who died under his watch.

The deaths serve as one of the few reminders of the steep price France paid because of his ego.

For all its lavish sets and jaw-dropping battle sequences, the audience walks away from Napoleon learning very little about the man it is exploring. The audience never gets the full sense of Napoleon’s impact on France when away from the battlefield. Scott shows the volatile and violent political landscape during periods such as The French Revolution and The Reign of Terror, but not the societal impact when Bonaparte is crowned Emperor.

The plight of the France he claims to love is often overshadowed in the film. When away from the battlefield, the film is far more intrigued by the Bonaparte’s relationship with Josephine. The turbulent love affair, which continues long after their marriage is annulled, is the twine that ties all the various arcs in the film together.

While Phoenix delivers a memorable turn as Bonaparte, it is Kirby’s rich portrayal as Josephine that makes the pair’s constantly shifting dynamic fascinating. Unfortunately, like many of the side characters in the film, take rival Tsar Alexander (Edouard Philipponnat) for example, Josephine’s role feels stunted. As great as Kirby is, one only gets brief glimpses of her character’s inner strength, sexual frustration, and complicated love for Bonaparte.

It has been reported that Scott has a 4-hour Directors Cut that will be released to Apple+. Whether it will provide actual insight into Bonaparte as a ruler and a man, outside of his ego, remains to be seen. As it stands with the theatrical version, Napoleon is sweeping in scale but uneven in its execution. While the humour and action set pieces entertain, there is not enough in the film that truly justifies why Bonaparte was such an important figure to France or history in general.