Scott’s varying attitudes toward depicting historical accuracy may give some viewers whiplash. The film’s varying attitude toward history may turn away some history buffs, and Scott’s loose use of accuracy detracts from the film, but “Napoleon” is, overall, a movie that successfully differentiates itself from other historical dramas. It shuffles between the serious and the ridiculous with a constant tongue-in-cheek glee. In general, Scott’s epic drama follows the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte while giving special attention to his complicated relationship with Empress Josephine. “Napoleon” is a historical film, but as these scenes show, it is also a quasi-absurdist retelling of Bonaparte’s life. In the next scene, he stands on a step stool to peer at a mummy, because he’s too short to see it from the ground. In the first act of Ridley Scott’s newest film, “Napoleon,” the French general does something strangely anti-historical: fire a cannon at the tip of the Great Pyramids.
