Robin Hood

Movie Review:

The trailer for the latest incarnation of “Robin Hood”, which was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Russell Crowe, looked great, which isn’t always a good sign. Often, if the trailer seems fabulous, then it has taken the bestest bits of the movie and crammed it into a few minutes for a quickie version.

This movie on its own merits was a good show, with the screenplay having been written by Brian Helgeland, who also wrote LA Confidential, A Knight’s Tale and Man on Fire, among others. The supporting cast was well done, and included Cate Blanchett, Kevin Durand (looks surprisingly hot as Little John, compared to his role in Wolverine), Mark Addy (who else but Friar Tuck), Mark Strong (playing yet another bad-ass), Danny Huston (didn’t even recognize him) and William Hurt (almost didn’t recognize him – he looks ancient!).

I must say that Ridley Scott has directed a few of my favourite movies and some that I am quite fond of, the list of which includes Aliens, Bladerunner, Legend, Someone to Watch over Me, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven and A Good Year. For some reason though, Robin Hood seemed to have a “been there, done that” feeling to it, due to its texture, tone and style being a blend of Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and a Knight's Tale, with a touch of King Arthur and Lord of the Flies thrown in. If you have enjoyed Mr. Scott’s prior movies, there is a possibility that this one might be perhaps a little disappointing. Some things that did help it along were the twist on the traditional tale, the strength of Cate Blanchett and her character, and the writer’s sense of humour as evidenced by the three “merry men”. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the look, feel, and the meat of the movie, and I’m all for skirmishes and castle sieges, but it just seemed to be lacking... something. Hmm... I am still wondering what it was. All I can think of is that although the twist in the tale helped the movie, ... the turn that followed later in the story seemed a tad too contrived, for lack of a better word.

As for Russell Crowe, who has been on my “like” list since I first saw him in “Romper Stomper”, “the Quick and the Dead” and “Virtuosity”, he seems to have lost a bit of his former spirit... his “je ne sais quoi”... Maybe it’s just age catching up with him, maybe it’s just me. Now, another thing. It has been a while, maybe ten days, since I started writing this, and now I can't even remember if there was an actual final "man to man" fight sequence.  Not a good sign, all around. Hey, didn't I say that already? As a point of interest, I would probably watch it again.