Robin Hood Review

[Westside Steve]

Robin Hood

Universal

PG 13 148 min

 

 

 

Yep, this is one of my all time favorite legends.

Sure the TV series was a little hokey. MEN IN TIGHTS wasn’t one of Mel Brooks’ best and it was hard to keep a straight face as Kevin Costner sported the Corbin Bernsen hairdo, but so what? I was still optimistic.

Some of my premonitions did come to pass.

First Ridley Scott is the director so you know there will be a big budget and a lot of battle scenes. And with Russell Crowe as the legendary ROBIN HOOD, it was destined to be a more sullen character than the swashbuckling smiling Errol Flynn. Fair enough.

So to be honest I’m not too familiar with 12th century British history and it’s relation with the legend.

Oh we all know Robin and his boys harass Prince John, the pretender to the throne of Richard the Lionhearted. A little research shines some light on the actual adventures of Richard though the story of the prince of thieves, Robin Longstride, is less known.

Here, Robin is a soldier disheartened by the cruelty and futility of the crusades.

In this telling of the tale Robin has had enough of the military and returns home. Accompanied with some other sidekicks you’ll know, he’s off to Nottingham to return the sword of a fallen comrade to his family. That is a father (Max Von Sydow) and a widow named Marion. (Cate Blanchette) This is when it becomes clear that England, though old, isn’t all that jolly any more. After Richards unprofitable crusades the new King John makes matters even worse by raising the taxes even higher. Sound familiar?

So on top of the usual stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, there’s a mountain of treachery and skullduggery afoot from some treasonous weasels in cahoots with the French of all people. And there’s a tale of mistaken identity. You’ll see.

Problem here is that while there’s plenty of fighting going on there’s a lot less merriment from the merry men than we’ve come to expect. The actors are first class as is the production but it lacks the fun usually associated with the tale.

And despite the big scale fighting it’s a little less exciting as you’d wish for.

Also this is more of a prequel, which leaves lots of room for ROBIN HOOD 2, but I’d be really surprised if Crowe and Scott agreed to another round.

Maybe my expectations were too high.

 

B-

WSS

Email westsidesteve@aol.com

 

 

[htownbrown]

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