Robin Hood

Everything I know about Robin Hood I learned from the three Hollywood films I've seen: Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (that old Kevin Costner gem), Robin Hood, Men in Tights (def not the best Mel Brooks film) and Ridley Scott's 2010 release of Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett. I'm not going to talk about historical accuracy, if the set production was appropriate for the turn of the 12th century or relay the various myths of who Robin Hood might have been. However, after seeing the film this evening, there were a few areas that I do want to talk about.

Let's hear it for Godfrey!
I really liked how Ridley Scott has made this film more of a prequel to the Robin Hood legend most of us recognize. It's a story of how Robin Longstride (Crowe), a common archer in the Crusades led by King Richard (aka Richard the Lionheart), who through luck and opportunity, returns to England (now ruled by King John). He becomes an unlikely leader of the barons united first against King John and then against Godfrey and the French. I won't even try to summarize the story of King John, Godfrey and the revolt that led to the Magna Carta. Google it and you'll get to read the whole thing (an utterly fascinating story of a treacherous battle for the Crown, how the Treaty of the Barons, later called the Magna Carta, came into being and so much more). I also loved seeing The Tower of London as it might have looked then. A masterful job was done layering the truth and fiction of the stories together. And by the way, give me a break that the French are  upset at how they were portrayed in this film. It's a Hollywood film, the bad guys always have to be really bad! Get over it already!

Blockbuster Baddy
Speaking of Godfrey, the actor who plays the evil and treasonous Godfrey is Mark Strong. And this is an actor to get to know, people! He has played the villains in 3 huge movies in the last year including Sherlock Holmes, Kick-Ass and now Robin Hood. He's like a hot version of Stanley Tucci. Wow, what a filmography, though most of us wouldn't recognize him on the street.

Did you know Robin Hood was Irish?
In this story the 6-year-old Robin Longstride is orphaned and he grows up not knowing where he's from and frankly it seems to show! Russell Crowe could not get his accents straight which is so disappointing for an actor who's been nominated for an Oscar three times! At one stage my friend leaned over and said, "Wait, is Robin Hood from Wales?" And then we started noticing the different accents we heard: Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Scouser and then a bit of the provincial south. Distracting! I recently read Crowe stormed out on a press junket when a reporter innocently asked him why his take on Robin Hood had been Irish! The truth hurts, doesn't it Russell?

Cate Blanchett was very effective as Maid Marion (hardly a maid but actually the wife of a noble) and she got to play quite the range of emotions. I'm always comforted by the presence of William Hurt in any film and he delivers in a supporting role here. In fact, apart from Crowe's changeable accents, I enjoyed all the performances although there seemed to be an over-presence of spit flying. I mean a bit of spit flying during a climactic scene makes for authenticity. However, during a scene where the barons gather to deliberate on what action to take, the spit thing just went over the top in a big way.

Are we sure Steven Spielberg didn't direct this?
Who wasn't totally amazed by the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan? The beach invasion of Normandy sequence is one of the most memorable scenes I've ever seen in any film. In the final, epic battle scene of Robin Hood (I won't say who was fighting whom lest it be a spoiler), it was reminiscent of the Saving Private Ryan scene, except without the guns, cannons and any modern day war weapons (and no disemboweling). So I'm not saying Robin Hood's final battle was as amazing as Saving Private Ryan, but there are some real similarities.

Archery is cool
Were you like me and when you saw Lord of the Rings you found yourself surprisingly attracted to the elf Legolas? I mean, I'm not into skinny men at all, but Legolas' mastery of his bow and arrow was kind of hot. And I really dug the archery in the battle scenes in this film. Archers are often set behind the all the hand to hand combat but yet their precision and effectiveness are pretty impactful in battle. In fact, I loved the opening and closing shots which showed a detailed, slow-motion release of an arrow from a bow.

I think...quality action and strong performances make this a worthy film. And yet while I can't find real fault with it, Robin Hood is one of the more forgettable movies I've seen lately. 


Images courtesy of:
http://screencrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com
www.greenlightmemorabilia.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0955308/

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