“Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions,” or in other words, never give up, is the predominate theme and driving force behind Ridley Scott’s interpretation of the classic legend, Robin Hood.
Unlike its predecessors, Scott took a different approach and hoped to reinvent the legend in some ways, telling the story of how Robin Longstride, played by Russell Crowe, became the infamous Robin Hood we all know today.
The story begins with Longstride as a common archer under Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusades. When Lionheart dies in battle, Longstride attempts to return to England along with three other soldiers. During the return home, the four stumble upon an ambush, and Longstride is soon tasked with returning a dead soldier’s sword to his father. Longstride and his gang head to the village of Nottingham, where the sword is to be returned. Upon arriving, Longstride is asked to impersonate the dead knight in order to keep the town from being seized by the English throne.
Meanwhile, back in England, newly enthroned King John is showing no mercy, demanding heavy taxation of English citizens. Sir Godfrey, a British Knight, is tasked with forcibly collecting revenue for the King.
I’m not going to spoil the entire plot, but it turns out that Godfrey has his own agenda and conflict ensues. Longstride is soon pitted up against Godfrey, which brings the movie to the closing segments.
While I really wanted to love Robin Hood, I just couldn’t help but find it any better than average. It was a decent movie, and entertaining, however it wasn’t even close to the next “Gladiator.”
The acting in Robin Hood is solid, but average. Despite a few lapses in Crowe’s accent, he plays a solid character. Not an Oscar Award winning character, but a believable one none-the-less. Cate Blanchett, who plays Lady Marion, delivers a solid performance as well. The acting as a whole however failed to evoke the emotional response that those riveting acting performances do.
The plot had potential, but left way to many ends open for me to truly feel satisfied at the end of the two and a half hours. Many small aspects of the plot are brought to attention, but then never brought to closure. It was frustrating to really want to know what’s going on, but it never to be thoroughly explained.
The action in Robin Hood comes in bursts. The opening and closing are action packed and exciting, but much of the middle is spent showing farm life in Nottingham, and can become boring at points. That being said, the ending battle, despite the French showing up in WWII landing ships, was a highlight of the movie.
Scott took a gamble when he decided to reinvent the classic legend. For most of the movie, Robin Longstride feels like entirely different character than Robin of the Hood. I cam into the movie with open eyes, but I don’t feel that Scott did the character justice. Yes, the idea was to show the prequel to the classic legend, but the development of the character in my mind wasn’t smooth, and that provided for a rough transition between the start and end of the movie.
Despite my complaints, Robin Hood was an entertaining way to spend my Friday Night. It is a long movie, but for the most part captured my attention, and kept my interest throughout. All the elements in the movie are solid, but they don’t combine to make an amazing movie. It’s an average movie, and I recommend you wait till DVD for Robin Hood. If you want action, your money would be better spent on Iron Man 2.
