Robin Hood is one of those movies that a people cannot help but ask themselves “Why?” There really does not seem to be any reason for this movie to have been made in the first place, but it was. Especially making what amounts to a prequel movie with such an aged cast. There certainly isn’t a lack of movies about Robin Hood so what does this one have that all the others don’t?
The answer to that question is nothing really. This movie is ultimately an exercise in pointless movie making, despite its ability to entertain for small segments. Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up again in what on the surface looks to be a medieval successor to “Gladiator”. Unfortunately the reality is far short of the greatness that was the 2000 Oscar winner.
Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is an archer during King Richard the Lionhearted’s (Danny Houston) ten year crusade. When he objects to the way in which the crusaders carry out their heinous actions, Robin is punished and therefore intends to leave the army. On his way home, he encounters the dying Robert Locksley, who had just been ambushed in an attempt by Godfrey (Mark Strong) to help the French take over
One of the things that really stands out is the way in which these actors are all so old given the fact that this takes place prior to Robin’s whole “rob from the rich and give to the poor” mantra. This wouldn’t be too much of a problem except early on in the movie, a character makes a reference that 40 years old is very old for the time, and clearly most of the main characters are approaching that age. Granted, everyone is in very good shape, but in the ten years since Gladiator, Russell Crowe’s face looks a little more like Baskin- Robin Hood than a younger version would.
The battle scenes are all surprisingly tame given Ridley Scott’s history of intense brutality, but they at least maintain a sense of excitement from time to time. The problem is that the battles don’t really seem to hold any meaning except to battle for battle’s sake. A subplot involving Robin’s long dead father attempts to give a little weight to his history but just feels rather tacked on. And the lack of chemistry between Crowe and Blanchett does nothing for the romance of the movie.
The story just plainly doesn’t hold up and creates this amalgamation of several different historical epics yet never really sticks to one. Which leads to a decided lack of understanding as to where everything is heading only to have events orchestrated in such a way that it all ends up at the start of the Robin Hood myth’s general beginning. If the story had been more cohesive and stronger arcs were given to characters, there could have been a pretty solid Robin Hood film somewhere in here. But what remains on screen is just your average medieval movie slightly heightened by a great cast and Ridley Scott’s direction.
GRADE: C+
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