Ridley Scott‘s Robin Hood is a prequel to everything we know about the hero with a bow. This film tells how Robin Longstride became Robin Loxley and how he eventually became “Robin of the Hood.” So for those who want to see the Robin Hood that they are used to seeing and watching him steal from the rich and give to the poor–well this film is not for you. This epic is just the introduction to the legend.
Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is an archer in the army of King Richard (Danny Houston). He meets Little John because they fight and then become friendly, and Will Scarlet and Allan A’Dayle get involved and there you have Robin’s merry men. So we know why Robin Hood is so good with a bow and how he met his merry men. That was pretty easy.
Longstride is an honest man and represents the folks that have no voice and only serve the King and get nothing in return. It is because of Longstride’s honesty that him and his merry men get in trouble and are trapped in isolation. However, once King Richard the Lionheart gets killed. They break out and escape a war that was already over.
Along the way, Longstride comes across a group of knights that have been attacked and left for dead. One of them is named Robert Loxley, who was in charge of bringing the crown back to England. So as Loxley’s dying wish, he wants Robin to take his sword back to his father in Nottingham. And the journey begins from Robin Longstride, a common archer, posing as Robert Loxley and making his way to Nottingham, which is where he belongs.
Cate Blanchett plays Maid Marian, who is the widow of Robert Loxley, but Loxley’s father Walter (Max von Sydow) proposes the idea for Longstride to become Loxley so she can keep their land. Robin and his merry men have no place to go so why not stay for a while. As the film continues, Robin becomes friends with the people in Nottingham and realizes how mistreated they are and how hopeless they seem to be.
With King Richard dead, the new king is King John (Oscar Isaac). And we are familiar with the rivalry between King John and Robin Hood, but theirs is just beginning. Godfrey (Mark Strong) is the main villain in this version. He is the man sent to kill King Richard and ends up killing the knights including Sir Robert Loxley. And under King John, he is made Marshall, but Godfrey does not work for England but instead for France.
A plan is set in motion for Godfrey to make King John’s army and the people of England to turn on each other and will leave everyone vulnerable and weak so France can invade, and the plan almost works. But Robin finds a way to unite the people of England with King John so they can fight a common enemy. The end result is one big action sequence between France and England, and Robin Hood and Godfrey.
There is a lot happening in this 2 hours and 20 minutes. However, it does not feel like it. This film takes a long time to finally get going. It really drags its feet for the first hour or so. And there is action but not enough. But when there is action, it is thrilling and entertaining. Also, the performances are strong. Crowe is a good Robin Hood. He has what it takes to be a guy like Robin Longstride and to make you believe it. And you do get to see him and his bow in action, and there are some really cool shots when it happens.
Of course, Blanchett is always great in every film she does. She plays a strong woman who never really had a husband, and ends up finding one in a man who only pretended to be her husband at first. Strong loves playing bad guys. He was the bad guy in Sherlock Holmes last year and in Kick-Ass this year. And he is very good at portraying one. He plays to his strengths and it works out nicely. The Merry Men are the sidekicks and add some much-needed humor to this film, but they are not given a lot of attention. They are very underused.
Scott knows what to do when it comes to epic films and big action sequences. He uses more than a couple of cameras to catch all of the action and excitement in a battle scene. The end of this film gives you a good dose of that. It is just a shame we could not have received a few more scenes like that one. But Scott has made a beautiful looking film and you can tell he loves his history and pays attention to detail.
Robin Hood is a film that you may think you know what it is about but you do not. This version has an interesting way of looking at how Robin Hood became the man we know about today. The story is not the problem with this film and neither is the acting (except the fact that Crowe is too old to play Robin Hood from the start). But it is the pace of the film and the fact that Scott and Crowe know how to make exciting films, but somewhere they got distracted.
Robin Hood is not a bad film. Scott wanted to educate the audience on how “Robin of the Hood” was once just an ordinary man and wanted you to experience the journey of him becoming a hero. And Scott did a nice job as far as that goes. But it falls short from being a truly fascinating, entertaining film.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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