Robin Hood
It’s been a long time since I did any sort of review on here (I think the last time was Alice in Wonderland?) but after seeing Robin Hood last night I thought it was about time I did something new! I’ll divide the review into sections just to make it easier to read and also easier for my simple brain to process.
*NOTE* Although I have tried very hard not to include any spoilers in this, if you wish to enter the cinema with no clue about what may happen in the film I would not recommend you read this. It’s purpose if to give a starting idea as to what the story is about as well as a basic overview of characters. Although I don’t give away any major plot points this review is definitely not for you if you don’t want to know a little more about the film. You have been warned!!
Plot: First off if you’re a traditionalist and you think that the legend of Robin Hood should not be changed under any circumstance then this film is NOT for you. This is, like Alice in Wonderland, a re-imagining of a classic. Personally I thought it was rather clever. The problem with faithful adaptations is that you know what happens exactly and that can sometimes take away from the movie, especially if it’s not a well made movie! By changing the plot they’ve essentially made a new premise which is based on a well known story. The plot itself is centred around an archer who is fighting for King Richard (the Lionheart) in the Crusades. This archer, called Robin Longstride, has become more than a disillusioned with the Crusades, thinking that those who are fighting in them have become Godless. A series on events (which I won’t reveal as that would ruin the first forty five minutes of the film!) lead to him taking on the persona of Sir Robert of Locksley. From there the adventure begins. Unlike the traditional Robin Hood story this doesn’t concentrate on the Robin who is devoted to the King and serves him. In fact the King plays a very small part in the film (why will be revealed when you watch it) and indeed the ‘take from the rich to give to the poor’ aspect is barely present. Whilst Robin’s story is being played out in the Holy Land Lady Marion’s is being played out in Nottingham. She is the consummate practical woman. She practically rules the lands her husband owns whilst he is away at war (yes, she is married from the beginning of the film…but to who?! My lips are sealed…) but debt, theft and bad fortune means Locksley is barely hanging on by the skin of it’s teeth. All in all the plot is a very interesting, new and rather bold stroke from Ridley Scott and the writers…but I think they pulled it off wonderfully. This movie set itself up for a sequel and I imagine if the takings at cinema and home release are pleasing that is what we will get in two or three years time.
Plot = 9.
Cast and Characters:
Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) – I have never been a Crowe fan. Indeed, I have a confession to make. I didn’t like Gladiator. I know, I know, you can lynch me later. I cannot think of a single Russell Crowe film I have watched and enjoyed. This changed with Robin Hood. The character Longstride goes from extreme circumstance to extreme circumstance in the film and Crowe plays it beautifully. He doesn’t create a completely selfless and devoted Robin, nor does he play a brutish and harsh one. Instead he balances the warrior and the man of justice well and creates a character that I like throughout.
Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett) – Marion is probably my favourite character in this film. She is played beautifully by Cate Blanchett. I went to see the film with a friend and afterwards we praised the idea of making Marion a woman of the same age as Robin and not fall into the trap of casting a much younger woman to play the role. Blanchett plays Marion with maturity and strength as well as vulnerability at times and it was pretty much the best performance in the film, even at times outshining Crowe!
Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong) – There is a very real danger that Mark Strong is becoming typecast as the consummate bad guy of Hollywood. You know what? Good. He plays an excellent antagonist as the brutish, cruel and heartless French sympathetic who gains King John’s trust only to secretly have ulterior movies. The saying goes that every man has a monster within and, as a result, every monster has a man within. Not so with Godfrey. Pure evil and fascinating to watch.
King John (Oscar Isaac) – This was a very interesting portrayal of John. Usually John is shown as a bumbling, heartless bad guy with no thought for anything but his own power and wealth. I think Robin Hood did a good job of showing there was much more to the King than meets the eye. It’s focus on his humanity and the fact that as the youngest of the royal family he was always placed in the background and overlooked explained why he did a lot of what he did. Very well played by Isaac who I’d only seen before in Agora opposite Rachel Wiesz.
Little John (Kevin Durand), Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes) and Allan A’Dayle (Alan Doyle) – These three were the Merry Men and merry they were indeed. They brought some comic relief to a lot of areas in the film (for example, at being asked why he was called Little John, Durand replied “What are you trying to say? I’m proportionate!”) as well as support for Robin and Marion. The idea of having these three instead of a large band of men was a good one as they don’t get lost in the crowd and I was able to take interest in and form a bond with the characters (one of the problems with Clash of the Titans was the band of men following Perseus was so large I barely noticed when some of them died!)
Other mentionable characters were Friar Tuck (Mark Addy) who was hilarious as the slightly morally lacking man of the cloth who became a staunch supporter of Robin and Marion, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eileen Atkins) who showed us to some extent why King John behaved the way he did, Sir Walter Locksley (Max von Sydow) was fantastic as the blind father in law of Lady Marion and provided some emotional moments as well as a little comic relief at times, and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Mcfadyen) who played a disappointingly small role and yet whenever he was on screen he played his part well and the make up used to make him look much older than usual shocked me at first – very convincing!!
Cast and Characters: 10/10 – no complaints!!
Final Thoughts: I truly and honestly loved this and cannot recommend it enough. I liked how when I was in the cinema I saw people of all ages, whether much older than myself or the same age and everything in between. It was nice to see that the film had drawn such a diverse crowd of people and I believe that this is one of the reasons that the film is going to be a success. It is universally appealing (unless you’re a staunch legend lover who doesn’t want to see something which twists the story) and although it was a very long film (141 minutes which is 2 hours 21 minutes) the length felt right and I think I can safely say this is a sprawling epic which, in my eyes, matches the golden years of Gladiator. Crowe and Scott and back.
Final Score: 9.5 / 10
