Robin Hood Review

After the frankly unentertaining summer debut of Iron Man 2 last week, we finally get a film that reminds us why we love this season. In lesser hands this could've been a disaster, but Ridley Scott's Robin Hood brims of excellence and attention to detail, right through the end credits. Taking a page from Christopher Nolan's scrapbook, the new film is mostly an origin story in the veign of Batman Begins, telling how Robin (played by Russell Crowe) learned who his father was, and how he became an outlaw.

When King Richard is killed in combat, his arrogant brother John takes the crown, and starts taxing the people of his country heavily. Meanwhile his seemingly faithful servant Godfrey plots for the french to take over the country while it's at its weakest. Through both honesty and dishonest, Robin assumes the name of Robert Locksley, a man who was murdered by Godfrey, and begins wooing the lovely Lady Marion (played by Cate Blanchett).

The film may be too long for it's own good, and somewhat confusing at points, but Scott is able to keep the audience interested for every moment of the film. Where the script begins lacking, the actors give it their all to boost up the quality. Russell Crowe does brilliantly in a role he's played several times before, but never ceases to be interesting in. Cate Blanchett is the sort of female love interest that takes action, and simply doesn't miss a beat in her role. It's been a while since she got a role like this where she can really flex her talents around.
Mark Strong continues his ill-advised stint as the bad guy in every movie, but he does so with class. One of the moments that will stay with audiences well after the film is over, is his character riding off smiling, with an arrow driven right through his neck. Oscar Isaac does a passable job portraying King John as the self-spoiled brat he is. He's really what Simba would've been like had he not had Mufasa to guide him through his childhood. Kevin Durand is great in every film he shows up in, and totally sells me on his version Little John. He offers some much needed comic relief in the darker portions of the film.

The cinematography on this picture is very textured, but the camera zoom-ins, and frantic movements during the intense battle sequences don't prove too impressive. Mark Streitfeld's musical score is definitely too small scale for a film this size, but it captures the tone decently. I would've been more impressed if Hans Zimmer took on the score. Ridley Scott has excelled at directing epic battle sequences in the past, and he does so again here. In the end, Robin Hood is the summer action movie we see a lot of during this time of year, but do we really want anything more?

B