Movies Reviews

Robin Hood Movie Review

By Anne Brodie May 14, 2010, 17:21 GMT

A new spin on the Robin Hood legend with the Sheriff of Nottingham as a noble and brave lawman serving under a corrupt king. He finds himself caught up in a love triangle with Marion and the outlaw Robin Hood. The untitled Robin Hood adventure chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin ...more

Sound and fury signifying nothing; that’s Robin Hood in a nutshell.  Ridley Scott helming, Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett starring and it comes up empty – noisy and clanking, the stuff of headaches, sleep, and quick exits.  And insult to injury, its blurry.  Literally.  The battle scenes are impossible to comprehend through the storm of jolting images and the rest is clouded by campfire smoke, ultra dark interiors and endless yards of fabric obscuring the people wearing it. 

Someone falls down, arrow through the neck, and we’re supposed to feel something.  But since the entire excurison is little more than a video game in robes and chain mail, it’s not possible to feel anything.  There is little effort to engage us to the characters.  Less than little.  A strange choice.

There is also an eerie, technical disconnect between the foreground and background that makes you think they forgot to dial something up in the projection room.  It doesn’t help.

It is mystifying to think that Scott’s artistic choices are so off.  It’s a blurry, incomprehensible mess and works on a mind numbing template of battle, battle, battle, battle, moment, and battle.  There is no time for recovery between battles so none of it makes the slightest bit of sense or inspires any emotion. 

There is a kind of story tucked somewhere in there but the obvious wrong headed aim was to provide us with the sight of medieval toughs duking it out with primitive weaponry.  Since when did battle in and of itself become an entire film?

Russell Crowe doesn’t seem like the ideal choice for the titular role.  He looks old, weary, and fat and his heart doesn’t seem to be in it.  He is a blank. There’s no acting, just choreography in endless battle scenes and the occassional punch up round the campfire.  He doesn’t look as though he’s having much fun.

Cate Blanchett, God bless her, gives her all to the puny role that she has as Maid Marion.  She knows the movie has no pretensions of artistry, but earns her paycheck illuminating it with its only taste of nuance and complexity.

Danny Huston plays King Richard the Lionhearted and adds needed gravitas and a very cool look – but he’s killed off almost immediately.  British stalwarts Mark Strong and Matthew MacFadyen, who barely appears as the Sheriff of Nottingham, add familiarity and Eileen Atkins adds grace.  But William Hurt?  The sight of the American indie fixture in medieval England is disconcerting to say the least.  The film’s emerging star is Oscar Isaac as King John, the weasly, tiny and megalomaniac ruler who impoverished his people with great glee.

The castles are obviously digital, although much work has gone into the looks of the villages.  However the landscape and shore shots are lovely but by now we wonder if the whole damn thing is digital.  Most of the soldiers and their vast numbers of horses are likely digital just like the films emotion. 

In summary, Robin Hood is blurry, remote, and icy, devoid of feeling and a true mystery – how could a project with this calibre of cast and crew go so horribly wrong?  How can the story of Robin Hood put you to sleep?

35mm adventure
Written by Brian Hegeland
Directed by Ridley Scott
Opens May 14
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content
Runtime: 140 minutes
Country: USA / UK
Language:  English, French