Review: Robin Hood

Filmmaker Ridley Scott clearly wants to repeat the success of Gladiator with another military actioner helmed by Russell Crowe -- this time, Robin Hood. Unfortunately, he chose a much beloved legendary character and gave it the "legend begins" treatment and recycled elements of other movies to make an overlong, uninteresting mess.

It's not just the start of the Robin Hood legend, it's a lot of backstory full of Hollywood "re-imagining" and gritty "accuracy" that strips away most of the romanticism and interest.  Brian Helgeland's script takes too many cues from David Franzoni's Gladiator script: battle-weary soldiers too long at war, an aging ruler, a morally (and otherwise) bankrupt heir and a beautiful headstrong woman caught up in her circumstances, all balanced by a charismatic man of the people other men want to follow, and who reluctantly ends up leading. Helgeland also borrows heavily from his own A Knight's Tale script as well, with bittersweet memories and impersonating a lord. The new twists to the story are improbable, distracting and often ridiculous. 

All those elements make for a very long film; at nearly two and a half hours, one would hope for a more substantial story. Unfortunately, most scenes in Robin Hood feel like a setup for a payoff that never happens. In fact, the entire film feels like a prequel, but with very little character development. There's more development in the military maneuvers, although some of the insertions of Robin Hood into them, particularly the climactic battle (yes battle, not a skirmish), is so Hollywood it's laughable, ocean swells and all. 

Crowe does manage to avoid some of his signature expressions, which is a relief, and he does have some chemistry with Cate Blanchett's not-so-maidenly Marian, but he'd have to be dead not to. Blanchett has better chemistry with Max von Sydow's Sir Walter Loxley, the only relationship on the screen that seems real. But no one gets much time to shine in their roles, not even the Merry Men. Robin already knows them, so very little time is spent with them other than running around behind their leader. Kevin Durand (Mystery Alaska, 3:10 to Yuma) is in his third feature with Crowe, but gets less screen time than in the other two movies. At least he gets a little character development; Scott Grimes, another Mystery Alaska alum, gets even less. And composer/musician Alan Doyle, who produced Crowe's 2005 music album, gets to sing as Allan A'Dayle, and not much else.  

Of course, there are the heavies; being more prequel than full-on Robin Hood tale, the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen) is a walk-on part, giving Macfayden very little to do but earn a paycheck. Mark Strong yet again plays a villain, this time in the form of Godfrey, Prince John's boon companion and that's the best that can be said for him.  Prince John is one of the few highlights, as Oscar Isaac plays him with a smug enthusiasm that makes him a rare treat amongst other actors whose roles require gravitas despite the unwieldy script.

With over a hundred different versions of Robin Hood made for film and television in the last century, it's not surprising that Helgeland and Scott chose to find a fresher way to re-imagine the legend. Even if Robin Hood uses elements of the original tale, it has a jaded tone that makes at least one person harkens for a simpler, more charming Robin Hood, a la Douglas Fairbanks or Erroll Flynn. While Scott's Robin Hood was not as bad as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, it simply can't live up to the 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood.