Correct us if we’re wrong, but here at the @rcade we were under the impression that the story was Robin Hood and his merry men. So is not the case in Ridley Scott’s reimagining of the popular, medieval tale. Where once we had a rogue young thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, we now have a boring old man with little or no merriment left.
Starring everyone’s favourite gladiator, Russel Crowe, this vision of Robin Hood focuses on the protagonist’s journey to fulfil a promise to a dying knight and return a sword to the man’s father in Nottingham. It is supposed to be only the beginning of the story we already know, but there is only a glimpse of Robin Hood and his Merry Men at the end. Unrest after the death of Richard the Lionheart and his younger brother John’s coronation leads to a civil war and ultimately an invasion from France. Along the way, Robin adopts the Knight’s identity and encounters his widow, one Lady Marion.
So if the story sounds roughly the same, what’s wrong with the movie? Well, pretty much everything. Ridley Scott has never been known to do things by halves. Gladiator raked in millions at the box office and ultimately we think he was trying to recreate the epicness of that movie in 12th Century England with Robin Hood but it just never really gets there.
There isn’t as much action as one would expect of the director who brought us Alien. There are a couple of action sequences at the start with Richard the Lionheart’s storming of a French castle and a few battles at the end, but these fight scenes are so filled with quick cuts that it’s hard to tell what’s happening. Instead, the movie concentrates for the most part on Robin returning the knight’s sword and the consequences of that journey. The score only seems like an attempt to make up for the lack of epic scenes and at times it just goes too over the top for us.
In Gladiator, the conflict between good and evil was simple and to the point because we had a clear vision of the ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’. In Robin Hood however, the story is packed with so many characters that sometimes the lines seem to blur. Crowe’s Robin Hood is a brooder who lacks the wit and charm we’ve come to associate with the beloved character. We are given only small attempts at characterisation from the supporting cast, including Cate Blanchett and William Hurt, and so we learn little about the dozens of seemingly important characters and eventually we find we couldn’t care less.
So does the movie have any redeeming factors? Just the one. Ridley Scott is known quite well for building magnificent worlds in his movies. If nothing else, the 12th century England of Robin Hood is fastidiously crafted with love and gives us something nice to look at. Those of you expecting the medieval version of Gladiator however, will no doubt be disappointed.
