Review of Robin Hood (2009) by John J — 29 May 2010

Trying to "reinvent" the Robin Hood legend, the film opens with Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) as a prisoner in the Middle East. After escaping with a Moor named Azeem (Morgan Freeman) and the two make their way back to England.

Upon arrival, Robin finds his father murdered and home destroyed so he begins his crusade to rob from the rich and give to the poor. You know the story. What Prince of Thieves did to try to set it apart from previous Robin Hood movies was create a realistic looking 13th Century England.

There aren't any green tights here. And the film did an excellent job in that regard. The look, from the costumes to the sets, is fantastic. Sure Costner doesn't even attempt an English accent, but that can be looked past for the sheer fun the movie brings.

It's filed with campy action and some one-liners, but the cast works well to create an entertaining medieval action movie. And Alan Rickman steals the movie with his deliciously evil take on the Sheriff of Nottingham, which also serves up most of the memorable laughs in the movie.

Also, Michal Kamen crafted what is easily the best score he's ever done, and one of the more memorable adventure film scores of all time.