Review of Robin Hood (2010) by Leo M — 29 Feb 2012

This is supposed to be the story of the man behind the legend. But there was no man behind the legend. Robin Hood never existed. So there is no story to tell. We can point to real people like William Wallace who might have inspired the story of Robin Hood, but there was never a Robin Hood proper -- just like there wasn't a King Arthur -- so telling "the true story behind the legend" is disingenuous at best.

I really wish this hadn't been called "Robin Hood," because this movie, without the pretense of being a Robin Hood movie, could have been enjoyable. The filmmakers would have been free to tell the story of a man returning home from the Crusades and finding his country a wreck. He could have perused life, love, and liberty and not be forced into certain Robin Hood tropes.

You get the feeling that the filmmakers could never agree on what movie they were making. The movie has no sense of itself. It lacks focus, wit, charm, and characters I care about.

Bryan Adams' music video for "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" has more to do with Robin Hood than this does. But I could forgive that if we were given a good movie. But we weren't.