Review of Robin Hood (2010) by Adam R — 31 Jan 2012

Robin Hood Review.

Ok, Iet start this off with a disclaimer; I thought this was going to be the best film of the year. Hear me out, I think Ridley Scott is a brilliant director (Blade Runner, Alien) and I regard Russell Crowe as the best movie star actor working today (re-watch Cinderella Man if you disagree) throw in Cate Blanchett and a whoâ(TM)s who of older thespians (William Hurt, Max Von Syndow) and you have the ingredients for a delicious film. Unfortunately there is something wrong with the recipe; this film never gels.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad film, it's just not a particularly memorable one. It is visually magnificent and each actor owns their role (especially newcomer Oscar Isaac as Prince John). It just misses the big emotional arcs present in Russ and Ridley's previous collaboration, "Gladiator". Russell shines the brightest when he plays moral crusaders (Gladiator, L.A. Confidential, and The Insider) but the film doesn't create enough motivation for the audience to champion him, and to me this is unforgivable, especially when we are talking about a film called "Robin Hood".

The film functions as a prequel to the tale that we are familiar with, and I think this is a massive misstep; I myself wanted to see the original tale retold by this team. Russ and Ridley have been trying to ape the model of the Scorese/De Niro partnership since Gladiator. Every time one off their films is announced I get excited and every time I leave the cinema slightly disappointed. Unfortunately I think it's time I lowered my expectations for this collaboration, though I hope they prove me wrong.