Review of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) by Charlie P — 29 Mar 2018

Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) returns to England from the Crusades with his loyal companion Azeem (Morgan Freeman) to find his country overrun with tyranny and his family dead. Now with the help of a band of men living in Sherwood Forest, Robin must train them to fight against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) and become the legend known as "Robin Hood"...

Despite this film getting panned by critics at the time for it's violence, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is no more violent than your typical Pirates of the Caribbean film. Thanks to it's mostly light-hearted tone and Alan Rickman's over-the top acting being the funniest thing about this film, the tone of the 30's films with Erroll Flynn is kept intact.

Although Kevin Costner probably wasn't the best choice for Robin himself due the bland delivery of his lines, the rest of the acting is top-notch with the areformentioned Rickman hamming it up it the extreme and Morgan Freeman proving why he is the best choice at playing the mentor roles that have defined his career for years.

Overall, along with some very impressive pre- Lord of the Rings fantasy battle sequences and the faithful, yet fun retelling of one of the most iconic myths in history, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves ends up being one of the best adaptations which deserves a place among both the Flynn films and the 1973 Disney version as well. Oo de Lalley, golly what a day, indeed!