“And so the legend begins” is how the movie ends. You may think you’ve seen Robin Hood before, but you haven’t seen him like this. This movie takes the origin approach like Batman Begins and presents a grittier Robin Hood and shows us how all the stories got started. It reintroduced us to all the character we’re familiar with like Little John, Marion, Friar Tuck, King John, the sheriff of Nottingham, and Robin Hood’s merry men.
I actually enjoyed this film…I was expecting to see The Gladiator in the forest since it brought Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott back together but instead Robin Hood is a compelling story with great comedy and captivating action. It’s a great blend which delivers a fresh approach to the old tale. However, it does run kind of long and isn’t the epic that Robin Hood deserves. You can definitely tell the movie is rated PG-13 as it forgets the violence and promiscuousness which is hinted at in the trailers and certain scenes of the film.
The movie begins as Robin Longstride is still serving as an archer for King Richard in his crusade. There are a few different stories that run concurrently and tangle together in the end. The French are anxiously waiting to invade England and have a Frenchman working with King Richard’s brother, Prince John, to get England in a state of turmoil so they can easily attack and takeover. King Richard’s brother wants to be King and sends the Frenchman, Godfrey, to kill the King. However, back to the story line which Robin Hood is in, as the troops take over the last castle and head back to London, King Richard is killed in battle and Robin flees with his men as they don’t want to serve the King or country anymore. Without knowing this, Godfrey ambushes a convoy which is returning King Richard’s crown to London. Fate and good luck look down on Robin Hood as he stumbles on the ambush and in turn attack the ambushers and retrieve the King’s crown.
Robin Hood on the battlefield
Robin meets Robert Loxley as he lays wounded from the initial ambush. Robert charges Robin with his dying wish to return his father’s sword to its rightful place. From here, Robin’s life changes forever and we watch him become the Robin Hood we know and love…kind of. There are a few scenes that are glimpse at the guy who takes from the rich and gives to the poor but really you get a long long span of back story from the main characters in the film. There is good action in the beginning and end of the film, but the middle is a lot of dialogue.
A lot and lot of dialogue.
Don’t get too worried though, they mixed these scenes with some hilarious fillers. I’m sure you remember Robin Hood and his merry men and his men are still very merry in this version…they’re actually hilarious. Friar Tuck is awesome as he’s a home brewer and not really churchy. He remarks “If I wasn’t the village priest, I’d try for the village drunkard.” He then turns to Little Jon and asks why they call him Little. Lil Jon replies “What are you trying to get at? I’m proportionate.”
Robin Hood and his merry men
Oscar Isaac, playing King John, also gives a great performance. He’s the hated naive new King. He’s like a kid in a candy store with a sword and a whole kingdom behind him. When the troops are rallied to go to war he hastily says “This is my first time, I’ll lead!” and rides off. He’s the type of character which you hate to love but love to hate.
You’re going to learn a lot that you didn’t know about Robin Hood from this film. We all knew he was an incredible archer, but who knew he knew how to use a hammer? Or that his father was a philosopher? Even though everything went Robin Longstride’s way through this film…it doesn’t end well for Robin of the Hood as we all know. This is the story of how Robin Hood became an outlaw.
Tags: Alan Doyle, Cate Blanchett, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Kevin Durand, Mark Addy, Mark Strong, Matthew Macfadyen, Max von Sydow, Oscar Isaac, Ridley Scott, Robin Hood, Russell Crowe, Scott Grimes, William Hurt
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
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