Robin Hood:

Fighting 'Round The World

I won't lie, I had very low expectations before watching Robin Hood. I assumed, like a lot of my colleagues, that the film was simply going to be "Gladiator in the forest". And whilst this is the fifth collaboration between the director Ridley Scott and the main star Russell "Fightin' Round the World!" Crowe, I felt like this was a very different film and was plesantly surprised.

Robin Hood takes place in late 12th Century Britain, and Robin Longstride (Crowe) is a common archer in the Third Crusade, fighting for his King, Richard the Lionheart, against the French and their King, Philip II. After Richard's death, his younger brother John (Oscar Isaac) becomes King and imposes more taxation on his subjects. This leads to an-almost civil war until Robin can unite the sides to fight the common enemy of the invading French, led by English traitor Godfrey (Mark Strong).

Overall, the storyline of Robin Hood is focussed on the part of the Robin Hood legend that is largely overlooked in previous versions of the tale. Usually Robin returns from the crusades to fight oppression caused from the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham or uncaring King John, and I thought it was very refreshing to see it focus more on localised areas of Northern England rather than it all take place in London.

Recently, Crowe has received some criticism from the press regarding his 'wandering accent' and I have to say I agree. It becomes very evident that Crowe's accent does not stay in one region, and it detracts from the film's quality. For a film based around one of England's oldest legends, you'd expect the title character to be a British actor or at least be able to carry off a decent accent. To be fair, it wasn't just Crowe's casting, there are a lot of non-English actors which I felt a little disappointed by, but it just goes to show the state of the film industry today.
The only two British lead roles are Mark Strong and Cate Blanchett, who do very well portraying the type of character they have recently become used to; the archetypal turncoat villain, and the strong, yet graceful female.

Despite my gripes of a lack of a British cast, Max von Sydow is incredibly entertaining as Sir Walter Locksley, as he embodies a youthful glee when taking Robin in as a replacement son, which is a joy to watch.

All in all, when the film finished, I was content with what I had watched. It was an entertaining two and a bit hours, that managed to introduce the characters of the story we all know and love whilst setting the scene for the sequel. It allowed Crowe and Scott to work together again but didn't turn into a Gladiator clone, which I always felt it was in danger of becoming.
Whilst there were some plot holes (such as why Godfrey turned against John and what was he getting out of Philip II invading?) and some wandering accents, I felt that the film was well directed and written, and would recommend to movie-goers anywhere.

Rating - 6/10