Movie Review: Robin Hood

Plot Synopsis:
This version of Robin Hood takes place before the legendary stories everyone is familiar with, in the years leading up to Robin’s infamous feud with Prince John, who is the King. This updated view on the legend also makes Robin Hood out to be much more of a regular guy than he appears in other versions of the story. He has a heart, but is still a man, with all of the flaws that come with it.

Genre:
Action

Starring:
Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong, Danny Huston, Matthew MacFadyen, Kevin Durand, William Hurt, Max von Sydow, Mark Addy, Eileen Atkins, Oscar Isaac, Léa Seydoux, Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes,

Director:
Ridley Scott

Review:
The movie theatre was filled tot he rafters when I watched Robin Hood yesterday night. It was le fantastique. I haven’t seen a genuinely epic film in years, so it was a pleasure to be able to attend an advanced screening of this. Ridley Scott is great at the “epic” genre (see: Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator), and although Robin Hood wasn’t as “epic” as  Gladiator, it was still better than the poop stain that was Kingdom of Heaven (which I say with a heavy heart because the special effects in that movie were astounding, it just had a weak storyline, and let’s face it, Orlando Bloom can’t act).

So back to Robin Hood. Russell Crowe wasn’t doing it for me for about 5 minutes at the beginning of the movie, but he bat it out of the ball park for the rest of the film. Ridley Scott has a hard-on for Russell Crowe, having worked with him at least four times in the last 10 years, and honestly, it’s a decent pairing. Russell Crowe is older, more overweight, and hasn’t been in anything for awhile, but he’s still a genuine sex good, even in tights and running around forests with a group of men all day. Cate Blanchett, one of my favourite actresses, was stunning and wonderful, as always, and Max von Sydow, who played the real Robin Loxley’s father in the film, was outstanding as the blind 84 year old baron of Nottingham.

As with any Ridley Scott film, the music was fantastic, as were the special effects. I was kind of disappointed that there were no panning shots for most of the film since it was shot in England, with it’s rolling hills and beautiful landscapes, but fortunately, I was given a full dosage towards the end of the movie.

The good news is you really don’t have to be a Robin Hood nerd to appreciate this film. If you like looking at hot, sweaty, hairy middle-aged men (which I definitely do), or enjoy awesome special effects and epic battles, then this is a movie for you. It had some comedy thrown in, so it wasn’t as serious as Gladiator, and it felt more “relatable” in a way, then Gladiator did-what I’m trying to say is: don’t miss this film! It’s totally worth the $12 to go see and it needs to be seen in the theatre, not on a 15″ computer screen! Go go go! You won’t regret it!

Watch the trailer here. Robin Hood opens in theatres tomorrow night, May 14th, 2010.