Apparently, any film starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott can’t go wrong. Having collaborated on Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster and Body of Lies, it’s safe to say they’ve got a winning formula. The film rides on the back of almost a century of Robin Hoods ranging from Robin Hood (1912) to this latest bankable venture from Crowe and Scott in 2010, aptly titled Robin Hood.

Robin Hoods outnumber James Bonds in Hollywood with some of the most famous Hoods including: Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Brian Bedford as the voice of Disney’s Robin Hood (1973), Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Cary Elwes in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and more recently Jonas Armstrong in Robin Hood, BBC’s 2003 TV series. Question is, do Russell Crowe and Ridely Scott’s Robin Hood have what it takes to join the list?

Catch the rest of the review and the trailer after the jump…

However, it’s difficult to say who the quintessential Robin Hood actually is? The new Robin Hood tries to answer this question by crowning Gladiator’s Russell Crowe as the first Robin Hood in a “prequel” story to the legend. Ridley Scott attempts to explain how this folk hero came about, revealing him to be Robin Longstride, a rogue archer once in the employ of King Richard The Lionheart’s crusading army. This complements Scott’s The Real Robin Hood TV documentary about the hero’s true origins.

Longstride’s journey feeds into regular Robin Hood characters such as King Richard, Marian, Prince John, Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlett and the Sheriff of Nottingham. It also introduces Sir Walter Loxley in a funny role played by Max von Sydow, while marking the return of lesser known Hood characters with Mark Strong as Godfrey and William Hurt as William Marshall.

This new Robin Hood is a revisionist take on the build-up to the hero’s usual starting point. Now this prequel gimmick worked beautifully for Batman with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. However, the result isn’t as spellbinding with Robin Hood (2010) in this stand-alone feature. Robin Hood is reminiscent of Jerry Bruckheimer’s revisionist take on the Arthurian myth in King Arthur as legend attempts a tale-to-reality transplant. The film is as atmospheric as a medieval strategy game when it comes to setting the scene, but loses the essence of the legend of Robin Hood in the process. It’s so busy trying to actualise the environment and character that it misses the very thing that makes Hood so lovable.

Instead, Robin Hood functions like a shorter, bearded and more exciting version of Joan of Arc: The Messenger. The medieval castle siege scenes are realistic, the costume department is spot-on, the CG effects are indistinguishable (a good thing)… and overall, the production values are just short of amazing. The problem lies with the story,  penned by the experienced Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential), which just doesn’t have the magic or sparkle associated with this popular Hollywood icon.

“You mean I fired 200 arrows a day for THIS!?”

Who cares if Robin Hood actually existed or not, it’s all about the adventure. The story’s charms are vested in the hero’s inability to fail, his archery skills, his selfless acts of community service, his sticking it to “The Man” and his budding romance with Marian. Swap the merry men for disciples and you’ve got a whole new movie. The whole task could be compared with assimilating enough evidence to prove there was a real-life James Bond.

Russell Crowe may look the part, but is flawed in that he doesn’t have the charm, wit or benevolence so closely associated with the character of Robin Hood. Crowe’s “too much blue”* melancholic disposition works for unknown characters who haven’t been so finely chiseled over the years, but there’s no twinkle in his eyes. He’s supported by Cate Blanchett, whose pastoral mix of Galadriel and Joan of Arc makes her natural beauty stand out as Marian. Yet it’s all cold chemistry between the Australian co-stars and there’s not enough romance, with the only real stand out performance from the rest of the Robin Hood cast coming from Mark Strong as the menacing Godfrey. (*Crowe on Robin Hood Interview)

All in all, the new Robin Hood is entertaining, but a bit unnecessary and dull. The generic title simply feeds back into the glut of Robin Hood films out there and without a second and third part in the pipeline, this rendition seems a little lost at sea. The quality of the production is unquestionable and if you were attempting a “prequel” this could be one version of the wish list. It’s a little sad that Scott and Crowe are scared of sequels, the trilogy of Robin Longstride, Robin Loxley and Robin Hood could have been quite legendary.

So it’s a valiant effort on the part of those involved, harnessing a throwback to Gladiator’s glory days as its backbone and armed to the teeth with mesmerising medieval action sequences. However, beautiful cinematography, a wish list cast/crew and tip-top production values only draw the audience away from the fact that they’re actually watching a Robin Hood misadventure. Without the Hood we’ve come to know and love… it’s like watching a series of brilliant docudrama inserts of what it must have been like for the man behind the legend.

The bottom line: Valiant.

Release Date: 14 May, 2010

Watch Robin Hood Trailer

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