Robin Hood: Review By the MovieGhost

Sep 26th, 2012 by the MovieGhost
There is no difference between a knight and any other man, aside from what he wears.
  • OVERALL
    4.0
    GREAT
  • Story
  • Acting
  • Directing
  • Visuals
It has been some time since I have seen this movie last. Well... that's not entirely true seeing as how I've just finished watching it on the television located in the basement of my house. Having come unexpectedly through Netflix (they seem to have the uncanny ability of sending me movies, that I haven't seen in a good few months, just when I'm about to become horribly bored) I watched the trailer once more on my personal computer and thought I would give it another go. Watching the credits scroll on the TV screen and listening to the music I can say I was not wrong in the decision to watch it once more.

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Set in the year of 1199, a common archer in the great army of King Richard the Lionheart by the name of Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) and a few of his brothers in arms Allan A'Dayle, Will Scarlett, and Little John, (Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes, and Kevin Durand respectively) find themselves free of the army they were in service to when King Richard (Danny Huston) is killed during a siege on a French castle. As they make their way to the coast and any available ship that will take them home, they come across the scene of an ambush enacted by the treacherous knight Godfrey (Mark Strong). After promising a dying Robert Loxley to bring his family's sword back to its home and his father (Max von Sydow) and wife (Cate Blanchett), Robin and his company wind up in a situation that will change England, and their lives, forever.

There is something that should be said of Ridley Scott's 2010 motion picture "Robin Hood". While not a direct copy, obviously, of a couple of his previous works, this movie does bear some semblance to that of "Gladiator" and "Kingdom of Heaven". Most notably because this movie marked the fifth time Mr. Crowe worked with Mr. Scott. There is even one particular scene in the climax of the movie that, at times, brings to mind the images of a particular scene from Wolfgang Peterson's 2004 feature film "Troy".

However, while some people would argue that such things would be the downfall of this movie, or at the very least a persisting annoyance, I personally do not think that is the case here. Come to think of it, as I watched "Robin Hood" for the third or fourth time just recently not once did those similarities come into my mind. The likeness of the beach battle to that of "Troy" did however, but all that did was make me want to watch "Troy" after I finish typing this review. As I type this I think of the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". And while it could be said that that is what Mr. Scott has done here, I wouldn't say it is a wise thing to do, for very much longer that is.

While it worked well enough here, if Mr. Scott keeps this mentality it could be very bad for him in the long run. But having seen a good amount of his movies, I doubt that will happen. I mean, just look at his most recent theatrical release.

Back when I first saw the full-length trailer for "Robin Hood" the thing that captured my attention the best and made me want to see this movie wasn't the snippets of action scenes that whoever makes the trailers were allowed to include and it wasn't the fact that Russell Crowe would be back with Ridley Scott again, it was the music used in that trailer. "Conviction" by Groove Addicts is an engaging song. Every time I listen to it, whether I'm somewhere in my house, driving somewhere or whatever other possible situation, it never fails to get my blood pumping. I still remember shortly after first hearing it sitting on the couch in my living room with my eyes closed, and letting the music bring to life a scene to fit what I was hearing.

Now I can't very well base the integrity of an entire movie on one song alone, the score used in "Robin Hood" was well done. Marc Streitenfeld did a good job in what he composed, but my only wish is that they didn't use the same song or piece of a song nearly every time Mark Strong's character was onscreen or something bad was unfolding. After the fourth or fifth time it became rather annoying. However during the movie's action scenes, which were very enjoyable and appealing, the music was appropriate to keep the mood set where it should for a castle siege or beach battle.

I'm not very familiar with the story of Robin Hood and how it came to be, the only other Robin Hood-centered movie I've seen was the 1991 "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" starring Kevin Costner, Morgna Freeman, and Alan Rickman. That said, I did enjoy the take Mr. Scott brought to the legend of Robin Hood. I especially enjoyed the choices in casting. Russel Crowe, while not my first choice for the role of Robin Hood, was believable and entertaining in the role. Cate Blanchett and Kevin Durand were funny when it was appropriate for them to be but also strong and fierce. As has become his custom, Mark Strong did well in the role of this movie's villain. When he lead his secret Frenchman against the defenseless people of those villages I found myself wanting to shoot an arrow or two at him.

Oh! And how could I forget Mark Addy as Friar Tuck, the scenes he were in, namely a few towards the last act of this movie, were quite enjoyable. Danny Huston as King Richard... well he was interesting enough during the brief time he was on screen. The style of hair they chose to give him didn't win him any points in my book, but I did feel some sadness when he was killed. The first time I saw "Robin Hood" I honestly did not recognize him in all the time he was on screen. I only realized it was Danny Huston when I looked on IMDB, or was it Wikipedia, anyway more to my point of Huston having that particular hair style.

While I know it is rather unlikely, if ever there was to be a sequel following this storyline, and if the original characters were able and willing to return, I would certainly be interested in another outing with Mr. Crowe as Robin Longstride, *cough*, excuse me Robin Hood and Mr. Scott as director.

This was a review by tMG. Thank you for reading.

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Comments (29)

  1. THE JOKER

    @the-movieghost *sighs at the fact you didn't tag me*

    Nice review man! I told you I would make my way here eventually!

    9 months agoby @mcleve02Flag

  2. skywise

    @the-movieghost yes, that was my most anticipated film of the year and was (like most) rather disapointed. I mean it looked great and it had its moments but, well I expected more and I think we deserved more as an audience.

    Bu maybe that was why I was so disapointed. I find that the more I anticipate a film the more I set myself up for disapointment.

    Someone close to me always used to tell me: "Expect nothing and you will not be disapointed." Words of wisdom sure. But as another user on MW pointed out to me...we SHOULD expect a lot from someone like Scott. Especialy considering that he was returning to sci fi AND the film that really put him on the map in a big way and changed the movie going experience at the same time. The film was soooo influential that there were tons of immitations in the years that followed but none could match the vision and skill that Scott displayed.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  3. the MovieGhost

    @skywise Thanks 'Wise! Oh yeah, I've definitely noticed that coming up recently. Especially with Prometheus.

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  4. skywise

    @the-movieghost Great review sir. You enjoyed this movie more than I did but I do not feel it was a bad movie...just a little less than I expected from Scott. The man is a genius but he is hit or miss of late.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  5. the MovieGhost

    @basquat Really? Huh. Either I was really paying attention to the movie, or I just did not notice.

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  6. Sean

    @the-movieghost You're welcome! :)

    9 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag

  7. Basquat

    @the-movieghost Well i didn't actually count but he did seem to change from scene to scene:-) Sometimes he was Scottish, then Irish, Then American, And then in some scenes he was just his Australian self.
    But there was some many little things that made me laugh. Like how all the villains were bold. And i mean cleanly shaven bold. And Little John who we had to see without a shirt on had a body like Arnold. Waxed chest and everything. And boats with ramps were invented in the 1920s i think.
    But i could have lived with all this if there hadn't been 2 hours of nothing really going on. It was just boring

    9 months agoby @basquatFlag

  8. the MovieGhost

    Thanks for all the thumbs up guys!

    @basquat A friend of mine said similar things just a few minutes ago, but thinking about it again I certainly see where you're coming from. Did Crowe really have FIVE? I honestly didn't notice xD

    @themoviefanatic Thank you!

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  9. Basquat

    @the-movieghost Where to begin:-) I pretty much hated it all except i did like the first bit when they were at war, but the second the set foot in England it just went belly up on me. 2 hours of nothing and then it ends with the worst movie battle ever put together.
    Russel Crowe was awful as Robin hood. He had about 5 different accents during the film. Which was hilarious.
    And for a film that takes itself so serious it was incredible inaccurate.

    9 months agoby @basquatFlag

  10. Sean

    @the-movieghost Great review! I've never seen this movie before but, i plan on seeing it some day. Unfortunately, i never got a chance to see it in theaters two years ago. Athough, I've never been a real big fan of Russell Crowe and the movies he stars in though.

    9 months agoby @themoviefanaticFlag

  11. the MovieGhost

    @SherlockHolmes2009 Thanks very much sir.

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  12. SherlockHolmes2009

    @the-movieghost Good job sir

    9 months agoby @SherlockHolmes2009Flag

  13. the MovieGhost

    @narrator Actually... I think that was the version I watched last night. When I put in the DVD the screen with "Theatrical" or Director's Cut" came up and I went with Director's. The last time I'd seen Robin Hood was at least a couple months ago, so I couldn't tell if there was anything extended or not. I'd assume there was, I just couldn't see it xD Thank you though!

    @basquat Thank you! Could you say what it was that made you hate the experience? One thing in particular or just everything?

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  14. Basquat

    Nice review. It's funny cause i just saw this film for the first time the other day.
    And i hated it by the way. Not even Cate Blanchett could save it, and i love Blanchett but this film was a joke

    9 months agoby @basquatFlag

  15. the Narrator

    Hey, @the-movieghost. Good review, but have you seen the extended version of this film yet? It makes the overall film feel much more coherent and smooth, same as the extended version of Kingdom of Heaven kicked the theatricals major ass. I'd recommend it, and I'm glad you liked this cast and music as well.

    9 months agoby @narratorFlag

  16. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @the-movieghost Yeah, even though I love Gladiator, getting myself to mentally prepare to watch any movie well over 2 hours takes a few days in advanced. Idk, I'm weird like that. But yep!

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  17. the MovieGhost

    @crypt Oh that's right, when I took the DVD sleeve out of the Netflix mailing envelope, I had totally forgotten the time of this movie. But for someone like me who enjoys these types of movies, it wasn't too much of an ordeal. I hope you do get to see this one day though!

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  18. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @the-movieghost This is true! Another thing this one has going againsst it is the running time though :P I don't mind long movies, just I feel this one would be too much. However, I might still check it out someday!

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  19. the MovieGhost

    @crypt Ha ha, well I see your problems then! But at least your likes and dislikes balance out xD

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  20. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @redcameraman Haha that one is good. I don't like it as much as other people seem to, but it is very good and I do own it.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  21. Red Camera Man

    @crypt: There are some war movies that are great though, like "Saving Private Ryan" (my overall favorite).

    9 months agoby @redcameramanFlag

  22. the MovieGhost

    @redcameraman Well as someone who has seen Kingdom of Heaven twelve or thirteen sum odd times, I'd recommend you see it. Of course if you enjoy movies like this enough. Thank you for your comment! I'd appreciate your thoughts on my other reviews, if you have the time.

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  23. Red Camera Man

    @the-movieghost: I liked this movie as well, but I do agree that it's not as great as "Gladiator." I'm a big fan of Ridley Scott's work, but I've actually never seen "Kingdom Of Heaven," "American Gangster," "Black Hawk Down," and "Body Of Lies" though. I liked the cast too, especially Cate Blanchett, who is one of my all-time favorite actresses. :-)

    9 months agoby @redcameramanFlag

  24. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @the-movieghost haha war movies, and movies set in this time period, so it has 2 things going against it! Although I do like Scott and Crowe so there's 2 things going for it!

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  25. the MovieGhost

    @crypt Oh, not very big on Action/War movies? I can understand that. To each his own.

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  26. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @the-movieghost Scott's? Yeah, I keep forgetting this was one of his films, honestly. But I've never been a huge fan of films such as this, ya know?

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  27. the MovieGhost

    @crypt I can understand that, given the similarities to some of his other films. Thank you though!

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag

  28. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @the-movieghost good review. I have heard so many mixed things for this movie, it's crazy! Haha

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  29. the MovieGhost

    @moviewiz001@redcameraman@themoviefanatic@skywise@zender@kiion@narrator@SpaceCowboy@marcusx@ejk1@corey@bawnian-dexeus@slysnide@brian@bryanyentz@SherlockHolmes2009@thedude-abides@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx@ghostman@ROFLitschristian@moviegeek@Dark-White-Knight@err2005@Salemwolf711@basquat@gallagher@superman81@vampire2000@insertusernamehere@twistedsmile@forrestgump1@julianroman@huntsman@thedude1@cupid@dan1@rjh094@mieko-siede@jasdjqs@supermanvenom@ChiRep-1@jayaottley@Zak-Lee-Ferguson@jim-mourgos@crypt@timmy1134@Joshua-Hollaway@diaigma@summit10

    Once again, I have Netflix to thank for my creating another review.

    9 months agoby @the-movieghostFlag