Robin Hood: Review By Red Camera Man

A couple of weeks have gone by and I finally saw "Robin Hood" in the theater last weekend, and I've got to say that, even though this movie has gotten mixed reviews and different reactions from some people, I actually enjoyed it and it was another history epic made by the legendary Ridley Scott who also directed the famous "Gladiator" from 2000! I'm actually not much of a fan of history epics like "Braveheart" which dragged on and was kinda boring (no offense Mel Gibson), but there has been some great ones like "Troy," "300," and, of course, "Gladiator!" There's even some that I still want to see like "Kingdom Of Heaven" (also directed by Ridley Scott), and the latest "Clash Of The Titans" from April! So yeah, I did like this movie!

STORY: (May contain spoilers.) Set in 12th century England, there is a Civil War going on between the French and the English for the claim of England. After the death of England's King Richard, Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe), or better known as Robin the Hood, promises a dying knight to return a sword to his father in Nottingham, and on the sword it says an important line: "Rise and rise again. Until lambs become lions." That's a very important line that means something but I will not spoil that. Anyway, as Robin heads to Nottingham, he then meets and stays with Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett) who seems to be his future wife. Meanwhile, as the French invade England's south coast, Robin and his companions try to join an English army formed by England's new King John and stop the French from taking over England. This movie is kinda like a prequel to the Disney cartoon film, and it was before Robin became an outlaw to King John and before he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. This movie gave a great story and I had no problems with it whatsoever.

ACTING: I had some flaws with the acting. Russell Crowe's accent sounded weird and it kinda didn't sound like his perfect accent in "Gladiator." He did a decent job for his role, and I liked how he was shooting arrows from his bow throughout some parts of the movie, but I just wished that his accent sounded better though. Cate Blanchett was great as always since she is an amazing actress, and let's not forget that she is in the famous "The Lord Of The Rings" trilogy! But another flaw I had was the acting from Max von Sydow, who looked as though Richard Harris would have been suitable to play the role if he was still alive! Max von Sydow acted serious in some parts like at the end, but he also acted like a dumbass while he was wide-eyed during some parts in the middle. Richard Harris would have been better to play the role because he acts more serious than Max von Sydow, like his role in "Gladiator," but he's already dead so it's too late! But other than that, the acting was pretty decent, and Mark Strong did a good job after "Sherlock Holmes" too.

DIRECTING: Ridley Scott's directing was good. When I saw this movie, it reminded me a lot of "Gladiator" because of the same style and music it had. The editing was also neat, and the camera angles and shots were shot well. I even liked the camera movements during the battle scenes. Sometimes I don't like it when camera shots are moving and/or shaking too fast that I barely know what's going on during a scene or two, like Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's out-of-f*cking-control directing on the horrible "Gamer" and the stupid "Crank" movies! Those two need to get a life, so I think Ridley Scott needs to kick both their asses! Ha ha! As for the camera movements during the battle scenes of this movie, I enjoyed them a lot and I knew what was going on there and there so I did not get a headache at all! This movie has nice directing from Ridley Scott!

VISUALS: The reason why I gave the visuals a 3.5 was because the movie shouldn't have been rated PG-13 if the battle at the end was so bloody! If the movie was rated R, then I would have given the visuals a 5! But other than that, I still enjoyed the movie and the battle scenes since this was another history epic I liked!

OVERALL: This movie could have been a completely great history epic...if it wasn't so long, if the acting would have been better, and if the movie would have been rated R because of the bloody battle at the end. But I gave this movie a 4 because it has a great story, it has nice acting from Cate Blanchett and Mark Strong, it has good directing from Ridley Scott, and it was overall an enjoyable movie for me to watch! I liked "Robin Hood" pretty much, but "Gladiator" is better! Still, this movie is worth the watch if you're in the mood for another history epic that is!