If I had to use just one word to describe the new Robin Hood film, I wouldn’t be able to do it. There is plenty to like about the movie, but if you are looking for much resembling the legend as we all know it, you might be disappointed. The Disney version had more in common with the tale of Robin Hood than this Ridley Scott version.
Russell Crowe is Robin Hood, although I don’t think he’s ever referred to as such. Cate Blanchett is Lady Marion – no, not Maid, Lady. Right. And the Sheriff of Nottingham, although not a good guy, is barely in the movie. And much of the movie has more to do with the invading French army than Robin Hood robbing the rich to feed the poor, so it’s essentially a war movie, not a swashbuckling romance. Errol Flynn might wonder why there’s less derring-do and more gritty realism.
Crowe is Robin Longstride, a soldier in King Richard’s Crusades. As the army is returning from its latest Crusade, Richard is killed, thus making his younger brother John, played with efficient malevolence by Oscar Isaac, the new king of England. Robin heads back to England separately with some of his not-yet-merry men and stumbles across a group of knights carrying Richard’s crown and stallion, heading to a boat to take them to England. All the knights are slain in an ambush, but with a dying breath one hands Robin his sword and begs him to return it to his home in England and give it to his estranged father.
The man was named Loxley – sound familiar? – and his father is now an old blind man (Crusades took a long time back then). Robin returns the sword to the man and meets Loxley’s widow, Lady Marion Loxley. But the elder Loxley (Max von Sydow) has a plan – he wants Robin to pretend to be his prodigal son, thus giving hope to the impoverished village. And then it gets complicated.
A lot of exposition, and we’re not even at the battle scenes! Let’s just say that John and his henchman Godfrey (Mark Strong) want Robin out of the way, as he “knows too much.” Meanwhile, the French are plotting to invade and are under the impression that England’s on the verge of civil war, what with various barons trying to get the king to sign the Magna Carta and all. It should be noted that there are numerous anachronisms in the movie, so it really shouldn’t be viewed as a history lesson.
Both Crowe and Blanchett are terrific, as always. Their performances help one forget Kevin Costner and Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, thank goodness. Each brings a lot of passion to their roles. Blanchett can pull off the difficult feat of looking good – not gorgeous, not sexy – and tough at the same time. Her Marion is ballsy, almost Irish in disposition.
Scott’s direction helps a bit as well, particularly in the climactic battle scene (which looks too much like the Normandy invasion in WW II, really). Unlike some action movies, where the movements are so quick you cannot tell who is decapitating whom, everything feels clear, focused, and logical.
The only problem I have with this movie is that it seems to be trying to cram too much plot into itself. Although one can tell the combatants apart in a fight scene, it’s often tough to know who is on which side. Who is traitorous to whom, anyway? There seem to be too many plot threads; I would have liked to known more about von Sydow’s Walter Loxley and less about, well, the lesser battles that are fought. Scott is an excellent director, but he throws too much action without balancing it with some more honest-to-goodness exposition and motivation. He needn’t spend a lot of time on the Marion-Robin romance, either; as it was, it seemed to evolve organically anyway.
Even so, the movie feels like it’s lacking something, perhaps a real heart, despite the stars’ efforts. Crowe is the oldest Robin Hood ever, but you wouldn’t know it from his performance here, and Blanchett is definitely no pushover as Marion. But it felt as if I should have been more drawn into their relationship; the lack of emotional investment is the only thing that really hurts this film.
Robin Hood: **1/2
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