Robin Hood

2010, Rated PG-13, 140 minutes Directed by Ridley Scott, Written by Brian Helgeland, Produced by Ridley Scott, Cinematography by John Mathieson, Original Music by Marc Streitenfeld

With: Russell Crowe (Robin Longstride), Cate Blanchett (Marion Loxley), Max von Sydow (Sir Walter Loxley), William Hurg (William Marshal), Mark Strong (Godfrey), Oscaar Isaac (Prince John), Danny Huston (King Richard the Lionheart), Mark Addy (Friar Tuck), Matthew Macfaydyen (Sheriff of Nottingham), Kevin Durand (Little John), Scott Grimes (Will Scarlet)

The Robin Hood Project at the University of Rochester compiled a list in 2003 of 50 different feature films about Robin Hood. Ridley Scott’s aptly titled Robin Hood is yet another addition in an already extensive filmography. Based on my own viewing of various Robin Hood films (which is a fraction of the movies on the list), Scott does manage to stake a claim on new territory in the story. He answers the question, how did Robin Hood become Robin Hood, the notorious outlaw who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. While Scott does contribute a unique origin story, the movie itself is average fare with less original cinematic qualities.

The movie starts with King Richard the Lionhearted (Danny Huston) and his troops returning from the Crusades and having to pillage their way back to stay alive. Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is a simple archer in the army who longs to return home but continues to do his duty. He is however discontent and when he learns that the king has been killed in battle he quickly flees the camp and tries to beat the rest of the army to the beach so that he can find passage across the English Channel. He runs into a detachment of knights who have recently been ambushed, one of them being a dying Sir Robert Loxley who convinces him to take his sword to his father in England. Robert agrees and convinces his fellow soldiers to assume the identity of these dead knights so that they may obtain swift passage across the channel.

After a quick run in with the obviously evil, conniving, and manipulative King John (Oscar Isaac), Robin makes for Loxely. When he gets there we meet the Loxely’s wife Marion (Cate Blanchett) and father Sir Walter (Max von Sydow). Sir Walter decides it best to have Robin assume the role of his son for the morale of the people of Loxely. And so Robin moves from peasant soldier to noble landowner which turns out to make life more difficult as King John is pressing them to pay taxes and sends his right hand man Godfrey (Mark Strong) to enforce the edict. Corruption is ripe, the nobles are discontent and it turns out, Godfrey has been orchestrating it all along to enable an invasion by the French. 

Robin soon finds himself at the front of a resistance movement and almost single handedly exposes Godfrey’s plot to King John and unites the nobles and the King together to fight against the French. And so the stage is set for the final battle. But I do not want to give away the best part of the story so I will leave it for you to see.

Scott and writer Brian Helgeland created a new Robin Hood world in their origin story. It was a great idea and an entertaining premise to see the story of how Robin became Robin Hood. Amidst a vast filmography, the story in Robin Hood is unique and actually adds to the legend of Robin Hood. The original plot however did not translate to an original cinematic experience.

Scott and Crowe have worked together four times so they were able to bring their experiences with each other to the film. The problem was that this familiar territory was over-utilized creating a similar feel to their previous collaborations namely Gladiator. Gladiator is one of my favorite movies but I do not want to see it done over and over, yet Scott and Crowe quickly fell into that rut and created unoriginal material. Many of the camera shots looked too similar to images from Gladiator; for example the camera panning around Crowe who on horseback. Some may claim that this is simply a trademark style; I would say if that is the case this style needs some retouching. It all felt too similar to Gladiator, the only real difference being the costumes. 

One element the film really lacked was character development. Being an origin story, explaining who the characters are is a central element to the story line. We have to know the characters, their personalities and motivations. Other than Robin himself, the other characters were not fully developed: how did John become the paranoid and power hunger king he is, why does Godfrey betray England and try to aid the French, what is going on with the Loxelys, who is this Friar Tuck (Mark Addy), and what about Robin’s friends from the war who blindly follow him wherever he goes; do they have no other connections or family. There are so many different characters coming together in the film that none of them are given enough focus to create a full understanding of the character.

The actors as a whole did an ok job but few really stood out with compelling performances. Blanchet, Hurt, Sydow, Isaac, and Strong all did assumed their roles well but did not run full steam in them to create memorable performances. Kevin Durand was very entertaining as Little John. He played the uneducated peasant who you could trust and who was really good in a fight quite well. He added another level to the John character despite his screen time and created a character that was more than just a simple sidekick. Crowe seemed to be coasting through his role and reciting lines that he had done before. He did not fully assume his identity as Robin and it clearly showed in his delivery.

Robin Hood as a whole is an entertaining film. It forges into new territory in the Robin Hood story by creating an interesting origin premise that had not been fully developed previously. The original story however did not cancel our the drawbacks of the film. The style had been done before, the characters were not fully developed leaving the viewer with no real bond with them, and the acting was just ok. I do not consider seeing this film a waste of my money but it is also not one I want to watch over and over again.

B-

Content Advisory

mild scenes of war violence, little language and some adult situations and sexual situations

Food for thought/discussion

1. How do the nobles voice their dissent against the king? Is this similar or different to the way we voice dissent today?

2. What role does revenge play in the story?

3. Sir Walter deceives his subjects by telling them that Robin is his son in an attempt to boost their morale and create a better living for them. While he may have had their best interest in mind, was this deception right?

The list of Robin Hood Films and the Robin Hood project can be found at 

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/rh/rhfilms.htm