Ridley Scott has done what few filmmakers before him have accomplished, a successful retelling of a classic legend. Robin Hood does a wonderful job of telling us everything we didn't know about the famous outlaw's humble beginnings; historically inaccurate as they may be (longbows weren't used by the English until well after King Edward, sorry, geeked out for a second). This is the best telling of Robin Hood since Errol Flynn had the mantle back in 1938. A much darker, grittier and less romanticized telling, this was, by far, the most believable scenario for the birth of a hero. There is so much going on behind the main story, this is almost a political thriller. Scott shoots the battles in a very Gladiator-esque fashion, so much so that there were times I was hearing Hans Zimmer in the background. The story does slow down in places, but picks right back up before the yawns kick in. The characters for the most part are a bit on the shallow side, but have enough depth to identify with, which, honestly was one of my few problems. There were too many personality anachronisms for these to be credible medieval characters.
Russell Crowe channels a large chunk of Maximus for his Robin, and it was nice to see him show a less serious side in the movie as well. Cate Blanchett gave Lady Marion the most personality in this story. Her portrayal is strong and subtle, showing how, I can only hope, a liberated woman of the day would have acted. Max Von Sydow and William Hurt are also very good in their roles as Lords of the period. Hurt does a great job as the senior advisor to the King who falls into disfavor.
I had a lot of fun with this. Scott took every cliche that was involved with Robin Hood and ignored, or downplayed it. What was left was the raw nugget of the birth of one of my favorite heroes. As the movie ends, the legend begins. 8.25/10.
Tomorrow's movie: Harry Osborne in 127 Hours. Go, rock climbing!!!! See you then, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!
No comments:
Post a Comment