Film Review: Robin Hood (2010)

Due to the negative publicity of this film's main actor and one of the producers, the critics seemed to be overly negative about this film too.

Which is considerably unjust to not just the film, but also the people who worked on it. Not just Russell Crowe.

What I loved about this film, among pretty much everything else, was the fact that the writers, director and producers pared the legend back, to show the real guy, scars and all. They did their research and found some real people to outline and give scope to.

And the result is a historical thriller, complete with battles, with very real consequences to each one. The detailing is magnificent and it shows in your overall enjoyment. I found myself struggling to think of another historical thriller with almost as much effort and results gained, clearly shown in this one.

I'm sorry to say, that there was only one I could think of, which was King Arthur, which starred Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Ray Winstone, Keira Knightley, Joel Edgerton, Mads Mikkelsen and Stellan Skarsgard. And was directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Franzoni.

This film, left that last one behind. On all aspects. Mr Crowe brought real strength and in equal terms, vulnerability, to his character. That shows in every one of his well written scenes. Cate Blanchett, is, as always, brilliant and portrays a stronger and more independent Marian than has been previously shown in other adaptations of Robin Hood.

The director of this film, Ridley Scott has already shown his skill in directing impressive blockbusters that also never forgot to show very well the important scenes in between, most memorable been of course Gladiator, others been Black Hawk Down and maybe Body of Lies. Naturally he does the same here, each scene seems like it has been choreographed flawlessly, but keeps the action real regardless.

The screenwriter, Brian Helgeland, who also wrote the screenplay for A Knight's Tale and also LA Confidential, for which he won an Academy Award, pens an equally impressive screenplay here. Each and every single character, whether they be mains or supporting, are fleshed out in great detail, but doesn't leave the plot line thin while doing this. Multitasking at its best.

The supporting cast list is impressive, to say the least. Max von Sydow, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Strong, Eileen Atkins, William Hurt and Oscar Isaac all have their place in this film and all portray their roles well.

I will finish with the score, as it was composed by one of my favourite film composers, Marc Streitenfeld. With all thriller action films, the score should help keep you on the edge of your seat for tense moments, but also be good in the background for more dramatic scenes with the well scripted dialogue. Mr Streitenfeld "scores" well on both counts. Each piece of score, seems like it was hand crafted for each scene and raises it to magnificence.

I wonder if the bad publicity was a plot, as Mr Crowe was one of the main producers. Very sad, as the discrediting of this utterly brilliant film, is a disgrace to all the film critics who gave it a bad review, before actually watching the film.

Comments

  1. Two quotes today, one from another adaptation of Robin Hood, the other from this version.
    You can guess which one is which.

    “Abbot: We are here to witness the marriage, of Mervin, the Sheriff of...
    [crowd snickers]
    Abbot: Mervin? Your name is Mervin?
    Sheriff of Rottingham: [over crowd laughing] Shut up! Shut up!
    Abbot: OK... Mervin.
    [Crowd starts laughing again]”

    “Robin Longstride: Lady Marion Loxley, My wife.
    Will Scarlet: Well played! A bit, a bit rash, well played nevertheless.”

    ReplyDelete

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