Directed by:
Ridley ScottScreenplay:
Brian HelgelandCinematography:
John MathiesonComposer:
Marc StreitenfeldCast:
Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer (Russell Crowe), previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richards army against the French. Upon Richards death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marian (Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marian and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff. With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more. (Universal Pictures US)
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Reviews (12)
I'm delivering on what I promised, and after watching the director's cut DVD version, I'm adding a fifth star to the four strong movie theatre stars. And I like adding that last star. Ridley Scott is a whiz at this kind of film and in Robin Hood he once again shows very solid craftsmanship, which together with Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven makes a fantastic historical triptych. It's hard to know what to praise first. A script that isn't afraid to look at the legend from a completely different angle? The direction, visuals, music and elaborate costumes and props (see the bonus features on the DVD)? The great pairing of Crowe and Blanchett, with a nice spark between them (saving the ram)? The slimy Mark Strong, the dignified Max von Sydow, the bearded William Hurt, the unrecognizably masked Danny Huston? I really don't know and that's why I applaud everybody. Robin Hood is definitely a good film, worth two and a half hours of your time.__P.S. The way Scott quotes Private Ryan at the end really amused me.__P.P.S. The only flaw is that I expected the director's version to be at least half an hour longer.
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He promised us the story of the Duke of Nottingham, then a dual role for Russell Crowe, and finally reminded us of Gladiator in the trailers. And there Ridley Scott luckily remained. Robin Hood is indeed about a rebellion, but it is not a pathetic epic about noble heroes' victory. It is a cautiously romantic memory, but not a fairytale about Robin and Lady Marion. But most importantly, it is the story of a few righteous men and the rough birth of a legend.
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The director laughs while the viewers cry. Superbly cast and extremely engagingly narrated, the two and a half hours flow by like water among authentic battle scenes and impressive locations. But despite expectations and Scott's reputation, Robin Hood is nothing but a summer popcorn flick that brings nothing new to the table and incomprehensibly distorts the original legendary story. From Scott, this flabby, impersonal and pointless in every sense film is a scam.
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I'm trying to find adequate words for this repulsive and bloated screenwriting conglomerate, brought to total impotence by Ridley Scott's trembling hand. I am struck by words such as despair, embarrassment, lack of criticism, anachronism and ideological naivety bordering on simplicity. It can be roughly summarized as follows: Robin Hood was caught in the woods and sodomized with a loud reading of Marx's Capital. What was quite cute in Kingdom of Heaven is offensive and boring in this film. Only Max von Sydow stands out from the weak attempts at heroism. In a single scene, Max demonstrates what the rest of the film is hunting for in vain in the soulless theft from Shakespeare, The Lord of the Rings and about five thousand other films. One star out of sheer disrespect for Scott, who should either get bigger scissors, or leave history alone. It’s already taken a decent beating from him.
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It's nice to see a film on the screen where bytes are not being smashed against each other, but where a massive ensemble is pushing conquering battering rams and stuntmen in fireproof suits are falling from the walls. The trailer was off-putting, while Ridley’s name was carrying it. I don't regret the money in favor of honest filmmaking, which compromises on ratings and, in the second half, on the tolerability of the runtime (I will, like many, be looking out for the DVD with the extended bloodier version), but otherwise entertains with well-written and acted characters that you fully believe in. Crowe’s pathetic charisma drips throughout, while the rest of the gang spit out dry catchphrases and Cate Blanchett is breathtaking. That's what makes even the romantic storyline pleasant and spirited. In a way, it's nothing we haven't seen from Ridley before, but his paintings have always had eyes boring into them, and Robin Hood isn't going to change that.
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