BrockTalk

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe have teamed up for the fifth time to finally give us a Robin Hood to take seriously. However, this isn't the Robin Hood story that you are no doubt familiar with, rather this is the story of the lead up to the events of how Robin became the notorious outlaw beloved by the people.

We join Robin as a common soldier during the Crusades led by King Richard the Lionheart. After the king's untimely death England is left in a fragile state and handed over to Richard's brother, the cowardly Prince John. Meanwhile, Robin and his small group of men voyage to Nottingham as a favor for a fallen comrade where he soon meets Marion and the good Friar Tuck. All of the characters we are familiar with are now in place as the plot focuses in on a traitor's conspiracy with France to overthrow England in it's weakened condition.

Crowe makes for a very good Robin Hood,the always fantastic Cate Blanchett gives a solid performance as Marion, while Scott proves once again that he knows how to make a sprawling, thrilling epic as he has done before with Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven, and uses that great eye for capturing clashing swords and whirring arrows here with great effect. There are many sweeping epic-style shots of the landsscpape and the battle scenes that are absolutely gorgeous and when backed with the moving score are simply breathtaking. The story and characters are all developed nicely (Percy Jackson and Clash of the Titans should take a few notes from this film if they plan on making future sequels). The only thing holding me back from giving this movie an A is due to the fact that we have all seen these epic style movies with their battle scenes hundreds of times by now, and nothing is really done differently here to make them any more unique or interesting, but again Scott has perfected capturing the action and does it again here so well that the experience is still well worth the price of admission.

If you are a fan of semi-historical action epics in the same vain as Gladiator, Braveheart, and Kingdom of Heaven, then definitely check out Robin Hood. It is a complete package of story, direction, and acting. When the credits hit the screen I instantly wanted the story to continue with the legend of Robin Hood, and I'm hoping Ridley Scott and company decide to make a sequel that satisfies my wish. Robin Hood earns a very solid B.