The Movie Diary

You’ve no doubt heard the old story of Robin Hood, where he’s Sir Robin of Locksley and he takes the rich people’s money and gives it to people who need food. Good guy, overall. Nasty King John, and bad, bad Sherrif of Nottingham. Feh.

But don’t think that of the new release Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe. It’s a twist on the old story, or perhaps a version that I’ve not encountered. Well… You know how those things go. Word-of-mouth can change things until they’re a whole different story. right? I’m sure that Robin has as many variations as Arthur.

The new film, Robin Hood, isn’t completely different, but it is amazing!

The acting is superb with Cate Blanchett playing the Marian role, and Max Von Sydow as the crochety old father with a big heart, and even William Hurt is invovled as William Marshall.

The script is good. Not great. There are a few good lines, but overall… not bad at all.

What we knew would make the film was Ridley Scott. I mean, come on have you ever seen a bad Ridley Scott film? We’ve seen bad Russell Crowe films and bad Cate Blanchett films, but well…  Scoitt has produced some clunkers, like Tristan & Isolde. That was pretty lame, and oh, 1492. Yet, overall, the films he’s directed like Gladiator, Thelma & Louise, and Alien have been killer. Looking over his directorial list at IMDB, though, I’m surprised to see how many good films he has directed. Oh, sure there are a couple of misses, but well… I’d bet on him rather than against him.

Anyway, if you like historical movies like I do, you’ll probably love the new version of Robin Hood. It kicks Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood‘s butt. And Sean Connery’s and a whole bunch of other not-so-great Robin Hood’s that I’ve seen in the past.

Four stars.