Robin Hood: 4 stars

Robin Hood is one of Ridley Scott’s greatest films. He adds another successful film to his resumé. This movie has great action scenes, brilliant performances, and a well told back story to the great outlaw we all know and love.


There isn’t much in terms of story, there’s only so much one can do with a story about Robin Hood, but Scott did his best in trying to find as original of a story as he could without retelling any of the old stories that we know. There are some interesting new points that Scott brings to the table. A new villain is introduced (played to perfection by the amazing Mark Strong, Sherlock Holmes), we actually see a bit of a soft spot of King John (Oscar Isaacs, The Nativity Story), and we do not see much of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew MacFaydan, Pride & Prejudice, a very different role for him).

Although the acting is great, from Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eileen Atkins, Cold Mountain, Gosford Park) to Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian (The Lord of the Rings, The Aviator), the cinematography stole the show, which usually happens in a Ridley Scott film. The beautifully grand helicopter shots, the wide landscape and seascape images of the country, and the well lit sets were so vivid, it just left me in awe of how well Scott and his Director of Photography, John Mathieson, captured the lands of the film.

The greatest scene was the final battle at Dover Beach. Some have felt this to be too close to the Omaha Beach sequence in Saving Private Ryan, but it wasn’t in my opinion. The sea was a great place to fight, since most epic battles take place on large fields (Braveheart). The water splashing everywhere and the soaking foot soldiers gave more visuals to the battle. But all of the battles were good, not just that one. There is only so much one can do with a land battle, and it becomes monotonous. Also, many people feared that these battles would be too reminiscent of Kingdom of Heaven or Gladiator, but none of them were. Each battle had its own unique style and choreography. Also, it could not be paralleled with these films because there was no blood splattering all over the place, which I thought was good, because that too can get monotonous.

I highly recommend this movie. There is humor with Friar Tuck, King John, and the Merry Men. There is romance (but not too much) between Marian and Robin. As I said, there is brilliant action that many would enjoy. And the acting is also the greatest that some of these actors have done.

Next time: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and From Dusk Until Dawn.