For the first 3/4 of the film it was pretty much a big fat “So what?” for me.
There was nothing in particular that made Robin Longstride particularly interesting, or had me invested in what was happening. It was almost as if Ridley Scott felt he could sit back on his laurels and share only plot-relevant details about him, counting on Robin Hood’s cultural notoriety to keep people’s attention. That Ridley assumed the story of Robin Hood has been adequately told in popular culture doesn’t seem to far a stretch, considering that at least 6 versions of the story coming to mind as I write this, but the only kind of movies that rely on the ones that have come prior to it are called “sequels”. You can’t hope that people will find your hero interesting because history says he was, you have to make him interesting. But because they were trying to make a “historically accurate” version of the story, instead of going with a man of destiny – the kind of character that that not only inspires his men, but also inspires audiences – they went with a simple working-class soldier. It left me with a real “So what?” feeling that I was never really able to shake.
"Now remember, Marc: nothing inspirational. Not so subdued that the audience falls asleep, but certainly nothing to get them to stand up and cheer."
The poorly conceived score didn’t help matters. It failed to elevate the mundane goings-on beyond the sum of the movie’s pedestrian familiar parts. There was nothing hinting at any kind of greatness on the horizon in Marc Streitenfeld’s composition. This movie called for something along the lines of the chugga-chugga of John Powell’s Bourne scores or Hans Zimmer’s work for Batman Begins. Instead, what we have is the story of a man, and not the tale of a legend. To be fair, Streitenfeld was merely Ridley Scott’s lieutenant in this campaign to rob Robin Hood of his wonder to sell tickets to the poor. I don’t believe anyone is richer for the experience.
Considering there is no amount of special features that will ever get me to buy this on DVD, I, offering up a pre-emptive DVD rating:
Steve gives it a Coaster
Yep, you’re right. “Pedestrian” is the word I’d use. It had some great ideas, but was just so bland and conventional. Why did Robin need to single-handedly save England? And how come he did so little… y’know, robbing? It wasn’t Robin Hood, it was Gladiator of Sherwood.
The early hype/trailers they were releasing seemed to hint at this “Gladiator of Sherwood” of which you speak. I thought it was just an ill-conceived attempt at highlighting the Scott/Crowe collaboration, but yeah it wasn’t Robin Hood per se. If an axe can’t chop wood, it’s lost its axe-ness. If Robin Hood isn’t robbing, he’s lost his Robin Hood-ness.
A coaster? That’s a bit harsh. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece but I really enjoyed it, especially Blanchett’s performance as Marion. I liked that it was unconventional. I think all the “robbing” will happen in a sequel, that I’d actually like to see.
The originality and charm of this movie was entirely hung on Blanchett’s performance, yet they didn’t manage to place enough in the centre of the story. Instead, we were dealing with William Hurt’s subplot, and whatever else. Those characters needed to be folded into eachother somehow… And the whole thing with Robin not being told about his heritage until later on in the film… the delay served no purpose other than to make sure the ramshackle plot didn’t collapse on itself.
But yes, even though I gave this one a coaster, it was the last 5 minutes of the movie that finally had it in the gear that I was looking for – so a sequel is what I would actually be interested in.
I like it too, for the same reason as Heather: Cate Blanchett. I thought both of them have a nice, subtle chemistry. Yes, I would like the see the sequel too, when we’ll see Robin being Robin.
There’s a lot more love for this movie than I expected. Cate Blanchett can definitely deliver a performance, but I think the momentum of the film (or lack thereof) works against what she has to offer. Robin is a boy’s and a girl’s name – maybe she should have been the one robbing from the rich and giving to the poor…
As for her charging into battle at the end of the film: I think they might have been trying to siphon off the ambience of Elizabeth: The Golden Age – to no effect.
I have to side with Heather here. It was worth a watch and I enjoyed it from beginning to end even though it ain’t no Gladiator!
Lemme ask you this: Why were Will Scarlett and Allan A’Dayle two separate characters? Not for any particular narative purpose IMHO. There were two of them because Robin needed Merry Men – plural. There was nothing that one of them did that the other couldn’t have done and therefore no reason for the both of them. Lazy writing. Although I did dig that Great Big Sea’s Alan Doyle was along for the ride, you can’t go wrong with a Canadian minstrel.
Sweet vindication. I knew I turned down your invite to see the movie twice for good reason.
Of course the fact I couldn’t stand the overdramatic soundbyte of Prince John yelling “I declare him an OUTLAWWWWWWW!!!!” in the commercials really sealed the deal its fate for me.
In all fairness to the film, that particular line, delivered in context, actually worked. It was spoken in the final minutes of the film, which was when things finally got on track.
I hope you’ll at least answer the call when it’s time to see Scott Pilgrim and Inception.
Those two movies you’ll have no problem getting me to see
I’d have to agree with Heather on this. A bit harsh indeed. I didn’t feel Scott was resting on any laurels and I appreciated a different story being told about the famous character. I was pleasantly surprised with this one and would give it a solid 3/4 stars. I did not like their take on Marion’s character though – I felt Blanchett was a bit miscast and her appearance in teh final battle sequence was laughable.
The story of Robin Hood has quite the Hollywood legacy, and if someone wants to join it you have to add something, rather than taking something away. Ridley’s version robbed the legend of… the legend.
[...] to win me over. See, the first time around, I wasn’t too impressed (I’m pretty sure I wrote about it too). There were some gaps in the theatrical version, some lapses in where I think I was supposed [...]