Movie Review: Ridley Scott's Robin Hood

[RPG Post]

Ridley Scott's Robin Hood

Robin Hood – steals from the rich, gives to the poor. He started out a commoner then became aristocracy in later legends, good with a bow and sword regardless. A hale and hardy man, he was known for his goodness of spirit even before the whole rebellions against the tax collectors tales were put in place. With so many different legends and so much room for differentiation, why would someone choose an actor so old he would have been dead of old age in the time period and put him a muddled mess of contemporary political theory, women's liberation and courtroom machinations?

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Ridley Scott's Robin Hood commits the worst sin a Robin Hood movie, it has so little archery (on Robin's part) that it might as well have been a Zorro movie. Without the “Z”s. Actually it induced quite a few “Z”s. Robin uses a bow. He's an archer. It's his signature weapon. In Scott's film he shoots a few arrows at the beginning and some at the end. Where is the exciting bow work we are all waiting for?

I recall, in what might the fog of hallucination, a Harlan Ellison review of Conan The Barbarian which suggests it might be an ok film if it were called Bruce The Barbarian. I believe one of the comments was Conan would never use a trap. The character did not behave on the screen as in the pages. If it is not Harlan's idea I apologize. If it is, I apologize for butchering it. Likewise this Robin Hood film: it should not be called Robin Hood. This movie, however, unlike Conan, would not be good with a different title. It's simply not a well written piece.

The movie is technically proficient, I expect no less from Scott, with some beautifully staged tableaux of riders on horseback, against woods and surf (not at the same time). What it does not do is make Robin Hood more...legendary. Maybe it suffers from starting as another film, Nottingham, about the sheriff, whom is barely in this farrago of mediocrity. Beautiful and empty, this film is like a hollow gemstone that collapses under it's own weight. I recommend the 1938 version of Robin Hood, from which the Princess Bride borrowed heavily. Either of those films are a rollicking good time. Though you might need to make allowances for the acting styles of 1938.

What films do you see as staying true to their legendary characters?