Robin Hood (Longstride)

This film, to many people's surprise was not really a film about Robin Hood at all - at least not the Robin Hood we know. This is his backstory, the time before he became the outlaw we all know and love him for. This is the run up to his rejection of the law, the film finishing on his decision - a sure promise of a sequel I would think.

The film has its flaws - it did not do as well as was predicted at the box office, critics complained that Russell Crowe (as Robin Longstride) looked 'far too fat and old' to play the legendary character, and the most infamous flaw of all, the Irish accented Northern Englishman - Indeed, Crowe did not agree, exploding when interviewer Mark Lawson suggested on BBC Radio - not surprisingly this clip hit youtube in about 3 minutes (or the time it takes to upload a video) after it was broadcast.

However, contrary to the last paragraph, I really enjoyed the film - it was the perfect boys action movie. Crowe was accompanied by a tremendous supporting cast - the likes of Cate Blanchett (as Marion Loxley) and Danny Huston (as King Richard the Lionheart). It sported lots of blood and sword fights and it was a beautiful film to watch. The colours, I felt, really gave a sense of the period, and the mood of the time without seeming unrealistic.

Now one would expect, on a film of this scale, to find many a spectacular, epic, arial battle shot featuring tens of thousands of soldiers fighting to the death - this was not the case. Ridley Scott held off using these shots until towards the end, during the film's climactic battle - this resulted in these shots being a treat to watch and held a sense of power and drama which they would lack had they frequented the movie.

Only one issue I would like to bring up personally was the lack of light-hearted moments - even a few would have kept the pace moving and not made the film feel quite so depressing. Admittedly, depressing works for the story however I feel it would not have been as heavy if it had included some...... smiles perhaps? (Crowe maintains his trademark frown throughout the entire movie).

All in all, it was an entertaining movie - definitely one to see before it leaves cinemas - its not the Robin Hood you will expect - however I suppose that really is a good thing, given the thirty-odd classic Robin Hood movie that preceded this one.

This film, the characters and the story, truly stand alone.