Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett can’t believe where the script is taking them in Ridley Scott’s ROBIN HOOD
ROBIN HOOD (Ridley Scott, 2010)
Opens Friday, May 14
www.robinhoodthemovie.com
Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett join the long line of illustrious acting duos that have teamed up as Robin Hood and Maid Marion (or Marian), following in the footsteps of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland (THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD), Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn (ROBIN AND MARIAN), Kevin Costner and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES), Cary Elwes and Amy Yasbeck (ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS), and even Brian Bedford and Monica Evans (Disney’s animated ROBIN HOOD) in Ridley Scott’s potential franchise starter, ROBIN HOOD. Although they do generate some heat, the Aussies are led astray by vastly overrated screenwriter Brian Helgeland (THE POSTMAN, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3) and the game but misguided Scott (ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER, GLADIATOR), who tinker way too much with the tale in the first half of the film and then devolve into a boring retread of TROY meets BRAVEHEART in the second. Their version is the superhero origin story of the man who will later steal from the rich and give to the poor, seen here first marching with King Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston), who seeks to reclaim his throne after ten years of fighting in the Crusades. But his immature brother, Prince John (Oscar Isaac), has other plans, enlisting the villainous Godfrey (Mark Strong) to do his dirty work for him. The movie has all the pomp and circumstance associated with such adventure flicks, with swordfights, expert archery, heavy chainmail, a raucous, mead-filled celebration, and lusty romance, but it loses itself halfway through, leading up to an epic battle that gets just plain ridiculous. This ROBIN HOOD steals too much from previous films while ultimately giving audiences the shaft.