Screenplay by Brian Helgeland
Story by Brian Helgeland and Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris
Directed by Ridley Scott
“We can’t repay our good luck with bad grace…it invites darkness.”
Errol Flynn may not approve, but here are some random observations about Robin Hood — the 2010 film incarnation:
- The history is fairly decent on the Richard the Lionheart side of the movie…up to and including the moment when he is taken out by the ambitious French cook on the castle battlements. However, the rest of the movie is simple, wooly-minded nonsense. It turns King John, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the rest of the royal family into comic book characters on par with Archie & Jughead. It tries to push Magna Carta-style politics 15 years in advance of its actual birth…with a level of sophistication on par with blunt, American-style jingoism more suited to an RKO B-movie. It even conspires to present an invasion of England that NEVER happened! Everyone and everything in this film is caricatured…villains are cliched black hats (usually French), and heroes are selfless and pure. If there had been a railway during this era, a damsel in distress would have been tied to the tracks during the climax!
Every actor is operating on auto-pilot throughout this picture. There is no passion, no joy, and no sensitivity evident in virtually anyone, in any role. Russell Crowe isn’t anywhere near the level of intensity he displayed in either Gladiator or The Insider. The supporting cast is completely forgettable, and William Hurt is forced to be an English baron…in direct contradiction to any form of common sense. Throughout the film, he seems uncomfortable and embarassed…but no more so than Max Von Sydow, playing the blind, heroic, aging & nearly-dead father figure. He could do the role in his sleep…and very nearly does! The only stand out is Cate Blanchett, but we’d all be happy to watch her read out the phone book under any circumstance.
It’s a handsome production, but the action sequences committ the gravest of crimes: they are ALL deadly dull. Acting & writing on auto-pilot, accompanied by paint-by-numbers direction.
The larger crime occurs in the last five minutes of the film, as the Robin Hood legend finally takes shape. Sherwood Forest becomes the mythical home base of the merry band of men, and the outlaw life of our intrepid heroes — led by Robin & Marion, united at last — takes it first steps into historical myth. Unfortunately, THAT is when the film ENDS…just as I was FINALLY getting interested, after 2+ hours of tedium!
A mediocre & disappointing film. Kevin Costner’s 1991 Robin Hood is INFINITELY superior in every respect…and luckily stands the test of time. Stick with the earlier gem, and ditch this under-performing collection of gravel.
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