Robin Hood

Rating: 4 1/2 Shurikens

Tonight, I saw the Robin Hood movie starrring Russell Crowe as the legendary leader of the Merry Men. This latest retelling of the venerable tale is a bit more edgy and dark in its depiction of life in 12th century England. The violence is a bit more graphic than the Kevin Costner and Erroll Flynn portrayals, more in line with what today's audiences expect from an action movie.

The movie begins in France, where King Richard the Lion Heart is waging a battle against the French on his way back from the crusades. Robin and his men serve as archer in His Majesty's army, but right before the battle to take the castle, he tells the king something which the king doesn't like, so Robin and his men are stockaded during the battle when King Richard gets killed. Robin and his men escape, and Robin takes the identity of Robert Loxley to get back home. He delivers the crown of King Richard to England, and then goes to the home of Loxley, where he meets Lady Marian.

It is like the origin story of Robin Hood. He does very little of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. There is adventure and intrigue, and the dialog is riveting. The whole movie is good versus evil, and good wins, mostly. It does have sequel written all over it, but as an origin story, you've seen Robin Hood enough times that you practically know the whole story before filming even begins. Perhaps the best thing about this Robin Hood is its departure from the re-retelling of the same old story.

Cate Blanchett plays Lady Marian, although the strong woman character seems a little bit strained at times. I guess the 20th-century audience expects strong women, but Lady Marian goes a bit far. She is stereotypical as the Lady of the Manor, having to run the place with an absent husband and a blind father-in-law. I can't really say too much without giving away important plot lines, but I will say that the reaction to being put in one situation is entirely believeable and satisfying, while later, you may find yourself wondering what she is doing other than extending her role in the movie.

The character of the Sherriff of Nottingham, played by Matthew McFayden, is not the major villain in this version. MAcFayden has been cheated in this role, because he once played the role of Mr. Darcy in the big-screen 2005 movie, Pride and Prejudice, a mushy chick-flick based on a novel by Jane Austen. Austen was the original romance novelist, who made her female characters strong and self-directing, rather than passive girls waiting to be married off. In that context, the role of Mr Darcey is an important one, as he is the leading man who gets to kiss the girl. As the Sherriff of Nottingham, he is cowardly and without honor or dignity.

The big villain is Sir Godfrey, played by Mark Strong. Godfrey is a traitor to the Crown in the employ of the evil French King Philip. You will remember Strong from his big villain roles in Kick Ass and Sherlock Holmes. He plays a very good bad guy, even though his motivations are far from clear. He seems to be doing evil for the sake of evil, rather than for any tangible rewards, but he does do some very dastardly deeds. He is very convicingly evil, and I can't wait to see him play the villain in the first Green Lantern movie.

William Hurt has been in some pretty good movies, including the Incredible Hulk from a couple of years back. I tend to like his movies, and he plays a good supporting role as the Chamberlain to King Richard and King John. I fully expected him to be killed in this movie, but I can say he doesn't complicate the plot by being killed off. Another big-name actor, Max von Sydow, plays the father of Loxley, and does a tremendous job of it.

The three Merry Men in this story are Little John, Alan A'Dale, and Will Scarlett. They make a great team, and none of them has to die to be avenged. Little John is played by Kevin Durand, most noted for his role as the Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Interestingly, he played a bit part in a previous Russell Crowe remake of 3:10 to Yuma in 2007.

Robin Hood is a good movie, with lots of action, lots of violence, and an epic battle scene towrds the end. The interactions of the characters are realistic and mostly believable, the portrayals are accurate for a large part, and the story flows smoothly from the start, although some of the details are hard to work out at the beginning. Many action movies work through their inablity to create believable action by using too many camera angles and changing them frequently, but this movie doesn't do that too much.I highly recommend this movie as the first choice of movies to see this week, and grant Robin Hood four-and-a-half shurikens.