Re: Robin Hood (2010)
[QUOTE=Homegrove;861263]OK, saw this last night.
Quick review: All style over substance.
A bit longer review: I did like it though. You just have to take it for what it is. A summer pop corn romp. I think I expected something a bit more serious but I should've known better.
The plot is basically Robin Hood begins. He becomes the outlaw in the last 5 minutes of the film. Before that it's all what lead him to it.
The bad sides of the movie were that the characters were totally incomplete, you didn't believe in them for one second. Notable exceptions are Richard Lionheart and the Queen. The acting was also pretty terrible in places. Ridley once again let the bad guys totally steal the show, the only parts where Crowe shone were the parts where he was frowning or fighting. All the happy / supposedly funny parts were embarrassing.
Good sides: The bad guys were really great. Mark Strong is driving himself to a box acting wise with all these bad guy roles one after another but maybe it's all that's being offered to him. For what it's worth, he really makes Sir Godfrey a nice nasty all for himself villain. King John is also excellent, you've never loved to hate anyone like him.
The battles were all show stoppers even with little or no blood. If that was because they wanted kids to be able to see this movie too I think it didn't work. There was some really dark violent parts in it.
And of course the obvious thing. I'm a big fan of Sir Ridley Scott basically because he's the most visual director there is and he creates huge worlds and every detail is looked into. This was the most believable middle age-movie I've ever seen. You could nearly smell the shit that was everywhere. Most people (obviously not the heroes) even had fucked up teeth. Ridley always produces grit and this had lots of it.
2,5 / 5 If you see it, see it in a big screen where the visuals can take over.
Oh, and I'm desperately in love with Cate Blanchett.[/QUOTE]
I somewhat disagree with you. I thought this movie carried depth, depth that couldn't be found in the previous versions of the 'Hood movies. Ridley Scotts theme per usual was loyalty, but he made this loyalty a little more vivid. It wasn't just about Robin Hood, it was about his duty to the people of his land, without any governance by religion or politics; to be good for all of mankind and to protect his country. This is most lucidly seen by a) the fight against the French through which there was a solidarity among factions of England and b) by his answerl to the king of england (if you remember lionhearts question in the beginning directed to Robin about the equity of sieging). Through the various renditions of the Robin Hood stories, that central theme has been lost. And if you're a true Scott fan, you'll see this theme in nearly every one of his movies (except maybe Alien). I'm anticipating his make of The Forever War.
I did, however, hear from a lot of friends that at times, certain names had confused them. And I will agree that some of the acting in a few areas were shoddy. But overall, my basis for criticism is on the theme. Scott, in my mind, managed to make this movie something more than just a love story and fighting.