I’m not going to dwell on accent-gate* only to say that I thought there were traces of Oirish in Russell Crowe’s accent at times. It is, after all, only a splash in a sea of niggles with Ridley Scott’s epic take on the Robin Hood legend.
Scott has decided to concentrate on what it is that ‘makes’ Robin Hood, finishing the film where others have only just got started. He merges the conflicting stories of Hood's background in a fresh spin which sees Robin at the begin of the film as an archer Robin Longstride in the English army fighting for King Richard in France but then ‘stealing’ the identity of English gent Robin Loxley when he returns to England.
It is a nice take but there is little else** that is satisfying about this bloated film.
It is very slow to get going. I didn’t look at my watch to see how far through the 163 min running time it was before Robin arrived back in England but it seemed like more than half the film was a set up for Crowe to give his rallying speech that unites England against the French and then of course the big battle.
And it is this ‘nationalising’ of the Robin Hood legend that for me sucked the heart out of the story. Robin's back story which explains the seeming ease with which he takes on the leadership role - the fact that others follow him without question, I'll gloss over - comes too late for you to engage with his character.
It has been described as Gladiator in tights and it is, except in reverse. It's a man from humble beginnings rising up the ranks only to be knocked back down at the last turn which, incidentally, is the only thing that slightly redeems the film at the end.
If the film was to have that awful deep America accent voice-over, so favoured of trailers, it wouldn't seem out of place such is it's nature. It is at times laughable when it's not meant to be and although Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was wrong in so many way it at least had some charm.
My favourite funny moment is when Cate Blanchett's Marian who was previously seen being left behind while the menfolk went off to kick French ass is revealed to have disguised herself and a knight to joint the battle. Cue Blanchett removing her knight's helmet and shaking free her long blond hair, shampoo-ad style.
I could go on but to sum up: It is an interesting spin on the what made Robin Hood, Robin Hood tale but the scale of that spin is devoid of the heart and soul I've come to associate with our national legend.
I do hope he doesn't make a sequel as the 'Legend begins' ending implies.
* Crowe is only heard speaking once in the trailer below and I think it is a case in point on the Irish accent debate
** The other bright moment for me was the lovely Matthew MacFadyen playing the bad but ultimately cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham. OK so it's no way near the legendary Alan Rickman sheriff but refreshing to see MacF playing a non-romatic/non-heroic lead.
Some other views:
USA News Week offers a round up of US reviews that it sums up by saying that Ridley Scott has failed to capture the essence of the legend
David Sztypuljak of HeyUGuy blog thought it was good albeit with Gladiator at the back of his mind
Andrew Pulver of The Guardian gave it four stars out of five and thought the film cleverly brought together all the dispirate threads of the Robin Hood legend
Metacritic rates it 62/100 and Rotten Tomatoes UK gives it 45%
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