Ridley and Crowe in the Hood

Not the most fun “Robin Hood” picture to ever be released, Ridley Scott’s version makes up for its slow plot development and advert wackiness by forging an epic adventure behind dynamic acting performances by Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Oscar Isaac.

Is it enough to take the film past the mediocre?

Yes. Nevertheless, it’s still an enjoyable romp if you can look past some of its weaknesses.

Feeling way too much like some of Scott’s other films, mainly “Gladiator,” Robin Longstride’s journey is more about one man’s story to free a country from a tyrannical King, through war, than the traditional Robin Hood stories of the past. Without a doubt an epic, this version is endearing and will have you reminiscing of William Wallace’s tale in “Braveheart,” just without the same polish.

This is due to the fact that there are times in the film where you will be forced to scratch your head in disbelief. The final battle scene, which starts off in grand fashion, with arrows coming from all angles, a-la “300,” is ruined when another group joins the fight to help the English forces, resulting in a scene that will easily remind one of “Return of the Jedi,” when cute little Ewoks helped destroy the dark side.

Not exactly the most realistic ending to an otherwise, realistic-feeling adventure.

Normally, an ending like this could ruin a lesser film, but the chemistry between Crowe and Isaac fuels the film and makes for an interesting battle of the minds. While its obvious a role like this is right up the alley for Crowe, who essentially embraced the part, firing 200 arrows a day in preparation for it, seeing the Guatemalan Isaac, a relative unknown, aside from his 2006 portrayal of Joseph in the “Nativity Story” play King John with such passion, essentially, is the reason to watch the film.

Add an exceptional supporting cast, which includes Mark Addy, Max Von Sydow, Mark Strong, Danny Huston and the ageless William Hurt and you have more than enough talent on-screen for the film to hold its own. Thanks to amazing cinematography as well, the story, which sometimes progresses a tad slowly, is shot beautifully. Everything from the beaches of Europe to the mountains and forests are full of life and color, bringing this once in a lifetime tale to life.

Nonetheless, there’s only one real scene that captures the full essence of the character and it doesn’t last very long. Sure, Longstride, in his own way, is a patriot of sorts, but where’s all the robbing from the rich to give to the poor? Considering the epic connotations this film possesses, it’s fair to say that Scott, while keeping the basic essence of Hood intact, deviated enough to put his own mark on both his film and the character.

As a result, this film has a completely different feel than you’d expect it to have.

Is it still a quality film though?

Yes, it just trips and stutters every time Scott tries to deviate from the classic story in an attempt to make something different.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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