What a royal mess!

Grade: C-

Robin Hood

Indian Release Date: 11/06/10
CBFC Classification:  U/A
Running Length: 2 Hours 20 Minutes

Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: Brian Helgeland
Cinematography: John Mathieson
Music: Marc Streitenfeld

“Legends are material to be molded, and not facts to be recorded.” – Hervey Allen

In all honesty the character of Robin Hood has been played out for all its worth on screen. Most movies may differ in tone but follow a similar depiction of the fabled outlaw. So my enthusiasm for another version of the tale wasn’t exactly at its highest ebb. That was until I heard the pitch for the story which made things sound more than just intriguing.

The project was originally named ‘Nottingham’ & would focus on the Sherriff of Nottingham rather than Robin Hood. The Sherriff was to be shown in a more favorable light as someone who’s simply doing his duty in trying to apprehend an outlaw like Robin Hood while at the same time does not approve of the corrupt ways of King John. The next development made things even more interesting when it was proposed that the characters of the Sherriff of Nottingham & Robin Hood be merged as one. Imagine a Robin Hood story set in a true-blue superhero template; now that is something to look forward to.

Unfortunately all those refreshing ideas were dumped in favor of something more ambitious yet at times pretty clichéd. Writer Brian Helgeland working from many previous drafts makes a story simple in essence, unnecessarily mired in dubious political & historical devices. There are also some interesting modifications to the myth and origin of Robin Hood but on the flipside, well-established characters & events in the overall history of Sherwood Forest are marginalized to make way for new ones. Facts & legends can walk hand in hand but neither can fully benefit from the company of one another nor can either one truly shine in the proximity of the other. Anyone remember the disastrous ‘King Arthur’ (2004) where they tried to do something similar?

Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is an archer in the army of Richard the Lionheart (Danny Huston) during the Crusades in the 12th Century. Following the untimely death of King Richard, Robin & his band of “merry men” that includes, Little John (Kevin Durand), Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes) & Allan A’Dayle (Allan Doyle) decide to abandon the army & return home. On their way they witness a vicious ambush by the devious Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong), on a group of knights accompanying the dead King’s Crown back to England. Robin & his men fight off Godfrey’s soldiers but all the knights protecting the crown are already dead except for one, Sir Robert Loxley of Nottingham. Robin & his men assume the identities of the knights & gain safe passage to England where they return the crown & then head for Nottingham to fulfill a promise made to Loxley about returning his father’s sword.

In the wake of King Richard’s death his younger brother, John (Oscar Isaac) is made king much to the chagrin of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eileen Atkins). John egged on by his closest aide, Sir Godfrey wants the taxes on the people of England to be levied with an iron fist. The truth which eludes the king is the fact that Sir Godfrey is actually working in cahoots with the French to bring down the throne of England. The king, so blinded by arrogance pays little heed to the advice and warnings of the experienced William Marshall (William Hurt).

In the meanwhile back in Nottingham, Robin is saddled with the unfortunate job of bringing terrible news of Loxley’s death to his wife Lady Marian (Cate Blanchett) & his blind father Sir Walter Loxley (Max Von Sydow). Walter asks Robin to impersonate Robert Loxley so that he can stand up against the local corrupt officials, including the slimy Sherriff (Matthew Macfadyen). Thus begins a long drawn, unnecessarily convoluted origin tale of the man who’d eventually become ‘Robin of the hood’ who steals from the rich & gives to the poor. In this version he also helps the ineffectual King John mount an offensive against the French invaders, lay foundations for the signing of the Magna Carta & woos Lady Marian! Now only if we could get him, King Arthur & William Wallace to meet up we could have the world’s first Superhero team! ‘The Avengers’ wouldn’t stand a chance.       

This is probably the 11th full-length, cinematic rendering of the legend of Robin Hood. He has appeared as a character in numerous other movies. The first one was made in 1912 but perhaps the most iconic ones were those that released in 1922 & 1938. The 1922 version titled ‘Robin Hood’ was a silent film that starred Douglas Fairbanks in the title role while the 1938 one was called, ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ & starred the devilishly charming Errol Flynn. Most of us born in the 80s are more likely to remember the Kevin Costner version ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ (1991) with Bryan Adams crooning to a thousand lovelorn hearts, “Everything I Doooooo…..” Oddly only a few months back I had come across an episode in the 1960’s television series ‘The Time Tunnel’ where Robin Hood makes King John sign the Magna Carta. Makes you wonder what originality they are harping on about in this version.

Ridley Scott is a master of historical epics as seen from ‘Gladiator’ (2000) & ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ (2005) (Do watch the Director’s Cut of Kingdom of Heaven, it’s an amazing film). He tries to mix history & politics to reflect current social & political situations all in the guise of a rousing epic-action flick. All those elements are very much present here and the movie is far more ambitious in terms of the scope of the story than anything Scott has attempted previously. This very fact turns out to be the movie’s bane since so many sub-plots rob the movie of cohesion plus they aren’t terribly interesting in their own right. I wonder how much of the movie was shot or how much left on the editing table; maybe we might get a Director’s cut later that might do justice to the movie. Though I doubt it a Director’s cut can cure the limp action scenes.

The locations look authentic as do the lavishly reconstructed sets. The initial action sequence during the siege of a French castle crackles with energy but the same cannot be said of the later sequences. I literally shook my head in disbelief when Lady Marian joins the fight against the invading French army in the climax. That scene draws more than just a passing inspiration from the D-Day landing in Normandy.

Russell Crowe plays an offshoot of his ‘Maximus’ persona which is little like any other Robin Hood you have seen before. Glum & nearly humorless, Robin is quite an intense character here. I think the decision was a conscious one by all those involved here to make the character such. This unfortunately also makes him quite uncharacteristically uncharismatic, not to say that Crowe does a bad job, just that the tone is not quite appealing. Though I like Mark Strong, I feel bad admitting that he’s being over-exposed as the bad guy in multiple movies & it’s getting a little repetitive. Oscar Isaac obviously got a memo that said “Overact, else you do not get paid!” cause his interpretation of King John makes the character an unintentional laugh-riot. Of the rest Cate Blanchett, William Hurt & Eileen Atkins are all low-key & dignified in their performances. Max Von Sydow gives such a wonderful performance that his is probably the only character you’d really feel for. He surely deserves an Oscar nomination for the role.

You might notice I haven’t mentioned anything about the usual suspects from the Robin Hood legend, Tuck Friar, Little John or The Sherriff. The reason being that the movie marginalizes their roles to such an extent that you feel the only reason they are there is cause the title of the movie is ‘Robin Hood’ & the makers have to show some respect to the source material. The ending of the movie leaves the door open for a sequel & maybe if one does shape up then maybe we might see a better rendering of these beloved characters.

‘Robin Hood’ inspite of it’s historical sub-plots could have worked maybe if the story or characters would have been more stirring or the action had been not a rehash of every other historical epic that came before it.

Final Verdict: The simplest manner in which I can describe ‘Robin Hood’ is by calling it a mess; sporadically intriguing but ultimately an overlong & bloated mess!

Grade: C-

 

- Movie Reviewed by Danish Bagdadi

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