Robin Hood: Blu Ray Review
Robin Hood
Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment
Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott reteam in this retelling of the Robin Hood saga.
It's 1199 and a glowering Crowe is Robin Longstride, an archer
in King Richard The Lionheart's army, who's been fighting in the
Crusades for the past decade.
Following the death of the king in battle Longstride and three
comrades (Will Scarlett, Little John and Allan A'Dale) head back to
England to try and restart their lives. But before Longstride can
resume his life (despite never knowing exactly who his father was),
he has to keep a promise made to a dying knight, Robert of
Loxley.
The problem is that when he returns to Loxley in Nottingham,
Robert's father (a frail Max von Sydow) asks him to impersonate his
son to keep the village alive with hope - particularly as the
recently crowned King John (Oscar Isaac) has started a crusade of
taxation.
Also lurking in the wings is Sir Godfrey (the ever wonderful Mark
Strong) who's trying to steal the crown for himself.
Ridley Scott's Robin Hood is a good epic take on the story - sure there will be some who'll feel that he's taken liberties with the story - but what he's crafted is an intelligently told and thoughtful story which in no shape or form is simply Gladiator with Bows and Arrows.
Russell Crowe is restrained as Robin; plenty of scowling but you can tell he is the kind of man who does the right thing. Longstride's relationship with Cate Blanchett's Maid Marian works well as the flick takes time to build it up - giving it more of a realistic feel and one which feels human. The film becomes a thoughtful piece with more of an accent on characters rather than action - though the action scenes which there are do stand out
Extras: An impressive 2 disc release sees the film given an extra 16 mins - and a second disc boasts an impressive 62 minute doco behind the scenes. Add onto that, a slew of deleted scenes and you've got a bunch of extras which certainly hit the bullseye.
Rating: 8/10
