Robin Hood (PG-13)
ROBIN HOOD (Rated PG-13 for plenty of violence, some sexual content & brief partial nudity): Go to see this as an updated repeat of the earlier Robin Hood movies and you will be terribly disappointed. But go to see a prequel to the tale and you'll find it a nicely produced, well directed action flick that explains the origins of Robin & his Sherwood Forest band of merry men and their aim to rob the rich and feed the poor.
Screenwriters Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris have given us a 140-minute base from which Robin of the Hood is put to the test in the early 12th century; that's when Richard the Lionhearted (Danny Huston) heads for England after a stint in the Crusades, only to be slain in the first of a series of battles for power. There are good guys and bad guys, ambitious guys, conniving guys, traitorous guys - guys either defending the throne or working to upset it.
In fact there are too many guys (plus the ubiquitous femmes that no film like this could be without) to permit much time to get to know them very well, and too little time to allow the devilishly dense plots to unroll with the ease of, say, the well laid path of the 1938 version starring Errol Flynn.
Suffice it to say, the slam-bang entertainment is demanding in understanding its convolutions, with editor Pietro Scalia's smashing action sequences to hold it together - and there are plenty of them - as he employs a kind of MTV zip. Meanwhile director Ridley Scott puts the cast of thousands through its paces - neatly & with as much believability as can be expected from this sort of flick.
The cast, given the little time we see of any members of it, is excellent. Russell Crowe as Robin, generally dour, laconic, sultry, is given an occasional chance to show a touch of humor, while Cate Blanchett makes the most of her role - arrogant, proud, haughty, strong as Lady Marion, mated with Robin out of political necessity. They are balanced by Max Von Sydow as the blind father to one of the slain band from the Crusades, Matthew Macfadyen as the sheriff of Nottingham, Oscar Isaac as the conniving, whoring Prince John, Eileen Atkins as his Queen Mother, Mark Addy as Friar Tuck, William Hurt as the royal advisor William Marshall and - oh, why go on; the list is as endless as the cast of characters in "War and Peace" and just as difficult to hold in mind.
It's enough to say that the plot balances well between the battle sequences & brief moments of character delineation as it pushes onward to the final explosive and impressive upheaval that sends Robin and his handful of merry men banished to the forest from which, as we know, they will rise to fame as we expect, likely in a sequel.
The production values are tops. In wide screen and with stereo sound, the movie has the look & feel of a film of epic stature, backed by Marc Streitfeld's massive score and filmed by expert cinematographer John Mathieson and at least half a dozen other cameramen. The controlled chaos of battle, the impressively realistic action, the bleakness of the period & the sardonic touches of humor outweigh the faults in this lengthy, overly complex plot. The detailed sets, costumes and historically accurate accoutrement (furnishings, weapons, household items, etc.) down to the last look of well used items - to the last tiny detail - amazing!
Even the animated effects for opening & closing out the credits puts all those silly, obviously staged out-scenes normally used to shame, making them worth sitting through to the end.
It's a lusty, well made contrivance that should be shorter & more simply scripted, but it's enjoyable enough to pass the time, and await the sequel. (Grade: B)
