I see Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" as continuing the project he started with "Kingdom of Heaven" in 2005; the attempt to de-mystify the legends of the medieval age, putting the naked brutality, injustice, and cruelty of period in clear view.
Film allows total fancy and whimsy (for example the classic Errol Flynn version of "Robin Hood"), but it can also make things concrete. Scott makes every effort to put us into that bygone world and see what it was like. It was ugly and savage, but it was also a world in which people had aspirations for justice and liberty. Scott places Robin Hood into a historical context which, if not factually accurate, at least gives a picture of the political realities of the times. So, it's serious, but also (much more than "Kingdom of Heaven") entertainment, with some good dialogue and more than a fair share of action.
Some of the casting was very good, I think, especially Max von Sydow as Lady Marian's old, blind father, Danny Huston as King Richard the Lion-Hearted, and Kevin Durand as a very different kind of Little John, the warrior. Also, writer Brian Helgeland invented some good anecdotes of Robin's early associations with those who became his Merry Men, and came up with some straight-outta-modern dialogue between Robin and his lady as they initially battle, court (but not in the old-fashioned style), and love.
As for the leads, Cate Blanchett's portrayal reminds me of many other feisty, down-to-earth Englishwomen, and I think it will be very popular. Russell Crowe's Robin is not going to be such a crowd-pleaser, but I think he produced the performance that Scott wanted.
Film allows total fancy and whimsy (for example the classic Errol Flynn version of "Robin Hood"), but it can also make things concrete. Scott makes every effort to put us into that bygone world and see what it was like. It was ugly and savage, but it was also a world in which people had aspirations for justice and liberty. Scott places Robin Hood into a historical context which, if not factually accurate, at least gives a picture of the political realities of the times. So, it's serious, but also (much more than "Kingdom of Heaven") entertainment, with some good dialogue and more than a fair share of action.
Some of the casting was very good, I think, especially Max von Sydow as Lady Marian's old, blind father, Danny Huston as King Richard the Lion-Hearted, and Kevin Durand as a very different kind of Little John, the warrior. Also, writer Brian Helgeland invented some good anecdotes of Robin's early associations with those who became his Merry Men, and came up with some straight-outta-modern dialogue between Robin and his lady as they initially battle, court (but not in the old-fashioned style), and love.
As for the leads, Cate Blanchett's portrayal reminds me of many other feisty, down-to-earth Englishwomen, and I think it will be very popular. Russell Crowe's Robin is not going to be such a crowd-pleaser, but I think he produced the performance that Scott wanted.