"Robin Hood" Movie Trailer Review

Movie Trailer Review

"Robin Hood"

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

The story of Robin Hood is pretty much universally known--it's been filmed numerous times, most recently as a BBC television series, and probably most famously as a Kevin Costner vehicle at the height of his '90s fame. The best adaptations, I've noticed, tend to take a bit less of a traditional approach to the material. The Disney film that made all the characters into animals and the Mel Brooks comedy based on the aforementioned Costner film come to mind. This is why I found the idea of director Ridley Scott's original plan for "Robin Hood" so intriguing--he planned on making the Sheriff of Nottingham the main protagonist and Robin Hood the villain. Certainly that would've been a fascinating film, but instead Scott eventually settled on a more traditional approach, and here we have "Robin Hood," the latest telling of the classic hero's story, now in a much more historically accurate context.

The second and most recent trailer makes it look quite a lot like most of Scott's recent output--stuff like "Gladiator" or "Kingdom of Heaven"--epic battles, large casts, corrupt leaders, etc. Russell Crowe isn't exactly an inspired choice for the character of Robin Hood, but Crowe and Scott have worked together enough now that it was pretty much to be expected. He seems suitable enough for the role. Cate Blanchett takes on the iconic role of Lady Marian, and she too seems good enough. The real charm is in the supporting cast, which includes Mark Strong and Matthew Macfadyen as the villains Sir Godfrey and the Sheriff of Nottingham, respectively, and Kevin Durand as Little John. I can't think of better choices for those roles. Also in the film in various roles are William Hurt, Danny Huston, and Max von Sydow--so the cast is definitely great.

Overall, though, the film doesn't really seem particularly unique. It seems as if we've seen the same battle sequences over and over again, and it doesn't look like Scott is doing much to separate his from any others. Still, filmed almost entirely on location, the settings look gorgeous and may make up for some of the more repetitive battle sequences.

I don't expect the film will be as good as it could have been were it to have been what Scott originally planned, but it certainly has potential and at the very least it'll likely be decent entertainment. Robin Hood films tend to be.


"Robin Hood" is set for release on May 14, 2010. Trailer is below. Thoughts?