Robin Hood

Argh! One of my anticipated films of the year. I grew up idolising Robin Hood. And it turned out, shall I say a little dissappointing?

Russell Crowe ( Yeap. He's the Maximus in Gladiator XD) portrays the skillful archer and swordsman who robs the rich and gives it to the poor. It seems that this movie is actually about how Robin Longstride ( Robin Hood is his nickname) got exiled from England.

The movie started off with King Richard The Lionheart and his army attacking a French castle, in which he got killed during the siege. Robin was the archer in the army then. Upon the king's death, he and his friends, which later are known as the "merry men" left the army after leaving England for 10 years of war. Little that they know they met upon Sir Loxley and a group of the King's loyal knights who were in charge of bringing back the king's crown back to England. Sir Loxley and the knights were ambushed by Godfrey, an English traitor who has been supplying valuable information to King Phillipe of France who yearns to conquer England.

Robin and his Merry Man

Sir Loxley was killed in the ambush, and Robin promised him that he would help deliver the crown back to England and Sir Loxley's sword back to his father, Walter Loxley.

Then comes the boring part. Robin stays at Nottingham, which is where Sir Loxley reside, taking his place as Walter Loxley's lost son and trying to learn his history. It is this part where Robin starts to fall for Sir Loxley's wife, Lady Marion played by Cate Blanchett.

Ahh... Lady Marion, one of the few reasons it's worth watching. =D

"Ask me nicely" XD

Secretly, Godfrey has been using King John's name ( King Richard's brother and King after his brother's death) to stir up the anger of the Northern Barons. ( Barons are some sort of head of villagers) to induce war upon King John from the North. And France will attack England from the south by crossing the English Channel.

But Robin learns in time of his father who was one of those who created the Magna Carta( to proclaim certain rights (pertaining to freeman), respect certain legal procedures , and accept that his will could be bound by law). He arrived just in time to stop the confrontation of King John and the Barons and they fought together as one against the French at the shores. That of course ended in defeat for the French.

After the war, King John reneges one his words to sign the Magna Carta and proclaimed Robin Hood an outlaw and hunted man. Thus came to the Robin Hood we know, the one man who robs the rich and gives the poor, who resided in Sheerwood Forest with his merry men.

The trailer wow-ed me as the battle scenes were much like the Lord Of The Rings, where riders galloped through the plains to war. But oh my, it could have been better...

3 stars out of five. Lack of humour and fighting scenes are not elaborated enough. Partly because no one on one fight between the hero and villian. Soundtracks were just normal...

P.S. I don't know whether this version of Robin Hood is true or not. What I read and saw before was some how different though...