Robin Hood stars Russell Crowe in a Ridley Scott film that tells the back-story of the fabled “do-gooder”, up to the very moment the “rob from the rich to give to the poor” business plan is born.

What I Liked

• The opening visuals accompanying the credits
  Painterly strokes are rotoscoped over key scenes.
• The visuals accompanying the closing credits (see above)
• Epic shots of battle scenes are samples of sheer movie magic
• William Hurt lends a certain amount of gravitas to the proceedings, even if he does often look confused at the proceedings

What I Didn’t Like

• Almost everything, and full disclosure is necessary here. I have never cared for Russell Crowe, and this is one film that rests entirely on his performance. Since his break-out performance in “L.A. Confidential”, I found him difficult to believe as a tough guy. We know of his famous tantrum with a phone at a hotel that resulted in his arrest, and it’s a pity none of that passion made it into this film.
• There is nothing “pretty” about this film (excluding the title sequences), and that includes the leading lady, in my opinion.
• What age group is this film for? Inappropriate for very young viewers, there was some content that made me squirm with the three twelve year-olds I escorted. In fact, lots of things went over their heads. Which brings me to…

Best LOL Jokes (Spoilers!)

Humorless (and colorless save for the title sequences), the distinguished Max Von Sydow utters “I woke today with a tumescent glow! Imagine me – at eighty-four!”. Is this appropriate for twelve year-olds? Heck, I only recently learned of this figure of speech, and I’m relieved the boys didn’t ask.

Parental Watch-outs

See the LOL Spoiler above.

Overall Grade: C-

Everything worth seeing in this film can be experienced at the website robinhoodthemovie.com. Boys who are into RTS games (as my son and his friends are) loved it, but otherwise pass.