Super Frat

The new Robin Hood has a strong first act, but the filmmakers quickly drive the movie to “crazy town” in the second act and never find their way out. Crowe makes a good Hood and the scriptwriter actually has a new twist on Robin’s identity and his relationship with Marion.

Be warned, I can’t really talk about the problems of this movie without giving away the ending and its just my opinion, but…

In the second act (spoilers) the filmmakers try to jam in a war with France and the Magna Carter. It just doesn’t work. Never mind the fact that most audiences in the US are probably not spun up on their English/French history to compare the events in real context. The real problem is the movie stops being about the characters and is now about all these historical events. It just doesn’t work. You know a movie is in trouble when you start hearing voice overs. It’s a sure sign the filmmakers were trying to tie together parts of the movie that didn’t make sense on their own.

And here’s the real kicker, the movie could’ve been called “Robin Hood: Year One” because it ends (major spoiler here) with what happens in most Robin Hood movies at the end of the first act. So he’s declared an outlaw and flees to Sherwood at the END of the movie? WTF?

Sure, you have to give them credit for abandoning the old Robin standbys: the archery contest, Maid Marion rescue, the evil Sheriff and even the Man in the Iron Mask variants. But the funnest part of this movie is when Crowe finally robs some guys. I didn’t necessarily need to see all that, but I paid my ten bucks, give me SOME Robin Hood stuff.

The movie also leaves itself open to a sequel. I don’t see that happening. Robin Hood saves England from France in this one. What next? The Death Star? The story is just too big and unwieldy for its own good. I give it 3.5 keggers out of ten. If you can borrow the DVD, maybe check out the first act, but bail before Crowe’s big “liberty speech”. It was just weird to me.