JustSON at the Movies: Robin Hood

I was disappointed when I heard that they were redo-ing Robin Hood. Kevin Costner's movie is still awesome and fantastic in every way (and I'll say that about any Costner movie), but Russell Crowe's offering is actually quite good.

But don't expect a Robin Hood movie. This isn't your normal "Here is the Sheriff, here is the merry men" parade that you're used to. Ridley Scott decided to take such a rapid departure from past Robin Hood movies (and cartoons and stories in general), that he basically goes off on his own adventure with it.

Scott does a good job making everything look real, and by that I mean you're looking at a movie for the most part that is almost all principal photography. Not a lot of CGI thrown in there or at least it looks like it. The close-ups of Robin Hood shooting a bow isn't 

Surprisingly, the Sheriff and even Prince John are small players in this movie. The Merry Men are in it, but more for comic relief. Maid Marian is a solid, almost complementary costar to Crowe (played by Cate Blanchette). 

That shouldn't be a surprise, Scott directed Alien and gave Sigourney Weaver the heroic role. He also portrayed Richard the Lionheart as a bit of a buffoon, and how he deals with Richard really throws you off for the rest of the movie and gives you a weird sense of "what the heck is gonna happen?" There's also a few new characters that really seem to fit in nicely.

Oh yeah, and the French are bad guys. How cool is that? 

You'll like this movie because it isn't just a remake... it's a completely different story.