In my opinion Russell Crowe is a fantastic actor. I will watch any movie he is in, unfortunately there a quite a few that I haven't enjoyed. Robin Hood is one of them.The last 30 minutes of the movie are pretty good, but the nearly 2 hours leading up to them drag in an almost painful way. This is a prequel to the typical Robin Hood story we are all familiar with. The beginning of the legend type of deal. I thought that was a cool idea and I still do, but the story in my mind is a lot more interesting that this movie turned out to be.
The acting is good, the costuming is impressive, the combat is realistic. Overall I think the movie could have been about an hour shorter and it would have been a much tighter, exciting experience. I'm a fan of the writer (Brian Helgeland) but the dialogue feels meandering for the most part and the story just isn't that interesting. I would have preferred to see the legend of the man with some kind of substance - it feels empty and not compelling in any way.
I was excited about this movie. It has all the elements that get me going - medieval era, the rise of a legend, kingdoms at war - and somehow it managed to bore me. I have to rate Robin Hood a 5 out of 10. It's gorgeous to watch but there is nothing to sink your teeth into.
