Let me first state for the official reviewing record that both my husband and I truly enjoyed our ‘rob the rich to feed the poor’ experience in the new Robin Hood. It was fun, well acted (as I’ve mentioned before I love Cate Blanchett) and the merry men were a perfect comic relief. Honestly, I think the merry men made the whole movie more enjoyable with their singing, humor and merry making. And of course, I was totally sold on the love story between Robin and Marion.
My one and only (and insignificant and completely silly I admit) issue is simply the casting of Robin Hood. Russell Crowe, I still think you’re great, you were vicious and perfect as Gladiator and brilliant and smart in A Beautiful Mind and we totally dug you as master and commander in Master and Commander. But I just can’t get over a burly, stalky man of the woods. I picture Robin Hood as a lean archer who can leap and twirl (in the manly sense of the words leap and twirl) through the woods like an inhabitant of Sherwood Forest would. Gladiators don’t leap and twirl. They barrel and lunge.
Oh well, I’ll get over it. If Keanu Reeves (I cringe at even mentioning his name in the same review as Russell Crowe) can win me over as Neo in The Matrix, then I can surely learn to love Russell Crowe as Robin Hood. Its four and half stars for me! Dethroning Kevin Costner as the accent-less, acting deficient and bad kissing Robin Hood, is also a behemoth bonus for me.
Motherly Advice: The fighting scenes are fighting scenes, but of the mildly gory variety. There are some bare shouldered women and a man’s unclothed back side. As I mentioned before, the 'merry' men also do quite a bit of drinking their mead/beer (anyone know the difference, if there is one?). You could probably take your teenagers 15 and older to this, but with a filter in place this gem will be a…gem!
Danielle'-Casting Know-It-All
Posts
