Originally this was to be called Nottingham and have the Sheriff as the hero – which totally went against the DNA of what is one of the all time popular stories in the English language. Then they replaced it with a new story which also goes against that DNA.
I think why Robin Hood always works is that every little boy (and girl) at some stage dreamed of living in the forest with your mates, robbing from the rich to give to the poor, and fighting in a good cause. Here Robin is an archer, getting on a bit in years, fighting for Richard in Europe – who pretends to be a knight in order to get home (shades of A Knight’s Tale, also written by Brian Hegeland), including hooking up with the dead knight’s wife (Cate Blanchett, who gives a good performance – but honestly who cares if Maid Marian is played by a good actor, it’s a waste). There’s only one incident of robbing from the rich to give to the poor – he doesn’t get outlawed until the very end. Richard I dies at the beginning so Robin isn’t fighting for restoration of the monarchy, but rather a bill of rights – the Magna Carta (used in Bandit of Sherwood Forest); as presented here it feels a bit tacked on. It’s
hard to tell some of the support cast apart, although the quality of acting is strong (William Hurt makes a surprisingly effective decent noble). Mark Strong, a bald Andy Garcia look a like, is a good villain. Plenty of action including a brilliant final battle and Rusty is a great tough guy hero but it never quite comes alive.
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