Thursday, ITV4, 9:00pm
Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood (2010) is the kind of film that asks, “What if Robin Hood, but gritty?” and then commits to the bit with all the medieval mud and dour-faced realism you’d expect from the director of Gladiator. Russell Crowe takes on the titular role, though his version of Robin Longstride is less a merry outlaw and more a battle-weary soldier caught in a web of politics, taxes, and identity fraud. The film reimagines the legend as an origin story, setting up Robin as a common archer who stumbles into nobility, a grand destiny, and the affections of Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett), all while fending off the villainous machinations of Mark Strong’s Godfrey. It’s a film that swaps Sherwood hijinks for full-on historical drama—like Braveheart, but with more parchment.
Marc Streitenfeld’s score is a key player in the film’s brooding atmosphere, drenching every scene in stirring, if slightly generic, orchestral gravitas. A longtime collaborator of Scott, Streitenfeld delivers a soundtrack that leans heavily on percussion and swelling strings, evoking the grandiosity of medieval warfare while sneaking in just enough folk elements to remind us that, yes, this is still Robin Hood. The music works well in context, even if it lacks the instantly memorable motifs of Michael Kamen’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). If nothing else, it’s an excellent companion for those days when you feel like charging into battle against the taxman.
For all its attempts at realism, Robin Hood 2010 finds itself in an odd limbo between historical epic and adventure tale, never quite delivering the iconic outlaw we expect. There’s no robbing from the rich with a wink and a quip—this Robin is more concerned with forging the Magna Carta than pilfering from the Sheriff of Nottingham. That said, the film does have its merits: strong performances, beautifully grim cinematography, and an ambitious, if occasionally plodding, script. It might not be the definitive Robin Hood adaptation, but it’s an interesting medieval drama wrapped in the familiar green cloak—one that just happens to have misplaced its sense of fun.
- Noel Chambers