Robin Hood

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe's newest period epic Robin Hood might look like it could be their next Gladiator, but unfortunately, all it really does is remind us of what a great movie Gladiator is, and that Scott's best work is definitely behind him.

It's not to say that Robin Hood isn't a good movie. It is. It's entertaining and very well-acted, but it just doesn't evoke the same emotion that similar films of this genre do. Aside from the obvious similarities to Gladiator, I was constantly being reminded of Mel Gibson's Braveheart. For example, Marc Streitenfeld's score sounds very similar to James Horner's Braveheart score, and some of the locations and battle sequences are similar as well. When Robin gives his obligatory inspriational speech to rally men into battle, I couldn't help but repeat "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!" over and over in my head.

Maybe Robin Hood's problems lie in the fact that it's a prequel to a story we've seen told many times before. We know who's going to live, so when we see these characters in peril we know that they are in no real danger. I had similar problems with last year's Sherlock Holmes. To make a great prequel, you have to make us forget that we know what's coming next, and Robin Hood, while entertaining and very well-made, just doesn't do that.

B-