Review: Robin Hood ***

Director Ridley Scott and leading man Russell Crowe reunite for a thunderous new opening chapter in the legend of the 12th century folk hero.

Shot with Scott's typical bombast, this Robin Hood juxtaposes spectacular battle scenes with romantic interludes, political intrigue and melancholic flashbacks, all set to Marc Treitenfeld's rumbustious score.

It's unabashedly macho and predictable with an inevitable battle cry for Crowe to rally the troops into action: Gladiarcher, if you will. Richard The Lionheart is slain on the battlefield by the besieged French. Fearless archer Robin Longstride (Crowe) and his friends Little John, Will Scarlet and Allan A'Dayle head back to England. In order to secure safe passage, Robin poses as slain knight Sir Robert Loxley and continues the ruse with the dead man's wife, Marion (Cate Blanchett), so that she clings on to the family estate. Over time, Robin falls in love with Marion. Meanwhile, in London, Prince John seizes the throne.

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Robin Hood is a lively jaunt through Plantagenet history, incorporating the familiar figures of Friar Tuck and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Crowe's accent roams the British Isles depending on who he is acting opposite, which is distracting, but Blanchett is luminous.

Screenwriter Brian Helgeland ends with Robin and co exiled in the forest, accompanied by the title card, "And so the legend begins". If Scott's film hits the bullseye at the box office, you can be sure that Robin and Marion will ride again in

a sequel.

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