'Robin Hood' — 2 out of 5 stars
In a world where “going green” is the hottest trend, “Robin Hood” recycles old characters like a liberal soccer mom from San Francisco attempting to reduce her carbon footprint. It’s not that director Ridley Scott cares about the environment, it’s that the man ran out of ideas and decided to typecast big name actors to create an unoriginal film.
Here’s a rundown of the thespians and their roles, which you may have seen before.
In “Robin Hood,” Russell Crowe plays a masculine man of the people who battles tyranny like he did in “Gladiator,” Cate Blanchett plays a tough chica who stands strong in a male-dominated society like she did in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and Mark Strong plays the evil villain who will step on anyone on his path to power like he did in “Sherlock Holmes.”
Unfortunately, there are not enough slow motion archery scenes in the film to save the audience from flat characters.
Giving credit where credit is due, the film is at least appears to be historically accurate, even the extras look like they haven’t bathed in years. And it looks as though a star was born in Oscar Isaac, who plays Prince John.
If you can muscle yourself past the first half of the film, “Robin Hood” has some badass parts, but it would be better to save your cash and rent the Disney version where Robin is a freakin’ fox.