Movie Review - 'Robin Hood'

Robin Hood Starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett Directed by Ridley Scott Rated PG-13

Sometimes, it's easier to see when a movie goes south than where. For Robin Hood, it was almost a pre-determined verdict: This film isn't the one that was originally pitched, the female lead was replaced by a completely different type of performer and, at one point, the production was delayed so the foliage would be in bloom. And so, the end result, the movie we see, just never hits its stride. It would be tough to know why that happens without that bit of production history. This one went south before it ever started. In fairness, there are admirable qualities about Robin Hood, and the best analogy I can think of is walking through a model home and taking note of all the great amenities, but no matter what room you walk into, you always hear the walls creak. This isn't a bad movie, simply an undercooked, mediocre one, which, when you consider all it should have going for it, actually makes it seem worse. The story needs no introduction, except maybe to writer Brian Helgeland. The actors - Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max Von Sydow, William Hurt - all bring with them a reassuring presence for the audience. Familiar faces if not familiar names Mark Strong and Danny Huston do the voodoo they do so well. You can argue that Blanchett, if not miscast, is certainly under- utilized. She's a force of nature relegated to a supporting female role that only ocassionally does lip service to her stature as one of the five or ten greatest and most versatile film actors alive. Crowe, regrettably, falls into what he has done so well over the years, simply whipping a film into subservience. Honestly, go back and watch The Insider and L.A. Confidential, when Crowe was Brando and Burton rolled into one. The process of creating characters seems to be less important to him or, I hope, to the films.

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Video - Eight Clips from 'Robin Hood'

I'm usually torn about watching a whole lot of clips for a movie before it's released. In addition to lacking context, it can take away some of the surprise and therefore some of the effect of a movie you're looking forward to. On the flip side, it can reassure you that the movie you're anticipating is really going to be worth the effort.

So...here are eight clips for Robin Hood, which has the potential to be summer's sleeper hit. That might not be the best descriptor, since nobody really expects it to quietly sneak into theaters, but in a weak season - which this is shaping up to be - a movie that has enough action to thrill younger audiences and enough story and quality performances for older crowds who want something a little less mindless could hang around for a long, long time. That's what helped the Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe Best Picture winner, Gladiator, which opened inauspiciously in May 2000 with $34 million and wound up making about six times that much. That's a good multiplier. If you hate watching clips, move along. But if you're curious, take a look at these. I think Robin Hood has a big upside, something I sure wasn't saying during pre-production on this one. Robin Hood opens May 14th.

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First Look at Assassin Saoirse Ronan in 'Hanna'

USA Today has he first look at Saoirse Ronan in Hanna. "She'll play raised from childhood to be the perfect assassin by her ex-CIA man father (Eric Bana) in rural Finland. Cate Blanchett is the icy intelligence operative overseeing her mission."

The film reunites Ronan with Joe Wright, who cast her for an Oscar-nominated role in Atonement. Focus has already set this film up for a 2011 release.

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Blanchett, Bana, Ronan in Joe Wright's 'Hanna'

Atonement director Joe Wright hopes to rebound from the misfire of The Soloist (which I had taken to call The So-Soloist) with Hanna, which Focus Features describes an an adventure thriller. It will also be the "biggest production yet" for the Universal arthouse label, according its top guy James Schamus, and it certainly has a cast to match.

Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana will lead the ensemble, and Niels Arestrup, who plays a pivotal role in the foreign language epic Un Prophète, has just inked a deal to co-star. Here's our Prophète review, by the way. Arestrup won the Best Supporting Actor César award for his work in that film. The only drawback I see is that, in the Focus press release, there's a chronology of how many drafts the script has been through. At least five attempts have been made to punch up Seth Lochhead's original screenplay. That can work, but very often a screenplay that goes through four separate writers has a few potholes. We'll hope that's not the case.

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Another 'Robin Hood' Set Visit Video

There's a new Entertainment Tonight set visit from Robin Hood, and outside of things some of us probably don't care about - Cate Blanchett's wardrobe and Russell Crowe bringing his kids to the set - it's a good behind-the-scenes look at Ridley Scott's latest.

We learn a bit about the location Scott and company have chosen to create the village of Nottingham, and there's a little bit of action, too, captured by the ET cameras. We don't hear from Ridley Scott, but Brian Grazer makes an appearance. And wherever Brian Grazer goes, that hairstyle will follow. Crowe talks a little bit about his physical preparation for this role, and he hasn't had as much of that to do in recent years, not since the underrated Cinderella Man, anyway. On the whole, it's a pretty good three minutes and change, especially if you've seen the trailers (both of which I recommend) and now have more interest in this film than you might have earlier in its journey when it didn't seem as promising.

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