Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood arrives carrying a tagline that promises uprising: “Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions.” The film itself is a 140-minute origin story that spends most of its runtime explaining how Robin Longstride became the outlaw, and almost none of it letting him be one.
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Runtime: 140 minutes
- Budget: $155–237 million
- Worldwide gross: $322 million
- Crowe’s fee: $20 million against 20% of the gross
- Cannes premiere: 12 May 2010
- US release: 14 May 2010
- Metacritic: 53/100
Trailer, via Universal Pictures.
Russell Crowe’s Long Walk to Nottingham
The setup is historical rather than mythic. In AD 1199, Robin serves as a common archer in King Richard the Lionheart’s army, a veteran of the crusade who takes part in the siege of Chalus Castle. After a tavern brawl and a frank appraisal of the King’s conduct, Robin and his comrades — Allan A’Dayle, Will Scarlett and Little John — are locked in the stocks. Richard dies in the attack on the castle. The archers desert.
They then cross paths with Godfrey, an English knight conspiring with King Philip of France to assassinate Richard. Robin and his men impersonate the dead royal guard to get back to England. Before sailing, Robin promises a dying Sir Robert of Loxley to return his sword to Nottingham and deliver news of the King’s death.
That promise becomes the engine of the plot. Robin assumes Loxley’s identity, romances his widow Marion, and draws the ire of the Sheriff of Nottingham and Godfrey. Cate Blanchett plays Marion, Max von Sydow plays Sir Walter Loxley, and Mark Strong plays Godfrey.
A Sheriff Who Never Gets His Movie
The most telling detail about Robin Hood is what it was supposed to be. Development began in January 2007 when Universal bought a spec script by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris that focused on a more prominent and sympathetic Sheriff of Nottingham. Crowe was cast in January 2007 for $20 million against 20% of the gross. Scott was hired later that year.
Rewrites delayed the film through 2008. Brian Helgeland was brought in to rewrite the screenplay, and the story was refocused on Robin Hood, abandoning the Nottingham angle entirely. Matthew Macfadyen eventually played the Sheriff as a supporting part.
That history shows on screen. Robin Hood wants to be a political epic about taxes, French invasion and a bad king, but it keeps stopping to service a legend it hasn’t earned yet. William Hurt’s William Marshal opposes King John’s new taxes and is relieved of his position. Oscar Isaac’s John orders harsh new taxes and dispatches Godfrey north to collect them, unaware Godfrey is using French troops to stir unrest for an invasion.
The Cast Is Better Than the Script
Mark Strong is the film’s clearest asset. He has said his character was originally called Conrad, based on Guy of Gisbourne, blond and disfigured by a crossbow bolt. The version on screen is a colder, more functional villain, and Strong makes him work.
Blanchett replaced Sienna Miller, who exited in late 2008 because rewrites made her too young for the role. Rachel Weisz and Kate Winslet were considered first. Eileen Atkins replaced Vanessa Redgrave as Eleanor of Aquitaine after Redgrave withdrew following the death of her daughter Natasha Richardson.
What the Film Gets Wrong
Robin Hood premiered at Cannes on 12 May 2010, the same day as its UK and Ireland release, then opened in the US on 14 May. It grossed $322 million worldwide against a $155–237 million budget. Those numbers are respectable, not triumphant, and they match the film: expensive, competent, and unable to decide what it is.
The action is serviceable. The politics are muddled. The romance between Crowe and Blanchett never catches. What’s missing is the outlaw — the man who robs from the rich. This Robin spends 140 minutes becoming someone the sequel could finally use.
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