I really wasn’t that keen on Russell Crowe playing Robin Hood in Ridley Scott’s upcoming ‘Robin Hood’ at first. Crowe is clearly one of the best actors of our generation, as is Cate Blanchett, who plays Lady Marion, but I envisioned the film with younger actors.
On the other hand, their age and experience brings a certain wisdom to the characters that you wouldn’t have with younger actors, so I’m totally onboard with it now, especially after seeing the trailer (I’ve embedded it after the jump below).
The story follows the life of Robin in 13th century England, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French to his journey to Nottingham after the king’s death.
Nottingham could be ripped from today’s headlines, as the town suffers from the corruption of a nefarious sheriff and crippling taxation. Once there, Robin falls for Marion, and also hopes to salvage the village by assembling a gang with lethal mercenary skills. They soon begin preying on the town’s upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff. We so need a Robin Hood today, but until one comes along, we’ll have to make do with the one onscreen.
‘Robin Hood’ opens in theaters May 14, 2010, and also stars Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey, Kevin Durand as Little John, Matthew Macfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Danny Huston as King Richard, William Hurt as William Marshall and Mark Addy as Friar Tuck.
It’s going to be really hard to top Alan Rickman’s version of the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991’s ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ with Kevin Costner, so we’ll see how Macfadyen measures up.
The screenplay is by Brian Helgeland, and the producers include Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. All in all, that’s some pretty good pedigree backing this movie. Would love to hear your thoughts, and whether you’re looking forward to seeing it.
Images: Universal Pictures
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