Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard's army against the French. Upon Richard's death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a sheriff and taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff. With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.I really liked this movie. I liked the action. I liked the story. I loved the characters - especially those that would go on to be his "band of merry men". All of that being said - I feel like the movie could have been better. It felt long. I mean the movie was 2 and 1/2 hours so it is long but it "felt" long. Also, it was as if they were going out of their way to tone it down for a PG-13 rating which makes such little sense to me with a movie of this nature. So as great as the battles were - there was no blood. They pulled back on most of the violence that would obviously be there in major battle scenes like in this movie. The part that people have to remember is that this isn't the typical telling of Robin Hood. This is the story of everything that happened prior to drive him towards the Robin Hood that we know of through the stories.
I would still recommend people checking this out even with all my waa-waa there. Its still entertaining even if it isn't on the same level as Gladiator or Braveheart.
