Saturday, August 16, 2008

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves


In what I believe is a prequal to Tin Cup, Kevin Costner takes on the role of Robin Hood... and the role wins. Costner is joined by such talent as Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman and... um... I guess Christian Slater sort of counts. Returning from the crusades to find that Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham has killed his father (that's Mr. Hood to you) and taken over their family land, Robin joins the rebellious tenants of Sherwood Forest to fight back in the name of his family and King Richard (holy shit, is that Sean Connery?). Along the way Robin is joined by side characters familiar and not in Robin Hood lore including the drunkard Friar Tuck, his newfound love Maid Marian, his Moore companion, and his blind servant adding more depth than one would normally find in this classic outlaw tale.

Running Time: 143 minutes
Original Release: 1991

It's rating time...
(Need a rating system reminder?)

Death - $1
Considering the number of fights or battles there was potential for a lot more and a lot better death. I was tempted to give this one a goose egg, but the scene where Morgan Freeman chucks that big ass sword through the crazy witch lady... yeah, that deserves a dollar at least.

Acting - $1
Inconsistent would be an understatement in describing the performances in this movie. Morgan Freeman? Awesome. Alan Rickman? Genius. Costner and Slater made me feel like I was watching a medieval Bill & Ted. British accents were varied between actors and had Houdini-level disappearing acts. If it had meant to be campy then I would probably be a bit more forgiving.

Repeat Play - $1
I never wake up in the morning and think to myself "golly self, you should watch Prince of Thieves today, then go wash the feet of the homeless" but I DO feel the need to pop in the DVD whenever I hear "Everything I Do, I Do it for You"... you win this round Bryan Adams.

Action and Ass-Kickery - $1
I hate to be a jerk but I really think there could have been more scrappin' in this movie. Considering the over-two-hour run time there was ample opportunity for action. It seems Hollywood felt differently though and added weak romance and weaker comedy into the mix.

Romantics - $1
An unavoidable part of the story, the romantic connection between Robin and Marian felt somewhat forced and unnatural. It sort of makes sense that they had interest in each other since he's the only guy in the movie that admits to bathing and she's the apparently the ONLY attractive lady in England. There were a few moments of believability, but overall it just feels awkward for them and for us.

Total Rating: $5

While the budget for this film definitely stole from the rich, I'm not sure how much it gave back to the poor. Don't let that stop you from seeing it though. I do have to admit that Prince of Thieves has a certain entertaining element that made room for it in my collection and brings me back to watching it at least a couple times a year. Oh... and you see Costner's bare bum through a waterfall. Don't say I didn't try to warn you. If you're not still reading this far down then you have no reason to complain about not being prepared to avert your eyes.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"...the scene where Morgan Freeman chucks that big ass sword through the crazy witch lady..." -- I now have to re-watch this movie because that scene was awesome the first time I saw it. Unfortunately this movie only ever comes on TV on Sundays at 3am (on TNT).

Courtney said...

oh yoshi...you are so right. however, one of my favorites scenes is when alan rickman explains the importance of killing someone with a spoon "because it will hurt more, you idiot!" he was an inspired choice for this film.