When I first saw this a few years after it came out, I remember thinking how real and gritty it looked. What a fool I must have been, or perhaps it's just a recent viewing of 'Kingdom of Heaven' that has caused this movie to pale in comparison. That's not to say it is bad, it's pretty good, but it's not as good as 'Kingdom of Heaven', which Ridley Scott directed five years before.
Perhaps my dislike of it simply stems from my personal dislike of Europe during the dark ages, but I don't think it was all that it could have been anyway. It basically acts as a set up for a traditional 'Robin Hood' series that never was. By the end of the film we have reached the stage that we usually are at at the beginning of every 'Robin Hood' story. This is kind of cool, but the story line with the invading French and everything was so ridiculously major that anything else would look boringly mundane in comparison.
It starts in France, where Robin is tagging along with the soon to be dead Lionheart. It takes a while to get anywhere recognisably Robin Hoody, and the plot gets a little silly. The acting is fine, though, and the script is alright. Some of the scenes seem a little contrived though, and did we really need the pseudo-chosen one aspect with Robin's revolutionary father?
I like the little snippets of Sheriff. As the French barge in and start destroying everything he rushes out of his house to protest, before balking and saying "I'm French - on my mother's side". Also, it was funny that when they initially take Nottingham the French soldiers go straight for the wine casks in the church.
Robin Hood: 42.9