MOVIE REVIEW: Robin Hood ***

This incarnation of Robin Hood is very much an origin story, a 12th Century Batman Begins.

Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is a soldier in King Richard’s Crusades, an archer whose only flaw seems to be his ineffable honesty. "Honest, brave and naïve, there’s an Englishman” quips Danny Huston’s King Richard.

When the King is killed on the battlefield, his aide Robert Loxley is entrusted to bring the crown back to England, only to be ambushed by Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong), a traitorous Englishman working for King Philip of France.

Stumbling across the ambush, Robin and his band of men (never referred to as merry thankfully), chase off the interlopers.

A dying Loxley makes Robin swear that he will return his sword to his father in Nottingham, to which Robin reluctantly agrees.

Adopting the identity of Loxley, Robin and his cohorts bring the crown back to England and Robin delivers the sword to Loxley’s father Walter (Max Von Sydow), who wishes Robin to carry on the deception to save his estate.

Soon Robin becomes embroiled in a fight for the people of Nottingham as the nefarious King John (Oscar Isaac) taxes his subjects into submission and an invasion force of French troops masses on the south coast.

It’s a decidedly more grown up tale, shorn of the cheesy trappings which plagued previous representations of Britain’s best known archer.

The film does very well to reinvent Robin as a plausible character – not a kind of 12th century superhero, but one anchored in reality and whose tale becomes legend through the telling.

To that end, the film has admirable restraint when it comes to showing Robin’s legendary archery skills – he’s made out to be a more than competent without resorting to ostentatious displays that would put Legolas to shame.

The pace is deliberately slow but somewhat necessary for an origin story in order to flesh out the characters and also have something for them to do, but the battle scenes are few and far between – it’s certainly not the action dust up that was implied from the trailers.

And for a film which has as a central concept of the immorality of ruling by divine right (a claim which King John holds), it’s awfully keen to give Robin’s lineage legitimacy by revealing his father was a notable stonemason and wrote the Magna Carta.

It’s the most ridiculous piece of revisionist history since Mel Gibson decided William Wallace sired the future Kings of England and has no bearing on Robin’s already established character.

What next, Sherlock Holmes invented pasteurisation and Francis Drake was the first person to sail to the moon?

Cate Blanchett is reliably excellent as Lady Marion – now reinvented as a working lady of the house and not a fawning wimple-wearing ingénue to be rescued from a pointy tower and she offers some dry humour which breaks up Crowe’s glumness.

But all the best lines go to King John, a decadent weasel of a man out for what he can get. Like all good villains, you almost feel guilty for smiling when you should be booing.

Mark Strong continues his role as everyone’s favourite villain for hire, a menacing and uncompromising bad guy with some excellent lines of his own.

It’s still difficult to shake off the feeling that this is Gladiator with bows. Strap on some armour and he could easily be mistaken for Maximus – albeit with a ropier accent - with a little dash of Braveheart. Crowe painting his face blue and shouting, “Freedom” wouldn’t have been hugely out of place.

While Robin Hood valiantly plays against type for the most part, it’s unable to resist a cherry-on-top trite ending which will clearly set up an inevitable sequel.

Still, it’s nice to see a film where the English are the good guys for once and Brian Adams is nowhere near the soundtrack; it almost brings a little tear to the eye.

Robin Hood (12A) is out now.