Robin Hood **

Well, if you're expecting to see a pleasant fox making friends with bears and other woodland creatures you're definitely watching the wrong Robin Hood. Ridley Scott has taken this classic tale to a new level of action and death with a quite shockingly mediocre effect.

You can clearly see this is done by the director of Gladiator. He loves his scenic shots showing the immense set the cast have to work with. I found myself watching the little characters in the background far, far away still acting the part. This did give an impressive atmosphere to the film, and when it came to the fight scenes, you really were lost as to where to look. Scott works very hard at creating the 'big picture' and does it oh so well. It's just a shame the characters weren't strong enough to fill the giant space the picture had created.

Starring the ultimate definition of a true man Russell Crow, the tale of the do-gooder fighting the evil forces of the rich who try to take money from the poor seems to be lost amongst the fight driven storyline of this film. Obviously I've grown up with the Disney version and expected to see at least some good traits in the lead Robin Hood, but no. We're offered this quite frankly scary and intimidating character who seems to enjoy the occasional fight against hierarchy. Marion played by Cate Blanchett holds some redeeming factors as the ferocious feminist, but again seems to be focused on taking part in a killing sprawl. As for Prince John (Oscar Isaac), well he was just repulsive as a character and to listen to. However, Godfrey (Mark Strong) was brilliant in the acting and fighting, and manages to hold his own against Crow which is usually difficult when acting against him.

I don't understand the problem people had with Russel Crow's accent. It seemed perfectly fine to me which meant it helped with the establishment of setting and characters. The costumes, props and weaponry were spot on to understand the period of this film, as was the script which ultimately gives it a very appealing factor if you like period action films.

It's just a pain the storyline was so dull. The fixation on confrontation in this film carries on from beginning to end which causes a tense aura. Although perfect for a action film, the tale of Robin Hood is nowhere to be seen. It's not just like Alice in Wonderland and retold the story completely; it's created a new story altogether linking it briefly to the tale of Robin Hood. This just hasn't benefited the film at all. Just another period drama lost amongst the releases during the summer of 2010. If you like Russell Crow, you won't be disappointed with his performance, but you will find yourself feeling like you've been dragged through a somewhat pointless story of a once friendly character we all knew and loved.