In The Hood 2: The Hoodquel

Last May, I talked about wanting to see Robin Hood, starring Mr. Russell Crowe, and how I was afraid I'd dislike it, thanks to Mr. Russell Crowe.

Well, I finally got around to renting it, and I must say... I liked it.  Which is not to say R.C. has totally redeemed himself -- he still has that "Oh, just love me, love me do!" expression on his face all the time, which is kind of obnoxious.  But there's this one scene where he totally rides in and saves the day, and Marion's all "Wooeee baby!" and, admittedly, I also made such an exclamation.  Speaking of Marion, Cate Blanchett made me forget about her part in Indiana Jones 4.  So we'll just wipe that off her slate and call it good, mmkay?

Now, what of the plot?  It's really more of a Robin Hood Begins kind of movie.  Or... it would be if Robin wasn't about 47.6 years old. That's not what I'd call any kind of beginning, unless you happen to be Methuselah or Old Rose from the Titanic.  In that case, I guess Russell Crowe would be considered an infant by comparison.  But where was I going with this?  Oh yeah, so the whole movie shows us how Robin went from being a soldier in the Crusades to becoming an outlaw.  In the BBC show, that took roughly one episode.  In the Kevin Costner movie, it took 20 minutes.  In the Disney movie, he already was an outlaw.  So I guess it's kind of interesting to see more about that progression and...

Oh, yawn, who am I kidding?  I want to see Robin robbing the rich, assisted by merry men and clever booby traps, darnit!!  When this movie ended, even after 2 hours, I was like, "But... but wait!  No!  Why are there credits here?  It's not over!  Curse you, Ridley Scott!"  Speaking of Ridley Scott, did you know he was the executive producer of Monkey Trouble?  I don't know what that has to do with anything, I'm just saying.

Overall, it was a fine version of the beloved story, and what it lacked in hot guys, it made up for in music and cinematography.