Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
When the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham murders Robin's father, the legendary archer vows vengeance. To accomplish his mission, Robin joins forces with a band of exiled villagers (and comely Maid Marian), and together they battle to end the evil sheriff's reign of terror.
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- Cast:
- Kevin Costner , Morgan Freeman , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Christian Slater , Alan Rickman , Geraldine McEwan , Michael McShane
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Reviews
Simply A Masterpiece
How sad is this?
Excellent but underrated film
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Absolutely love it!!! Could watch it again and again
I have seen this movie over 10 times. Years later it's still stands strong. It's an awesome movie that I WILL watch again.
As enjoyable and watchable as a film adaptation of the legend of Robin Hood is supposed to be made out to be, this film is woefully underdeveloped and silly! Featuring a cast, majority American, whom can't even pull off decent English accents in their featured Nottingham roles, makes this movie, it's characters and it's purpose, foolish and disturbing. The accents of Christian Slater Michael McShane aren't great and nevertheless their character development, As well as Little John's, is not great nor is their presence of any importance as it's supposed to be in the great tale of Robin Hood. Kevin Costner's performance as the titular hero also isn't great, nor is his lack of attempt to try an English accent, but instead we're invited to oversee the tale with Yankee Robin Hood instead. The only great and plausible things about Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, is the performances of Alan Rickman as the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and Morgan Freeman as Robin's sidekick Azeem. Their performances are noteworthy and excellent and give some greatness to this woefully failed tale of one of greatest known tales of all time.
No Robin Hood movie can dream of even coming close to the perfection that is 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood, but Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves ranks as my 2nd favourite movie about the famed English outlaw. If the 1938 Robin Hood is one extreme of a bright, colourful, tight wearing, saccharine induced fantasy and the Ridley Scott Robin Hood is the opposite extreme of an unnecessarily dark, gritty and overly mature version of the tale, then Prince of Thieves is the middle ground.Is the all American Kevin Costner miscast as Robin Hood? Yes. But do I care? No, not really. Costner's enthusiasm does come through in his performance and shows he has what it takes to be an action hero. Most people won't think of Costner as a screen presence, but to me he is. Likewise, realism is besides the point with a movie like this.The movie opens unexpectedly in Jerusalem showing that this is a Robin Hood movie which does thing a bit different, largely with the character of Azeem (Morgan Freeman), a black man in medieval England. Azeem represents positive representation of an Arab as well as the Arab world. He holds more progressive views on women and in one of the movie's pivotal scenes in which he hands Robin a rudimentary telescope (very similar to a paralleling scene in Dances with Wolves) which isn't recorded to have been invented until the 17th century. However the notion that an individual or individuals from the Arab world might have known about such technology isn't a too "out there" idea due to the Middle East being far more advanced society during the middle ages. I assume it's unlikely we'll see a character like Azeem in the post 911 world in which the Middle East is no longer portrayed in media as an exotic fantasy land rather than a haven for terrorists. Costner and Morgan Freeman make for a fun duo; who wouldn't want to have Morgan Freeman always by your side giving you winsomely knowledge? After all what other actor embodies dignity more than Freeman? Yes there is a big gaping plot hole when Azeem saves Robin's life as soon as they arrive in England. But do I care? No, not really.The film's message of equality between race and gender isn't shoved down your throat and doesn't come off as overt political correctness. Likewise Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's (try saying that name three times) Lady Marian is a woman in medieval England who has a sense of self and is not subservient to anyone; not historically accurate but progressive. Plus I do love a girl in armour.However it's Alan Rickman who steals the show as the twitchy, scenery chewing mad man that is the Sheriff of Nottingham. His performance is full of little things which feel like they were improvised and his many outbursts are music to my ears. Is it just me or do classically trained actors often make the most memorable villains? Sean Connery's appearance on the other hand is one of the better uses of a celebrity cameo in a film. Just like how the characters are surprised to see Richard the Lionheart we as the audience are surprised to see Sean Connery; plus he's perfect in these kinds of roles.How can that score by Michael Kamen not evoke the adventurer in you? The music is so good that it appears Disney have been using it on their own logo. Likewise I guess I'm also the only person in the world who isn't sick to death of Bryan Adams' (Everything I Do) I Do It For You; I still jam to it now and then. Ah the days when the pop song tie in was as big, if not bigger than the movie itself.Prince of Thieves is good old fashioned swashbuckling action. The action on display has a sense of weight and physicality with the impressive large scale action sequences with even the out there moment with Robin and Azeem being fired over a wall with a catapult still feeling believable, and not a computer generated effect in sight; all practical glory.The movie does the English landscape justice; even in the drab winter weather there is still a beauty to it. Prince of Thieves features some breathtaking money shots, such as that of Robin firing an arrow with an explosion behind him filmed at 300 frames per second; or perhaps my favourite shot in the film, the romantic elevator with the sun in the background splitting the trees. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is film with its faults but I'm so engaged with the world and its aesthetic that I can look past them, a world in which everything feels used and lived in, one beaming with personality.