Review: Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves Is A Flawed Classic.
- Apr 11, 2017
- 2 min read
Robin Hood is arguably one of the greatest stories in English folklore, a timeless tale that has been retold in many forms. The Robin Hood I grew up with had witches, cults and Alan Rickman, along with the usual longbows, merry men and Sherwood Forest and it remains one of my favourite films of all time.
Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) escapes from Turkish imprisonment during the Third Crusade. During his escape he frees the Azeem (Morgan Freeman), a Moor. Upon his return to England, Azeem in tow, Robin learns of the death of his father at the hands of the sheriff (Alan Rickman) and the witch Mortianna (Geraldine McEwan). Vowing revenge, he disappears into Sherwood Forest, joins forces with number of tree dwelling outlaws and begins a campaign of of trickery and thievery.
Prince Of Thieves is a movie I very much enjoy. Perhaps it's a product of nostalgia or maybe I just really like it but even I cannot deny there are some problems. Costner's acting for one, ranges from from average to awful and there are some unique camera angles too say the least. The script is far from great Christian Slater's performance might be the worst he's ever given. But for every problem there is something great.
Alan Rickman is one of the best villainous actors around and here he stands testament to that. The sheriff is gloriously over the top, spouting creative insults, wilfully smiting his own men and just being generally nasty, so much so he cancels Christmas. The witch Mortianna is equally vile, though in her own quiet, plotting way. Morgan Freeman gives a solid performance, creating the emotional centre of the film and helping to tether Robin to reality. Having one of the best cinematic Friar Tucks doesn't hurt either. And one would be remiss to not mention Michael Kamen's score which stands to this day as some of the best movie music ever written.
Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves is far from perfect but I still enjoy it thoroughly, more so than any other Robin Hood film. It's dark, funny and ever so slightly insane and it's all the better for it.
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