I have to admit that I am a little leary about director Ridley Scott’s upcoming take on the Robin Hood legend.
Not because I don’t like the director’s previous work. Far from it. I think he has created a few undeniable classics (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma And Louis) and almost never lets his visual style get in the way of telling a solid story. (I know that I am in the minority when I think that Gladiator is one of those exceptions.)
It is just that when Scott originally became attached to the project, it was called Nottingham and featured the Sheriff in the role of hero, caught between the corrupt Prince John and an outlaw hiding in nearby Sherwood Forest who was promoting anarchy. However, some rewrites straightened out the twists that the original Nottingham screenplay had given the legend to a more traditional story.
From the newly leaked trailer below, we can see that Scott isn’t skimping on the style for Robin Hood. And Russell Crowe looks suitable intense, letting us know that this movie is going to be more about a peasant’s revolt against unjust rulers rather than a swashbuckling adventure, a la Errol Flynn’s 1938 defining version of the character. Though I have to admit, that heavy guitar music featured in the trailer is a big mistake. It’s trying too hard to insist that this is an edgy retelling of the story. Much like some of the promotion for the upcoming Clash Of The Titans, the studio seems to want the message to be “This isn’t your father’s old fuddy-duddy Robin Hood.”
Below the trailer are several new pictures from the film (via the Courier Mail) which include our first look at Cater Blanchett as Maid Marion. Robin Hood opens in theaters on May 14, 2010.
