They're men, they're men who fight...

Robin Hood
Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Mark Strong
Director: Ridley Scott
Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Summary: Robin Longstryde, a long bowman fighting his way back to England in the crusades, finds himself in a position of responsibility after taking the name of his dead comrade Robin of Loxley and returning home. Pretending to be Loxley he sees first hand the struggles of the people of Nottingham and the insidious plot to allow the French to invade...

People are going to have problems with the new Robin Hood adaptation. It takes the cookie cutter prototype of pervious Hood's and, keeping the cookie analogy going, keeps some of the chocolate chips but changes the dough. Scott has created a hostile world where oaths were honoured as quickly as they were broken and fatherless feral children roam the forests of the Midlands like it was 2010.

This is the serious reinvention that the Robin Hood tale needed if it were to avoid becoming the parody Mel Brooks foresaw way back in 1993. Gone are the green tights of Douglas Fairbanks, the hearty laughter of Errol Flynn and the mullet like hairdo of Kevin Costner to be replaced by yellow toothed, morally questionable but tough, loyal English men who would think nothing of staring down a French army with nothing but a stick and a thin piece of cloth to cover their Chronicles of Narnia.

Russell Crowe's performance as Robin is both blood thirsty animal and rugged charmer. The origins of his much maligned accent are explained by the narrative: this isn't an East Midlands born and bred Robin, he has been drifting around Britain since the age of six. Just as much as his accent doesn't belong, nor does he. Robin finds his home in Nottingham with the family he never had and a cause to fight for.

Cate Blanchett harks back to her Elizabeth performance by donning the silver armour and hitting the battlefield with zeal and the merry men are all present and correct. Mark Addy especially shows the comic fallibility which made him such an audience favourite in The Full Monty with his efforts as drunken Friar Tuck.

Robin Hood isn't your usual summer time Hollywood fare, it shows the birth of a nation with warm English beer, forestry laws and the Magna Carta - and for this it should be applauded. It won't be for everyone but Ridley Scott continues to challenge convention and show that action set pieces don't need fast cuts, 3D interactivity and shaky cams to engage with the audience - simply an exciting story, believable characterisation and visceral action. To quote another Scott classic "Are you not entertained?"