Robin Hood is a summer action adventure epic which re-unites acclaimed director Ridley Scott with the Australian actor Russell Crowe. This is the fourth time they have worked together on the same project – their most famous collaboration of course being the sword and sandals epic Gladiator. There are swords aplenty in Robin Hood of course, and the similarities between the two films do not end there. Although the screenplays for each film were penned by different writers, both films play with fast and loose with the events of real history, and are punctuated with lavish action set-pieces.

When one thinks of previous cinematic treatments of the subject the first thing that spring to mind is the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner. Not only did Costner not bother with an English accent, but his character’s demeanour and physique were far from the grizzled veteran of the Crusades that one might expect. Russell Crowe at least looks more the part of the soldier, and he also makes a fair attempt at an English accent, even if it veers wildly between the West Country, Norfolk and the Midlands.

Crowe’s Hood is a common archer from Richard’s army who abandons his post after the King is killed and intends to return home to England to make a new life for himself. Through circumstance he interrupts an ambush of English knights by French agents – one of the knights is Robert of Loxley whose mission was to carry Richard’s crown back to London. He makes Robin promise to return his sword to his father Sir Walter Loxley, which he stole years ago without permission when he originally left England for war overseas. Robin fulfils his vow and returns the sword to Nottingham where he meets not just Sir Walter (played by Max Von Sydow) but also Robert’s widow Marian (played by Cate Blanchett). Walter encourages Robin to pose as his son to protect his land and to bolster the morale of the local villagers. Agents of the king however soon come knocking demanding their taxes, with disastrous results for the village and the Loxley family.