Out of all the trailers and clips for Robin Hood this one raised the bar and increased my interest in this massively. I was always gonna check it out, I’m highly susceptible to epic, sword and sandal’s films as it is, without even considering the fact that the Director (Ridley Scott) and Lead Actor (Russell Crowe) brought the world Gladiator, one of my favourite films. Check out the trailer below it won’t disappoint!

In Robin Hood, the Earl of Huntington (Crowe) has returned to his North English village after fighting in the Third Crusade. Upon arrival, the nobleman and his servants discover the oppression caused by Nottingham’s new Sheriff (Matthew Macfadyen). Robin along with his band of Merry Men use their intelligence and military skills to free his home village from tyranny and corruption by taking back what is rightfully his. Robin must also win the affection of the recently widowed Maid Marian (Blanchett), while attempting to lead a successful revolt.

The Domestic Trailer was released just a week ago, now today see’s the release of the International trailer, providing us with a lot more dialogue and an brief outline of the plot. So far reactions have been mixed in England to this (from what I’ve been hearing), which is kind of where I stand, on one hand it’s Russell Crowe he’s great at these roles (see Gladiator for proof) and Ridley Scott is not too shabby of a director when it comes to historical epics either (see Gladiator and Kingdom Of Heaven for proof). But on the negative side why isn’t Robin Hood an English actor (Sean Bean, Paddy Considine, Dominic West, Daniel Craig, Jim Sturgess, Christian Bale, Tom Hardy ect). I’m still definitely gonna check it out and after some thought I don’t give a monkeys what country the actor is from, as long as the film is good!

Robin Hood chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion , a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff.

With their country weakened from decades of war, embattled from the ineffective rule of the new king and vulnerable to insurgencies from within and threats from afar, Robin and his men heed a call to ever greater adventure. This unlikeliest of heroes and his allies set off to protect their country from slipping into bloody civil war and return glory to England once more.

Check out the International Trailer for Robin Hood below – it’s pretty good! If this this half as good as Gladiator I won’t be too disappointed, I LOVED Gladiator. To be honest though I’m in two minds about this film, I really like Russell Crowe, for me he is one of the best  living actors, he has shown he can play this sort of roll brilliantly, the supporting cast (Mark Strong is one the most underrated actors of our generation) is also quality as welltop draw. The problem I have with this is that another non British actor is playing another iconic British character (not to mention the rest of the cast is very non British), I believe over the last 2 decades this country has produced enough quality actors to play roles such as Robin Hood and Sherlock Holmes, there are a number of British actors that would be great as Robin Hood – Christian Bale (maybe Batman, John Connor and Robin Hood would be pushing it), Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell (he’s from Nottingham!), Paddy Considine, Dominic West, Daniel Craig, Jim Sturgess and Tim Roth to name a few.

I’m probably being a little unfair, Imagine Entertainment in this current financial climate are spending  over $130 million on this film, they want to at least know they’ve got a bankable Oscar winner in Russell Crowe.  Also Ridley Scott is a GREAT Director who obviously knows a lot more about creating classic films than me – this is the man who brought the world Alien, Blade Runner and American Gangster! I guess we’ll have to wait and see,  the Film is due for release on May 14, 2010

A couple new set pictures have been released from Ridley Scott’s upcoming Film Robin Hood. (check more out here)

Robin Hood stars Russell Crowe (in his 5th collaboration with Scott) as Mr R. Hood, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Strong, William Hurt and Danny Hudson also feature.

To be honest I’m too sure about this, I really like Russell Crowe for me he is one of the best actors living actors, he has shown a number of times he can play this sort of roll brilliantly, I am also impressed by his dedication to this role and the supporting cast (Mark Strong is one the most underrated actors of our generation) is quality. The main problem I have is that another non British actor is playing another British icon (not to mention the rest of the cast being very non British), I believe over the last 2 decades this country has produced enough quality actors to play roles such as Robin Hood and Sherlock Holmes, there are a number of British actors that would be great as Robin Hood – Christian Bale(maybe Batman, John Connor and Robin Hood would be pushing it), Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell (he’s from Nottingham!), Paddy Considine, Dominic West, Daniel Craig, Jim Sturgess and Tim Roth to name a few.

I’m probably being a little unfair, Imagine Entertainment in this current financial climate are spending  over $130 million on this film, they want to at least know they’ve got a bankable Oscar winner in Russell Crowe. Also Ridley Scott is a GREAT Director who obviously knows a lot more about creating classic films than me – this is the man who brought the world Alien, Blade Runner and American Gangster! I guess we’ll have to wait and see, the teaser trailer should be released late December/January and the Film is due for release on May 14, 2010