Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

I had watched this film many times before it was shown at film club, but never had I really thought about it. Namely Kevin Costner’s pathetic attempt at an English accent. For the one role of a true King and for country Englishman, I thought he could have tried a little harder.

This story is a more deep and complex version of Robin Hood, Marginally more believable than perhaps the Disney version. I liked the way that this film was mixed with crusades, as the makers obviously realized this as the same era. It is interesting to see the ignorance of all the English crusaders towards the Moors. On a related subject, there is an additional character, Azim, who is sworn to return the favor of saving Robin Hood’s life when he did the same in the crusades. Azim is practical, and a good fighter, but he also educates the English people to the fact that Moors are not savages. So in many ways, this film is about racism.

The acting was very good (not excellent) and other than his appalling accent, Kevin Costner is undoubtedly a good actor. Of course, Alan Rickman was an amazing sheriff.

Unfortunately, I felt this film could not decide on a genre and jumped between them, leaving the watcher confused of emotions. Other than that, and the accent, this film was perfect. It would actually be three and a half stars, but I will up it to four.