Gladiator Repackaged?

[Mark M Zima]

http://www.robinhoodthemovie.com/

"What we ask for is liberty by law!" Sound sort of 18th century to you? And did you see Marian, as a liberated woman, wearing armor and shooting a bow with a flaming arrow? These kinds of anachronisms just drive me crazy!

[Sienna]

I am put off seeing Robin Hood now! I was looking forward to it, but it will prob be another let down like King Arthur was!

[Patronus T. Migratorius]

I agree...this is one of those remakes that cannot even come close to matching the original. I mean how can you improve on Errol Flynn and Olvia de Havilland??? I still enjoy watching The Adventures of Robin Hood each time it comes on.

[Mark M Zima]

Originally Posted by Gabriel

"What we ask for is liberty by law!" Sound sort of 18th century to you? And did you see Marian, as a liberated woman, wearing armor and shooting a bow with a flaming arrow? These kinds of anachronisms just drive me crazy!

I think you are referring to this YouTube trailer:



The story of Robin Hood has many narratives. So I am not sure how far the liberties about the facts of the story can be challenged. I just hope Hans Zimmer does the score.

Originally Posted by Sienna

I am put off seeing Robin Hood now! I was looking forward to it, but it will prob be another let down like King Arthur was!

The 2004 production King Author tried to make the heretic Pelagius part of the story. This truly is an anachronism. It would be kind of funny if it wasn’t so sad. Stomaching Pelagius’ theology in any setting is always most trying but to make Pelagius a contemporary of King Author and his teacher is just too much. The idea that the Lord Jesus came to free freemen may be the common Christian’s gospel but it is not the Gospel of Christians. If there was a King Author who followed Pelagius we at least know one thing about him—he was not a Christian.

[Mark M Zima]

Well, I went to see this film over the weekend. This will be a quick review.



I hope you enjoyed my review.

[Heliotropes]

Originally Posted by Mark M Zima

Well, I went to see this film over the weekend. This will be a quick review.



I hope you enjoyed my review.

Oooh! Sounds like I'll have to add it to my must do list this week. It's right up there with finishing end of year testing and painting the living room and removing storm windows.

Seriously, a good site to check movies out before you see them is called kidsinmind.com . They detail if there is religious profanity, let you know about sex scenes, and all that kind of stuff so you can avoid it ahead of time.

[Tradcat]

I saw Robin Hood with another Traditional friend this last Saturday. As a mindless action flick, it was alright I suppose. Pretty special effects and costumes, so from a cinematographical perspective it doesn't disappoint, I suppose, if at's what you're into. I don't recall any bad scenes or even much language (if any.)

From the point of view of the Faith though, it was pretty bad. Cate Blanchett wearing armor in the trailer probably should have told me all I needed to know on that score

The movie was, literally, freemasonic propaganda. Robin's father was said to be a 'stonemason,' who had 'secret traditions' and started a popular revolution. The last half of the movie glorified 'the power of the people' and the Freemasonic ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity constantly.

In addition, of course, there were numerous historical inaccuracies, and the usual portrayal of the Middle Ages as a terrible time when everyone was oppressed, and living in squalor, with an evil Church controlling everything.

I can't help but wonder though, if Ridley Scott has some fascination with the Catholic Social Order that he doesn't even know of, since he also did that Kingdom of Heaven movie that was equally bad ideologically, yet was set in the same era of the Crusades.

[Mark M Zima]

Originally Posted by Heliotropes

Oooh! Sounds like I'll have to add it to my must do list this week. It's right up there with finishing end of year testing and painting the living room and removing storm windows.

Seriously, a good site to check movies out before you see them is called kidsinmind.com . They detail if there is religious profanity, let you know about sex scenes, and all that kind of stuff so you can avoid it ahead of time.

Thank you, Helio. I always read the reviews before I see a film and did so before I saw Robin Hood. Frankly, the reviews are more kind than they should be. I prefer the reviews of Christian Spotlight because that site gives the fullest and most critical reviews with comments allowed from anyone who wants to comment on the film. It is a Protestant site but "there it is." I was hoping for a Gladiatorish presentation of Robin Hood. What I received was a film that was third rate on every level. The only good thing I can say about the film is that the violence was tame compared to Gladiator. Even bad films have good music scores. However, that is not true for this film. I did not hear a Freemasonic message in the film but an argument for the Magna Carta (which some may want to argue was a stepping stone to Masonary). Anyway, there is flow to history and we must remember that attacks against rules at the civil and church level do not operate in a vacuum. We must admit to the flawed human element of the Church in civil as well as ecclesiastical realms before Vatican II. I am never offended when the flaws of members of Church are addressed fairly. Sadly, this is rarely done and that causes Catholics to error in the opposite direction and present Church history as "spotless." This is a principle mistake of the Sedavacantists (I await your thoughts on my paper.). I can relate to Robin Hood, on one level. As a Catholic and an American, I see myself fighting tyranny and injustice for "liberty by law." No one is about the law of God--not the Holy Father in Rome or the the unholy president in Washington.

Here is the review of the film by the USCCB:

Robin Hood (Full Review)

Filmmakers can have myriad reasons for revisiting stories and characters that have captivated moviegoers in the past -- all of which become moot if the new work engages on its own terms. Regrettably, that's not the case with "Robin Hood" (Universal), the latest collaboration between director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe.

Unlike their 2000 Oscar-winner "Gladiator," "Robin Hood" lacks energy and emotion. Despite approaching the legend from a novel angle, this enervating adventure prompts the question, "Why bother?"

Credit Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgelund for offering a serious piece concerning civil rights, set amid the mayhem and machinations of 13th-century Anglo-French politics. There's nothing frivolous or egregious about the effort, yet the social-justice theme gets tamped down along with the swashbuckling and entertainment value.

The action begins prior to Robin Longstride (to use his Saxon surname) becoming an enemy of the crown. Toward the end of his service as an archer on King Richard the Lionheart's (Danny Huston) decade-long Crusade, he has the temerity to criticize the monarch for slaughtering innocent Muslims. Following Richard's death shortly thereafter, Robin deserts, returning to England with the assumed identity of a slain knight.

Together with a small cohort, he travels to Nottingham where he's welcomed as the son of local nobleman Sir Walter Loxley (Max Von Sydow). This ruse entails posing as husband to Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett), who has been struggling to manage the family's feudal estate despite the exorbitant taxation imposed by Richard's doltish brother John (Oscar Isaac) and John's scheming aid Godfrey (Mark Strong).

Since these exactions have angered landowners and further impoverished the common folk, civil war looms, so someone must stand up for all that is just and unify the realm. Robin -- whose late father helped draft a human rights charter before being executed -- fits the bill.

In addition to telling Robin's back story, the key innovation is presenting Marion as the opposite of a dainty damsel. She's a courageous fighter, quick to take up arms.

Unfortunately, this feminist twist doesn't translate into stirring action sequences; it does mute the romance, however, since there's little time for warm sentiments amid all the political intrigue and salubrious civics lessons.

"Robin Hood" is thematically ambitious at the expense of excitement. And any assumption that its production values would be relatively superior to past versions proves incorrect; both tone and texture are disappointingly flat.

Given the historical context, Catholic viewers are unlikely to be offended by jabs at the coldhearted, oppressive church leaders of the period. So too, Friar Tuck's (Mark Addy) taste for brewing and imbibing mead offers little cause for distress.

Overall, though it hovers on the edge of bawdiness, and despite the elements listed below, "Robin Hood" may be acceptable for some mature teenagers.

The film contains much -- mostly bloodless -- battle violence, a nongraphic sexual situation with fleeting rear nudity, an attempted rape, callous clergy, some innuendo and anatomical references and one instance each of crude and crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

[Cecilia_Avery]

I saw the film this past weekend and enjoyed it.

I didn't approach it with any expectations, was just looking for an enjoyable few hours at the theater on a Saturday. This fit the bill and didn't disappoint.

[NWansbutterEsq]

Originally Posted by Tradcat

From the point of view of the Faith though, it was pretty bad. Cate Blanchett wearing armor in the trailer probably should have told me all I needed to know on that score

The movie was, literally, freemasonic propaganda. Robin's father was said to be a 'stonemason,' who had 'secret traditions' and started a popular revolution. The last half of the movie glorified 'the power of the people' and the Freemasonic ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity constantly.

I am not surprised, and rather expected such. The film was made by Ridley Scott, after all, the man who gave us Kingdom of Heaven, one of the worst and most anti-Catholic films ever. Ridley Scott's fascinated with Christendom, all right, in the same sort of way that Jack Chick is fascinated with the Catholic Church.

[3Sanctus]

I always loved the Disney Robin Hood personally...

[Hovannes]

What I dislike about films like this one is that they create mental baggage---anti-Catholic sentiments which viewers harbor for years if not a lifetime. It doesn't matter if the baggage is patently wrong because it is never examined deeply enough to be investigated. That Mother Church is bad and there was lots of action and dramatic music because of it is the part that sticks in the ol' brain pan. And it does stick in the ol' brain pan, distorting one's outlook(heck, an entire generation's outlook if the DaVinci Code numbers are accurate) upon the one true Faith.
Too bad! I liked Russel Crowe in Gladiator.

[NWansbutterEsq]

Originally Posted by Hovannes

What I dislike about films like this one is that they create mental baggage---anti-Catholic sentiments which viewers harbor for years if not a lifetime. It doesn't matter if the baggage is patently wrong because it is never examined deeply enough to be investigated. That Mother Church is bad and there was lots of action and dramatic music because of it is the part that sticks in the ol' brain pan. And it does stick in the ol' brain pan, distorting one's outlook(heck, an entire generation's outlook if the DaVinci Code numbers are accurate) upon the one true Faith.
Too bad! I liked Russel Crowe in Gladiator.

You're very rights -- especially because most people know very little, if any, real history. Watching a film like Robin Hood will therefore be about the extent of their studies in the field, and they will therefore take it as an accurate representation of the period, thus distorting one's outlook immensely since this (the Middle Ages) was the pinnacle of Christian society.