For whatever reasons, I had low expectations for this movie. That may be why I liked it. The story is a mix and match of classic Robin Hood lore and new tidbits that creates an origin tale . A better name for the movie might have been 'Robin Begins'.

Hardly a spoiler, a 'forget what you think you know' premise is set up in the first minutes of the movie by showing the death of Robin Of Locksley. The hero, played by Crowe, is another man named Robin who takes Locksley's identity as a king's knight in a fashion not dissimilar to that of Ulrich von Liechtenstein in 'A Knights Tale'. Unfortunately, with the name, he inherits all the woes of Nottingham's prodigal son as well. Take a civil war in an England ruled by an imbecile king and backstabbing royal adviser, throw in the french for fun and you have your new twist on an old tale.

The plot is a bit more complex than a standard blockbuster good guy bad guy superhero type movie which manages to be both a blessing and a curse. The story itself is the main character and the movie sometimes seems to be a slave to it forcing you to suspend disbelief not on a ridiculously accurate arrow but on 'why would anyone even let that happen' moments. Also, you won't get a vested relationship with Robin Hood as you did with Scott and Crowes' Gladiator. Everyone is a supporting actor and very little is done to create the motives for why anyone is involved.

Overall, it is a fun movie. If you liked Kostner's Robin Hood, and Antoine Fuqua's 'King Arthur' then there is no reason not to check this out.

Also, the King John character is a riot. He was my fav part of the movie.