By Rebecca Fowler
Staff Writer

I walked into the theater with low expectations.  Friends of mine who saw Robin Hood at midnight had told me it was slow, boring and long (two and a half hours, to be exact).

With these heartening comments in mind, I sat down and braced myself for over 120 minutes of pure misery.

But I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.

The film is filled with a hefty amount of fighting scenes, so if you get bored by too much action or queasy at the sight of blood, Robin Hood might not be a great pick for you.  I, however, enjoyed all the action, as I did not know what the outcome of each fight would be and was genuinely pulled in by the intensity of the characters and battles.

Though the movie is packed with a heavy amount of brutality, it also includes other aspects that make a movie good and well rounded, so as to suit every type of viewer (trust me, there’s plenty of time to incorporate it all).

While violence makes up a good majority of the film, much of it is spent in dialogue too, and of course, there is the cute side plot concerning Robin and Maid Marion to appease our want of a love story.  In this sense, Robin Hood is about both brains and brawn, and it shows the meaning behind the madness.

The movie is set up almost like a prequel.  It walks you through a man named Robin Longstride’s (Russell Crowe) journey into becoming the legend we know as Robin Hood.  Most people are familiar with Hood as an outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, but in this film, actual stealing for good only happens once.  And Hood does not even become an outlaw until the end of the film.

With a very obvious cliff-hanger-style ending, it is clear that a sequel covering the Robin Hood we all know and love will premiere in the not-too-distant future.  And I think it will be even better than the first.

I strongly believe one of the reasons Robin Hood is so entertaining is that Crowe is the lead.  As I watched the movie with scenes from Gladiator flashing through my mind, I realized just how perfectly Crowe fits in these kinds of films.  His role is convincing, and it makes the movie much more realistic and fun to watch.

In the midst of all the gore, drama, love, hate and passion, Robin Hood does have a point.  Through Hood’s struggle to do right as well as win the battle for his country and his life, he demonstrates the importance of perseverance.  He acts upon the goal of never giving up and remains strong for his countrymen, friends and loved ones.

Robin Hood excellently portrays the engraving found on his sword, encouraging viewers to “Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions.”