Robin Hood - Extended Director's Cut [DVD]

I like different takes on the same subject matter. May be this is why -against all the negative feedback here- I still like this movie. It could also be the fact that I am not English (although I am very familiar with Robin Hood and I love the concept as it is universal) and have no national pride involved. Still, the aura around this film, the way it tells the story made me like it.
First of all, (my observations are nowhere near objective as I am no history buff) everything looked more authentic. The way Scott handles Lionheart and Prince John appear to be more realistic. May be this Robin Hood takes itself too seriously but I believe it is a fresh approach. Up to now, it has always been Robin Hood and his merry men. Now it is Robin Longstride with his ex-military guerilla.
Every legend has something true at its root, which has been so twisted out of shape that it would be very hard to recognize after so long a time. Ridley Scott is attempting to explain how this legend came to life. And I believe he succeeds.
Are there no flaws? Of course not. Crowe's accent is a problem but Blanchett's serene, strong Marion balances his faults. Beautiful shots throughout the movie made me disregard the slow storytelling. Actually, for me it strengthened the effect of the film. I hate it when a director goes too quickly over character build-up, scene setting to the battles etc. It is not all about action. The legend has a heart and the film also tries to reflect that.
There are times when the hype around a movie becomes its pitfall. I feel everybody expected the ultimate Robin Hood from Ridley Scott. It isn't. But it is still a very, very good movie.

Just a reply to a couple of points raised by others.
Firstly, as far as we know, Robin Hood is a conflation of various other 'rebels'and now unknown story-tellers favourites or a purely mythical creation.
There would have been already well-known stories of adventure and derring-do re-ascribed to 'Robin Hood' as the action hero 'flavour of the medieval day'.
Therefore, adding another layer to the mythos is not a crime, it's more a continuation of the historical process - the myth of Robin Hood did not spring into being fully formed and finished, after all...
Secondly, Prince John DOES NOT SIGN anything like the Magna Carta in the movie - it actually gets destroyed!
Any complaints about the dates for the signing of the Magna Carta being out by years are therefore irrelevant, as are complaints about Robin Hood's dad writing it.
Obviously, it was just a template, later revived and improved by the English Barons : ) (Joke!)
And thirdly, as for Eleanor of Aquitaine not seeing herself as English, well, she WAS Queen consort of England from 1154-1189, 35 years, her husband being Henry, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, later to become Henry 2nd OF ENGLAND.
At this point, the relationship between England and France was far more indistinct than in the modern day; great swathes of France were tied to England by marriage and conquest. If you were the monarch of a country, you would see yourself as a 'defender' of that nation, be it where you were born or not; it would be your royal duty.
Finally, the wandering accents - unless Ridley Scott did a Mel Gibson and made the whole film in Medieval Anglo Saxon English, Norman French and Medieval Latin, no accent is going to be 'authentic' - we're not even sure what the accents they had back then sounded like!
So, maybe just lighten up and enjoy this movie for the entertainment it is, i.e. not an historical documentary - although, btw, it's the only film I've ever seen that shows the correct way to take off a mail shirt (I'm a reenactor, so 'been there, done that'!)

It was an extreme let-down when I saw this - When you have a great director like Ridley Scott and a brilliant actor like Russell Crowe with a movie subject as rich and exciting as Robin Hood, you expect something at least entertaining. But this was like watching an over-long BBC TV serial - In fact I think the BBC would've made this better if given the chance.

This doesn't even have the usual Ridley Scott visual flair either - It doesn't hold up to his other movies (ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER, BLACK HAWK DOWN etc).

If you want to see some swashbuckling action try the Kevin Costner version which pre-dates this and has the amazing visuals and action you would expect from a Robin Hood movie.