Robin Hood and Hollywood Atrocities

Had a rapid change of plan yesterday ...

Monday night is usually gaming night. However, of late the "yep, we're gaming" or "no gaming tonight" messages have been coming through extremely late. Which has gotten me annoyed as it usually comes through while I'm at work on the Monday, via messages over Facebook. I can't actually get to Facebook at work (wouldn't even if I could, it would expose a password to the admins, not to mention the "work" thing) so I don't know whether or not gaming is on until I get home.

That has started to grate ...

Belligerance hit yesterday, with an impromptu trip over to see the new Robin Hood film. I think I'd have gone anyway, even if gaming had been on as :
Tuesday - one of our number isn't in the country, plus another is in a birthday celebration
Wednesday - business trip guy again, me watching football
(yes, you read that right ... more on that late tomorrow !)
Thursday - cricket

So Monday was the only option for this week, even before irritation at an inability to plan properly crept in. I suspect this irritation has come about partly due to my latest job being more involved in planning. I'm finding myself making Backup Plans upon Backup Plans, with the aim of being able to react instantly to changing circumstances and information.

Meh - that's enough about irritation about not knowing what I'm doing on the Monday evening until typically 30 minutes before I head out, what about the film ?

I have to admit (grudgingly) that I actually enjoyed the latest Robin Hood attempt. That is, I found it entertaining in a guilty hidden secret kind of way. You know the way people say "that was awful!" while hiding a smile they can't help show ? That's it.

It has its Hollywood Atrocities, as all blockbusters these days do, it has actors who can't decide if they're English, Welsh, Scottish or dare I say it Australian and it's another in a long line of Re Imaginings. But for all that, it's mildly entertaining.

Hollywood Atrocities ? It has an extended scene where there's a bunch of guys in boats heading to the shore. Ok, fair enough. We saw that done well in Troy. The issue is the boats they were in ... The people behind this movie were obviously impressed with the Omaha Beach scene in Saving Private Ryan, as the boats bore a huge resemblance to WW2 landing craft made of wood. Would they have floated ? Nope. Would they have made it across the Channel ? Definitely not.

Almost as bad as the HERETICAL Ship On Ground scene in Star Trek. But not nearly as bad as what anyone who has seen an Uwe Boll film has been exposed to.

There's a narrative leading bit with a map too. Some old towns appear there, including Peterborough. Have to admit, I was a bit wrong on this one as I thought Peterborough was a New Town made this century. It did exist back then though (brief but decent article) but after seeing Peterborough listed, I did start expecting to see Milton Keynes up on that map too.

I thought that in Robin Hood's time, the Normans were firmly in charge. This jars with one of the central themes of the movie, which I will not reveal here even though it becomes obvious very early. Hollywood stuff has always included a fair bit of artistic licence ...

Yeah, mildly entertaining. William Hurt and the bit part players add some much needed character to this film. Plus, as they ignore the typical Robin Hood legend backstory, it's a fresh take on the myth.

Worth seeing ? Yes. But only if you haven't seen Iron Man 2 yet.