Online: Watch a video commentary. Comment.

CASEY PHILLIPS: If there's one thing we, and especially Ridley Scott, should learn from "Robin Hood," it's that you don't mess with a myth.

As a part of our cultural history, most people probably know the Robin Hood story backward and forward, but Scott has approached the legend from a new angle by focusing on his origins.

Because this is a reimagined prequel, many of the characters are quite different than you remember. Robin (Russell Crowe) is a tragic figure of low birth, not a noble stripped of his land. Prince John (Oscar Isaac) is still a jerk but actually becomes king when Richard the Lion Heart Replica Porsche Design Watches is killed during the Crusades (historically accurate, but not as fun). Maid Marion (Cate Blanchett) is a widow and heir to a depressed land, not a high-ranking noble.

Despite some serious acting clout, the film replaces the expected merriment with an overabundance of seriousness, large-scale battles and other Scott accouterment that feel entirely out of place. So little homage is made to the myth that if it weren't for the familiar character names, this would be "just another Scott underdog epic."

HOLLY LEBER: I for one would have had no idea who the characters were if they hadn't been appropriately labeled. In a story with so much history, the players should be clear.

And appropriately cast. I'm not certain that there's a distinctive age set for Robin Hood, but Russell Crowe is too old for the role, particularly in a story set in the 12th century. The average life expectancy at the time was about 30 years, so a 46-year-old just beginning his legendary outlaw career has got to be pretty darn spry.

Crowe also seems too dour to be a proper Robin. For crying out loud, the man ends up with his very own cheap lace front wigs band of merry men. Here, the hero comes across as shadowed as the palette surrounding him.

CASEY: The film does have its bright spots. After "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Gladiator," Scott clearly knows his way around a battle sequence, and although I'm a little tired of his blanched visual style, it certainly fits the darker tone.

HOLLY: And Blanchett, despite also being a bit long in the tooth for her role, pulls it off with aplomb. She's capable and no-nonsense, without sacrificing her femininity. Granted, this role is Queen Elizabeth with drabber clothing and a better hairline, but she still does it well.

CASEY: If this were "Gladiator II: A Medieval Tale," it would have been passable. As a "Robin Hood" film, however, it's as much fun as undertakers crashing spring break in Panama City.

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HOLLY: I think that was the original title.

E-mail Casey Phillips at and Holly Leber at .

Casey Phillips & Holly Leber

REVIEWED THIS WEEK

* Movie: "Robin Hood."

* Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong and Oscar Isaac.

* Rating: PG-13 for violence including sequences of warfare and some sexual content.

* Synopsis: The story of how an archer in the crusading armies of Richard the Lion Heart came to save a kingdom, only to become the world's most notorious outlaw.

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