Robin Hood puts on his tights too seriously

Ridley Scott's austere take on the legend of the Sherwood Forest prince of thieves has movie-goers recalling their feelings toward other notable adaptations of that man in tights. Versions of Robin Hood have ranged from grinning silliness (Mel Brooks' spoof and the 1973 Disney animated romp) to sincere adventure (Errol Flynn's classic 1930s portrayal, Sean Connery's "one-last-job" picture in 1976) to a combination of both ("The Kev" Costner's 1991 experiment). Scott's film, starring Russell Crowe, is set in an England chaotic after the death of King Richard. The plot is steeped in inert political babble, distanced from the simple, satisfying rob-from-the-rich variety of other pictures, stripping out the core pleasures of the legend's oeuvre.