6.6 Birth of a legend. Following King Richard's (Danny Huston's) death in France, archer Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe), along with Will Scarlet (Scott Grimes), Allan A'Dayle (Alan Doyle), and Little John (Kevin Durand), returns to England. They encounter the dying Sir Robert Loxley (Douglas Hodge), whose party was ambushed by treacherous Godfrey (Mark Strong), who hopes to facilitate a French invasion of England. Robin promises the dying knight he will return his sword to his father Sir Walter Loxley (Max von Sydow) in Nottingham. Here, Sir Walter encourages him to impersonate the dead man to prevent his land being confiscated by the crown, and he finds himself with Marion (Cate Blanchett), a ready-made wife. Hoping to stir baronial opposition to weak Prince John (Oscar Isaac) and allow an easy French take-over, Godfrey worms his way into the Prince's service as Earl Marshal of England and brutally invades towns under the pretext of collecting Royal taxes. Can Robin navigate the politics of barons, royals, traitors, and the French?
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Streaming rights come and go, and picture quality is squeezed by bandwidth. A 4K UHD or Blu-ray disc gives you the film permanently, in the highest fidelity, with the extras and commentary that streaming usually drops.
Accolades: 1 win & 14 nominations total