UPDATED: 'Robin Hood' trailer shows dark side of outlaw hero
Posted Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 3:32 PM Central
Last updated Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 1:45 PM Central
by John Couture
Forget the egg nog and all the fa-la-la-la-las, you know what I love about this time of the year? That's right, all these kick ass trailers for next year's biggest movies.
Over the next few weeks, the best Christmas gifts for the die-hard cinephile will unspool on the big screen before all the huge Christmas movies. It's a no-brainer. The studios want to tease their audience during one of the heaviest traffic times for movie theaters.
There's been a ton of coverage concerning which movies will be pimped out before Avatar or Sherlock Holmes, but today's release from Universal of Robin Hood's first trailer might just take the cake.
Sure, this latest project from director Ridley Scott has gotten its fair share of scrutiny from way back when it was called Nottingham and rumored that lead Russell Crowe would play both leads (Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham) in some sort of ground-breaking psychological Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde take on the classic tale.
So, needless to say, while the concept sounded intriguing, especially considering the mini Gladiator reunion, the overall feeling was this had trainwreck written all over it. Fast forward to today and the unexpected release of the movie's first trailer.
The look and feel of it is grittier than anything ever attempted in the Robin Hood canon. I certainly don't see any tights, tight or otherwise. Looking like a mash-up of Braveheart and Gladiator, Robin Hood has the potential to paint the legend in a whole new direction.
Oh, and I'll be the first one to say it. Just going off the trailer alone, Lea Seydoux is going to get her big breakout hit in this movie. Mostly starring in French movies, Lea was first seen by American audiences in Quentin Tarantino's latest Inglourious Basterds.
But why take my word for it? Watch the trailer below and tell us what you think. Robin Hood hits theaters on May 14, 2010.
UPDATE: I always find it funny when studios release an International trailer in addition to a domestic trailer. I guess it's interesting to see what "they" think will sell a movie better to one audience over the other. As you can see above, I was quite impressed with the one released over here, but I must say that the International trailer is much more enjoyable. To me, I see the above trailer as an initial teaser and this one as more of a full trailer and I'm sure the second U.S. trailer will look more like the one below.
Without further ado, here is the International trailer: