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The yarn begins in Palestine where Locksley, imprisoned by
the Moors, manages to escape and make his way back to England
- followed closely by Azeem (Morgan Freeman) whose life he
has saved.
The men become friendly and much of the fun of the movie
involves the views put by Azeem on the appallingly low standards
set by the allegedly "civilised" Christians.
Freeman is excellent as the wise Moor and he and Costner
have a good on-screen bond. The reparte is fun and is far
more natural than Costner's stilted and hammy grand-plan talks
to the troops.
Hood has a run-in with Guy of Gisborne, the sheriff's cousin,
played nastily by Michael Wincott, and that sparks a long-running
feud.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is excellent as the feisty Maid
Marion and brings a modern-woman touch to her role.
The movie is filled with first-class fight scenes, humour,
lovely photography and good characters (even the bad guys).
However, as good as the action scenes are and as fun as Robin
Hood: Prince of Thieves is, it would be nothing if not
for Rickman. He unashamedly steals scenes left right and centre
as the wickedly hyperactive sheriff.
The transfer is very good, the sound comes only on a surprising
Dolby Stereo, BUT (and this is a big but) the disc is a flipper.
Just why we have to cop flipper discs in today's world is
absolutely beyond me.
Still, if you like the movie you can put up with hopping
off the couch and giving it a flip.
Conclusion: Movie 80%, Extras 20%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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