Soundtrack Review: Robin Hood (2010)

Robin Hood Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the motion picture score Robin Hood by Marc Streitenfeld.

"It's unoriginal, but at least it's exciting."

The year is 2010, and the movie is Robin Hood, Ridley Scott's take on the mythic hero. Many have been looking forward to this version that visits Robin Hood's universe in-depth. This time the man in those green tights is Russell Crowe, but to me it will be hard to accept without the looks of Kevin Costner. See I grew up with the '91 version and my big sister bought the score by Michael Kamen, except she bought it for that Bryan Adams song. I however enjoyed the Kamen score immensely and still do to this very day. This year the job falls to Ridley Scott's right hand man Marc Streitenfeld yet again. I was far from impressed with his earlier work, but will this be any different? The early samples were quite impressive and I haven't given up on Mr. Streitenfeld just yet.

Track List

What a difference

Yes I will say it, the previous scores by Streitenfeld have been a bore from start to finish. I didn't get much enjoyment out of American Gangster or Body of Lies. I always knew that Scott would choose him and I was afraid, very afraid. A movie like Robin Hood needs excitement and adventure and it needs themes that have been lacking in his previous efforts.

It starts off quite well with 'Destiny' that has a very mysterious and eerie tone to it. The use of voices which sound a bit too mechanical is a dislike, but this has definitely potential. Then comes 'Creatures' which is a total nightmare for me. I wasn't expecting this from Streitenfeld. It isn't boring, but it totally ruins the mood that was set in the first track. In the third cue 'Fate Has Smiled Upon Us' there is indeed a reason for smiling. This cue is what I expect from Robin Hood, a proper heroic theme even though it's taken almost verbatim from Transformers by Steve Jablonsky. At least this feels right.

I admit, this score is a mess. It's all over the place, mixed with great cues and cues which doesn't fit here at all. Still, the many great cues like 'Pact Sworn in Blood' and 'Landing of the French' show that Streitenfeld can put some excitement in his scores.

He even brings out great themes like in 'Sherwood Forest' which is a delight to listen to. Perfectly orchestrated with just the right amount of pressure. The best is when it takes off around 1:14, my hairs truly stood on end and this is what great film music should do. It's the first proper goosebump moment of the score. More goosebumpy heroics in the cue 'Robin Speaks' which is a valiant theme created for a great moment in the movie. It finishes off quite strongly with some themes that I would love to see developed more in the cues 'The Final Arrow' and 'The Legend Begins'. A few cues could have been dropped and some more should have been added and this would be an absolute stormer of a score.

Conclusion

I have to say that I am impressed what Marc Streitenfeld has done here. He has borrowed from some of his Remote Control Production pals and the score feels Joblonskyzimmerish at times and you might ask yourself: Why do we need another Zimmer clone? Well I'll tell you why. There are almost none left. I am still waiting for Zimmer to bring back his King Arthur/The Last Samurai days, but until that, Streitenfeld delivers a fine score that I'm sure will grow even further on me in time. It's unoriginal, but at least it's exciting.

->Buy the CD on Amazon<-

Listen to the Robin Hood soundtrack by Marc Streitenfeld below: