Accent on Hollywood

IF nothing else, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (Pearl, 9.30pm) is resolutely politically correct. Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) is a feminist and Robin (Kevin Costner, with a ridiculous accent) is a man of the people who battles racism and religious intolerance. In his initial escape from a hell of a prison in the Holy Land, Robin is paired with the young nobleman Azeem (Morgan Freeman). Azeem does not share the pigmentation of most young noblemen in Anglo-Saxon England.

This is Robin Hood done to death by Hollywood. It was released theatrically at the same time as Fox's Robin Hood (With Patrick Bergin) and while it is not as good, is more elaborate and became a far bigger hit. It has the bonus of a theme tune by Bryan Adams, a famous Canadian.

First that accent. Director Kevin Reynolds (Fandango) seems to have made no effort to unify the cast, so the acting styles and the accents differ wildly, and obviously. Costner is said to have attempted an English accent, but gave it up during production. What is left is a Robin Hood who sounds like a cross between Bart Simpson in tights and Prince Charles.

When Robin of Loxley gets back to Blighty after being jailed for his part in the crusades, a rude surprise awaits him. His father (Brian Blessed, the British Shakespearian actor) has been done in, Richard the Lionheart is in exile and the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), who rules with the guidance of a cackling witch, has laid siege to the countryside.

While travelling through Sherwood Forest (Sheeeerward Far-rest), Robin is set upon by Little John and his gang of merry men. Except they are not so merry; they are honest men who have been driven from their homes by Nottingham's cruelty. Robin defeats Little John in hand-to-hand combat, wins his trust and becomes the group's leader.

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves falls somewhere between the tally-ho adventures that Errol Flynn always seemed to star in and the revisionist versions released in the 70s which tried to highlight the squalor and deprivation of ancient times.