I was skeptical about how good Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2,” er, I mean “Robin Hood” would be when I first saw previews. Walking into the theater, I didn’t actually know this version of “Robin Hood” was the back-story, rather than the usual tale told in previous versions of the film — in fact, Robin doesn’t really gain the title of Robin Hood until the end of the film.

I have to say, I was not let down by this new version.

The first compliment I will give goes to the attention to detail. The character’s costumes looked proper for the time period, and the chainmail armor felt heavy looking at it on screen. Though not entirely appealing, the characters were even given yellowed teeth, rather than the pearly whites so many other period pieces seem to overlook.

The next compliment goes to the acting. Prince John, played by Oscar Isaac, had the perfect amount of arrogance brought on by nobility and so-called divine right. He acted the part and looked the part excellently.

Mark Strong played Godfrey, the villain of the story. Strong’s career has been looking amazing as of late. He was the main villain in “Kick-Ass“, he was the head bad guy in “Sherlock Holmes“, and next year he gets to be the big bad in “Green Lantern“, duking it out with Ryan Reynolds. Strong has villain down pat, and I’m happy to see him cast in these roles.

Kevin Durand gave the best Little John portrayal I’ve seen to date.

Cate Blanchett is, well, she’s just an amazing actress, and I am always happy to see her in a movie.

Finally we come to Russell Crowe. He’s a top-notch actor, and probably one of the most convincing actors in the biz today. As if his superb talent weren’t enough to make the film worthwhile, his competition from previous Robin Hoods – specifically Kevin Costner‘s lackluster turn as the people’s hero – isn’t something too hard to overcome. I’m not calling this an Oscar role, but it is good.

Next cool bit, the fight scenes. The battles are brutal and unforgiving, and don’t use any super moves or elaborate, over-choreographed sword fights. There is very little slow-motion action, with the only big slow-mo coming from an arrow being shot by Robin toward the end of the film. This part is fine, as the focus on a Robin Hood super accurate bow-firing is a quintessential part of any “Robin Hood” movie.

The story itself felt a little rushed, but then, it spans a fair amount of time, and as much as I would love for good movies to last for six or so hours, that isn’t really feasible. Regardless, the story gave the background needed and set the stage for the plot to progress without any odd hiccups or obvious oversights.

Time was even made for little homages to past Robin Hood moments, and some quick, but witty jokes that add to the story.

The only flaw I found was with the love story between Robin and Marian. It was a little rushed – I honestly cannot believe I’m even complaining that a love story was cut back. But then, if they’d given more screen time to it, other more interesting parts would likely have been cut, so I’m OK with the rushed love story.

All in all, I’d say this movie is worth seeing in the theaters, and certainly worth owning and rewatching later on.