For those of you who might have wondered why Marc Streitenfeld became the composer of choice for the great, Ridley Scott, I offer this score as a prime example for your consideration. For me, I knew that these two had developed quite a strong collaborative relationship based on the score for, American Gangster, with Streitenfeld's music adding a key cog to the overall story. It was a menacing, urban theme that really worked well in that framework. Next was Body of Lies, which was a serviceable score but it didn't warrant the type of music that would leap out to soundtrack fans due to the nature of the film. Robin Hood, however, is the opportunity that I feel will place Streitenfeld among the more popular of his contemporaries. It's a coming out party in Sherwood Forest.

Funny as it was to see Russell Crowe don the attire of Robin Hood (it seemed a bit off when he was in the proper "costume"), this is a film that works nicely if approached with an open mind. In fact, it's pretty cool to see more of a realistic approach adopted toward this legendary hero. In the middle of the nearly epic yarn is a grand score from Streitenfeld, who locks down the tone of the movie with music that is vibrant and original. Much like the re-imagined Robin, the score strays away from heroism that is camp or contrite and instead delivers material that is appropriate and likable. There isn't the type of fanfare that is normally associated with this hero but that's quite alright; this telling of the saga didn't ask for it. Instead, you'll be treated to a rather captivating set of themes that takes this tale onward. From the uplifting main theme to celtic-inspired passages, there is an entire world created here by the score and it plays quite well on the album. In the film, I noticed Sir Ridley repeated the use of certain cues which made for some of the impact to wear off, but when isolated to the soundtrack, the score plays through soundly.

Robin Hood was the type of scoring opportunity that I had hoped would find its way to Streitenfeld because I knew that he had the makeup to deliver something memorable. This goes back to the aforementioned impressions I took away from American Gangster. As this one goes, I heartily recommend that you venture into the realm of the new, gritty Robin Hood because it's one crusade that won't leave you feeling worn down.