The Kevins Reynolds and Costner have made over $600m together at the box office – and by their own admission, they would be lucky to get a Hollywood exec to bank roll for them an animated short.

Looking back at their first feature together, it's hard to understand where it all went wrong.

A perfect blend of all the elements it requires to make a good movie came together in 1991, be it the acting talent – Mastrantonio, Slater, Rickman, Freeman – the sparkling script, set design or direction.

However, the movie's biggest failing was deemed to be the lack of historical accuracy.

But at no point does Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves purport to be a historically accurate take on the fables of a thief and his band of merry men.

Far from it. While Reynolds and Costner both take the blame for the plot flaws and performance issues, they should both be commended for producing a quite brilliant piece of popcorn entertainment.

It's best explained by the initial 15 minutes. Opening with a pre-credits sequence in which Costner's dishevelled Robin saves Freeman's Azeem during the Crusades, it's not long before our hero and his new best friend are pulling up in Dover before a swift walk to Nottingham – via Hadrian's Wall.

As is a running theme in this movie, such stupidity is easily overlooked, particularly with strong performances from a cast of Americans and the wonderfully O.T.T. Rickman.

A tone-perfect script with dozens of quotable lines was more than Rickman needed to instil his delicious Sheriff with the requisite level of pantomime villainy.

According to rumour, Rickman's Sheriff would have featured more heavily had Costner not felt threatened, although Costner himself insists he did nothing of the sort.

The much derided star is also highly critical of his failure to master the English accent, but, as Reynolds puts it, "People came to see a Kevin Costner movie. They didn't care about your voice."

And a vintage Kevin Costner movie is exactly what you get.

Rich 'To The Trees!' Phippen