110 years after the first Robin Hood movie was released in
1908 (Robin Hood and his Merry Men), we get yet another version of the classic
tale.
There are just about a countless number of versions of the story, and
just about everyone has their favorite.
I have always been partial to the Disney version with the foxes, and I particularly
enjoyed the cameo in the TV version of Ivanhoe from 1982. Big time bonus points if you remember that
one.
I will say that I love Robin Hood: Prince of
Thieves from 1991. The soundtrack is pure magic, the look of the movie is beautiful. It added a super-awesome
Morgan Freeman as the Azeem the Moor, who insists on returning to England with
Robin after he saved his life during the Crusades. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s Marian is
no-nonsense and capable (to a point), Michael McShane’s Friar Tuck is loud and
hilarious, Michael Wincott’s Guy of Gisborne is pure evil, Brian Blessed shows
up briefly as Robin’s father, Christian Slater is fun as a very 90s Will
Scarlett, Nick Brimble is a large and powerful Little John. Kevin Costner is just fine as Robin - okay,
from time to time, less than fine, but I’ll let it slide because everyone else
is so damn good. And of course, the definitive
portrayal of The Sheriff of Nottingham by the exceptional Alan Rickman. If you haven’t seen it in a while, re-watch
it to see how perfectly over-the-top he is. No one has ever been more
convincing about cutting out hearts with spoons and canceling Christmas.
Since I love that version so much, it would take something
really special for me to enjoy a new version.
The Russell Crowe 2010 version was not, and neither is this new one.
Taron Edgerton plays Robin of Loxley this time around. He was a young rich noble, having a great
time hooking up with Marian in his large manor. He then gets conscripted by the
Sheriff of Nottingham and heads off to the Crusades to “free the holy land”. He does fairly well with his crew, which
seems to be led by Guy of Gisborne, but starts to get sick about the war when
his countrymen start killing the locals for little to no reason. He attempts to save the life of a boy,
earning the respect of his father. After
being injured and heading back home, the father of the slain boy joins him, and
together they hatch a plot to try to stop the Sheriff from continuing his evil
plan to keep the war going to make a profit while in cahoots with the church. I’m not entirely clear on the sheriff’s
plan.
Robin and John (as he tells Robin his name translates to) begin
by robbing the rich and giving the money to the common people who are working
in the mines…you know, the famous mines of Nottingham. He starts a bit of a rebellion because he’s
playing at being the nobleman Robin back from the war, but “The Hood”
after-hours, the thief. The cardinal comes to visit the sheriff, and Robin,
John, and not-merry men stage a big coup, and then have to retreat to the
forest.
Directed by Otto Bathurst, who is known for Peaky Blinders
and Black Mirror, the movie has some interesting action sequences, but an
overly-complicated plot. It also suffers a bit from trying too hard to be
cool. The story of Robin Hood is not one
that is clamoring for a “flashy” update, so the entire thing feels un-asked for
and unnecessary. The cast is
interesting, but are not given much to do.
- Taron Egerton is certainly charismatic and action-capable. He certainly tries his best, and seems to be having a good time with the daytime noble and nighttime thief versions of his character. He’s better than this material and needs something else.
- Jamie Foxx as little John seems to be doing a version of Morgan Freeman’s Azeem, which is not really a problem, and Foxx is always watchable. He does have the most to do emotionally in this story, but that seems to only last one scene.
- Villain-of-the-moment Ben Mendelsohn plays the Sheriff, and the reality is that it’s not fair to compare his performance to Rickman’s, but honestly, I can’t help it. He seems to just be Orson Krennic in a different location – even the outfit is similar.
- Eve Hewson plays Marian this time around, and since she believed Robin to be killed in war, she’s remarried and helping organize the folks in the mines.
- Jamie Dornan plays Marian’s new husband, Will Scarlet, who starts off wanting to represent the common people of the mine at the ‘big table’, and then things get more complicated.
- Tim Minchin plays Friar Tuck, and, knowing how entertaining he is, I actually wanted a little more for him to do, and for what he was doing to be less restrained.
- Paul Anderson plays this version of Guy of Gisbourne, he’s basically a military thug who, once done killing folks in Jerusalem, comes back and gets hired to kill folks in England.
- F. Murray Abraham shows up as the ‘Cardinal’ who is in league with the sheriff to make money off the war.
Overall, the movie is not terrible, but it just feels forced
in most places. It tries really hard to update the story and modernize the feel
of the characters, but I don’t think anyone was asking for that – I know I wasn’t.
4 out of 10
Bonus, just watch this one again.
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