Welcome to The Mundane Adventures of a Fangirl

I consider myself a Fangirl. What does that mean, you ask? A "fanboy" in the most common understanding is a hardcore fan of 'genre' based entertainment in particular. In my case - science-fiction and comic book based movies and television. Because I'm a chick - it's fangirl, not fanboy. There you have it! I am a big movie fan, however, not necessarily a 'film' fan. And now - I have the forum to present my opinions to the public! These will mainly be movie reviews -that will always be my opinion - repeat OPINION. Just what I think, and in no way do I present my opinion as fact. I hope you enjoy and maybe it will help you decide what to see at the movie theater this weekend!

Monday, December 17, 2018

Movie Review: Robin Hood (2018) (PG13 – 116 minutes)


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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