Robin Hood (2018)

Review

116min

Genre:     Action, Adventure

Director:  Otto Bathurst

Cast:       Taron Egerton, Eve Hewson, Jamie Foxx…and more

Writers:   Ben Chandler and David James Kelly

-Synopsis-

Moonlighting as a talented and notorious outlaw, a young nobleman and veteran of the crusades forms a rag-tag crew and infiltrates the inner sanctum of the powerful Sheriff of Nottingham, fostering revolt against his corrupt rule in this modern all-action take on the classic late medieval English legend.

Ever since the early days of major motion pictures, Hollywood has been consistently mining and adding to 13th/14th century English folklore and its legend of the nobleman turned thief and hero of the common people. From its early swashbuckling cinematic incarnations like 1938’s ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ and Disney’s first shot at the character in 1952’s ‘The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men’, to their beloved 1973 animated version and 1991’s ballad-fuelled Kevin Costner blockbuster ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’—not to mention the 1993 Mel Brooks parody ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ which followed it, and Ridley Scott’s failed attempt at reviving the legend with his dour 2010 semi-historical epic.

Now Canadian entertainment giant Lionsgate continues to display its ambition as one of the newer kids on the major Hollywood studio block, nocking its own arrow and taking aim at the longstanding tradition by hiring British TV director Otto Bathurst to helm an all-action, high-octane millennial makeover of this English legend—doing for the Robin Hood myth what Guy Ritchie did last year for Arthurian Legend . . . absolutely nothing.

Taron Egerton stars as young Nottingham nobleman ‘Robin of Loxley’, whose idyllic life with commoner and true love ‘Marian’ (Eve Hewson) is destroyed when duty cruelly calls him away to the crusades and a far away land, as the horror of battle turns him into a skilled archer but a changed man—forming an alliance with Moor enemy ‘John’ (Jamie Foxx), as he returns home to a people crushed under the corrupt boot of the ‘Sheriff of Nottingham’ (Ben Mendelsohn) and his powerful church allies. But the sheriff’s fiefdom is threatened when Robin takes on the secret alter ego of ‘The Hood’ to scupper his rule, while gaining his confidence as a returning lord, and the legend is born when he forms an alliance with the people and their champion ‘Will’ (Jamie Dornan) to end the sheriff’s rule of terror and expose a treacherous conspiracy.

There’s retelling a story and there’s updating it, but then there’s bastardising it altogether, and this is very much a case of the latter, proving a perfect case study on how narrative daring and artistic freedom can hurt a story as much as it can help it, and as always teaching us that balance is key.

‘Robin Hood’ is no doubt packed with lavish and dynamic action-set pieces to befit a 21st century action-adventure film, essentially re-framing the character as a medieval English Ninja in terms of his fighting and evading exploits. But there’s nothing here to separate this from an endless stream of forgettable big-budget action films you’ll see on a monthly basis, except for the semi-historical setting, reminding us that this is a Robin Hood cynically but understandably aimed at the ‘Fast & Furious’, gaming generation.

Every characterisation and every narrative turn feels like a shot at grabbing the attention (and cash) of a generation with a short attention span, stretching every sinew to tick as many modern socio-political boxes as possible and cram them into a medieval story—albeit one with timeless and resonant themes—ultimately showing us what a Robin Hood video game might look like for a next-gen console.

The problem is that Bathurst and the writers make the fatal mistake of having loftier narrative intentions, instead of just applying the prerequisite over-the-top dynamic action sequences to a tried-and-tested formula and an established legend. The filmmakers bend over backwards to  catch the socio-political breeze blowing through our unsettled society, sowing populist seeds of rebellion against oppression and corruption, while building on collective European guilt over historical colonialism to re-frame a view of the crusades and deliver an anti-xenophobia message. But it’s all conceived and delivered in such hackneyed and on-the-nose fashion that it makes the whole effort feel opportunistic at best, and cringeworthy at worst.

The characters and their actors can’t be relied upon either, without the creative writing or the vigour he enjoyed as the lead in the ‘Kingman’ series, Taron Egerton is suitably physical but nowhere near charismatic enough to pull off the titular character, while the considerable talents of Jamie Foxx are completely wasted as an amalgam of Loxley companions ‘Little John’ and Morgan Freeman’s ‘Azeem’ character in the 1991 version. Even the dependably excellent Ben Mendelsohn is a major letdown as the villain of the piece, proving neither menacing, sleazy or deviant enough to make an impact, nor nuanced enough to leave an impression.

Only British-Aussie musician and comic Tim Minchin leaves much of an impression as ‘Friar Tuck’ with his comedic timing, but this ‘Robin Hood’ is largely devoid of any real humour, charm or character for that matter, and its attempts at pathos and romance are ill judged and ineffective to say the least. It’s all finally wrapped up with a big, action-packed anti-climatic climax, before wrapping up with a hugely unconvincing major character turn, setting up a sequel or even a series which could hardly be less merited or welcome.

What you’re ultimately left with is a well crafted, big, bold banal modern blockbuster with a famous name, moderately entertaining in fits and starts but largely dull and ill conceived, and a strong contender for the worst adaptation of the Robin Hood legend yet committed to film or television.

The Bottom Line…

An underwritten, opportunistic and hugely underwhelming attempt at bringing a late medieval English legend into the 21st century (where it doesn’t belong), which can’t be saved by a talented but squandered cast, resulting in a run-of-the-mill modern blockbuster which can only be separated from a pedestrian pack by its legendary name, but is further kneecapped by its ill advised attempts at social commentary.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

In a fictional and fantastical medieval England, an orphan street urchin turned talented hustler uncovers the truth about his noble family and the mystical sword which will shape his destiny—placing him on the path of vengeance and setting a collision course with a powerful and sinister King who’s hell-bent on dominating everything he surveys.

Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey among others.

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