Robin Hood (’18)
I have a theory about this latest iteration of the story of Robin of Loxley, a privileged young man who turned to a life of crime to stick it to the Sheriff of Nottingham and win the heart of Marian. I couldn’t help but wonder if the script by Ben Chandler and David James Kelly was actually something written in the 1980s for Mel Gibson, but when he said no, it languished until someone unearthed it and decided, “Let’s dress it up as a fresh take on Robin Hood.” I don’t think this is the actual story, but the film has a damn training montage that feels right out of a “Rocky” sequel, so you’ll excuse me if I wonder whether my theory is accurate.
In all seriousness, Otto Bathurst’s action-infused “Robin Hood” is pretty cheesy business, and that’s why it kind of works, in a way; or, at least, I wasn’t bored with it like I was Ridley Scott’s drudging 2010 drama based on the story. If you’ve seen any of the most notable adaptations of the story- whether its 1939’s Errol Flynn/Basil Rathbone adventure, the 1991 “Prince of Thieves,” with Alan Rickman’s iconic Sheriff of Nottingham, or even Mel Brooks’s straight-up silly “Men in Tights”- the story beats of Robin leaving the family land to fight in the Crusades, returning to exact revenge on the Sheriff, and get the girl, will all be familiar to you. What you’re looking for is whether the way the writers and director tell them is interesting, and how the cast puts their own stamps on the performances. On both fronts, this one is pretty far down the list.
Robin of Loxley is played here by Taron Egerton from the “Kingsman” films, and he’s just as lacking in charisma here as I found him, for the most part, in those two films. While he’s definitely younger than any previous Robin Hood, and it’s important for why the film plays as much as it does that he is young, he just isn’t interesting as a man of action here- this is a role for someone who naturally fits into action storytelling, which is why it would have been a great film for a young Gibson coming off the Mad Max films, I think. The other big personality is the Sheriff, and he is played here by Ben Mendelsohn with the same sneering douchiness he played so well in “Rogue One” and “Ready Player One”- more was needed. That said, I wonder if James Dornan, who plays Will Scarlet here, might have been a better choice for the Sheriff; at least seeing him in the role might have given us a more shaded, intriguing performance than Mendelsohn. Dornan’s Will is probably the most interesting interpretation of a role in this film; here, Will is a politically-hungry leader of the people against the Sheriff and the church’s oppressive taxation, as well as a rival for Marian’s affections. Marian is played by Eve Hewson, and it’s not a good character; she’s a blank of a female lead for an action movie, and doesn’t add anything to the movie. As for Jamie Foxx, he does play an Arab whom follows Robin back from the Crusades, but it adds even less to have him being called “John” (as in Little John) than if they had just put the role in like it usually is in this story.
Having Will Scarlet be a political leader is an interesting variation for not just the character, but brings up maybe the most compelling, yet maddening, part of the movie. For all its setting in the traditional era the story is done in, there are a lot of modern choices made, most notably in the wardrobe (which doesn’t really fit the time), and the politics, which tracks with the “rob from the rich and give to the poor” ethos of the story, but feels very contemporary in how they play out on-screen. The clashes between the commoners and security forces feel inspired by modern political rallies like Occupy Wall Street, while the decadence of the rich, and its mingling with the religious powers, give off a decidedly modern conservative vibe to it. If they had been in the hands of a filmmaker solely intrigued by telling that story, without the need for an over-the-top action story, I think this adaptation of the story of Robin Hood might have been a better one. Sadly, it feels like a missed opportunity, even if it has a certain panache that makes it ridiculously fun, at times.
