There have been so many movies and TV shows regarding this folk hero its over almost over kill. This incarnation of Robin of Locksley (“Kingsman: The Secret Service” star Taron Egerton)
is a defector, a veteran of the Crusades and manor born. He battles the mean and corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn) after returning home and discovering the Sheriff has taxed his community to the breaking point to fund the war effort. Robin is joined by Little John (Jamie Foxx), who becomes his friend and mentor after Robin risks treason charges to save John’s son during the Crusades.
Robin, John and their allies start stealing gold from the bad guys, Robin’s face-concealing black hood becoming a revolutionary emblem. At the same time, Robin ingratiates himself into the Sheriff’s inner circle, gathering intelligence for his growing rebellion, and uncovering a conspiracy that’s even more awful than what he’d imagined.
Taron Egerton was great in “Kingsman” but here he is completely miss cast, his “Robin Hood” outfit looks like something you could find in the mall. Jamie Foxx is way over the top, providing some jokes.
The film’s supporting heroes including Robin’s former fiancée Maid Marian (Eve Hewson) (He and Hewson don’t have much of a spark in their scenes) who has smoky-eye makeup, excessive cleavage, looks like she was in an MTV music video and shooting for Vouge the entire time. Ben Mendelsohn’s is once again playing a villain and is very ONE-NOTE: going on and on about Hood and his money. The local clergyman Friar Tuck (Tim Minchin) opens the movie with a narration telling us this is not the story we know or something like that..ehh..They require little coaxing to join Robin’s campaign to give gold and hope back to people who’ve been abused or taken for granted by the state.
Ben Chandler and David James Kelly’s script takes a story that’s several centuries old and marries it to modern-day concepts and language, and the filmmakers try to push that strategy to the next level. Like Guy Ritchie’s recent attempt to update another ancient English hero in “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” which I really liked it was a different take on Arthur but it worked.
The costuming showcases some interesting custom-cut leather jackets, and the combat sequences feature archers rapidly firing arrows at each other at close quarters, like gunfighters in a John Wick film. There is a lot of slo-mo “300” style like action here surprised they didn’t put the 3D out on this one would have looked cool for the action sequences. But the storyline is murky; things are happening in the back ground with the church and the Sheriff, there is a romantic love triangle that complicates things, like we really needed that and of course it ends with a tease for a sequel that I don’t see happening since the reviews are dismal and the studio threw well over $100mill at this one.
This is a decent action movie to kill some time, but just didn’t feel like “Robin Hood” at all. Great actors here, but in this movie they were terrible. I will stick with 1991s “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and Disney’s animated film.
PG-13 (for extended sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive references
REVIEW SCORE/ D+
