Robin Hood (2018)

Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Jamie Dornan, Tim Minchin, Paul Anderson, F. Murray Abraham, Ian Peck, Cornelius Booth
Directed by: Otto Bathurst
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) teams with a Moor (Jamie Foxx) and an underground resistance to combat the criminal Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn).

Review:

Tim: You know what the world really, really needs? A gritty Robin Hood film. Wait, you might say, didn't Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe do that eight years ago? Well, no- I mean a gritty Robin Hood movie with modern-day action sequences. And to further separate it, he'll go by, "Rob". Brilliant, right? Obviously, this was a terrible idea. No one in 2018 needed or wanted this movie. Unsurprisingly, it was a box office bomb. On a $100 million budget, the film did $30 million domestically and a total of $84 million worldwide. That's really bad.

Robin Hood shouldn't have been made. It is a pointless movie and it doesn't offer anything better than multiple other adaptations of the famous outlaw. It's further evidence that Hollywood is creatively bankrupt (it isn't, but movies like this make it feel like it's so). Here's the thing- this is a decent movie. I didn't hate the movie at all. It was mildly entertaining. The action scenes were kind of cool. The problem is that it never justifies its existence. It pales in comparison to movies like 2010's Robin Hood (which was good but deeply flawed) and perhaps my favorite Robin Hood movie of all time, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. So, this was a redundant movie that's worse than previous films. That is a failure.

I feel a little bad for Taron Edgerton, because he gives a pretty good performance as Rob. It was interesting to see a younger Robin Hood, especially after seeing the world weary Russell Crowe version. Edgerton brings a lot of energy and his usual charm to the role. It was fun seeing him play this part. Jamie Foxx was fine in a supporting role (although he's no Morgan Freeman). He had a few decent moments. Ben Mendelsohn was fine as the Sheriff of Nottingham, but two things bothered me. First off, he's played the over-the-top villain too many times recently. It felt like after Rogue One and Ready Player One, we've seen him do this enough. His performance here felt played out. The other thing that bothered me is that he tried to go so eccentric with his performance that it felt like he was mirroring Alan Rickman's classic performance. Mendelsohn might be a good actor, but he doesn't even approach Rickman's performance in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I thought Eve Hewson was terrible as Marian. Her performance bored me. She didn't have any energy or enthusiasm and felt far too one-dimensional. It's funny that I didn't even recognize Jamie Dornan for most of this film. I thought he mostly worked well. It was nice to see F. Murray Abraham, although I wish the movie around him was better.

I have to admit that the action scenes were kind of cool. I get the appeal of a period action film, but filmed with modern action movies characteristics. It doesn't quite work, but it was a unique approach and the movie deserves credit for it. Unfortunately, it was just so ridiculous. Weapons like they had at that time didn't deliver the kind of blunt force impact as depicted in the film. It might have been cool, but none of it made any logical sense. It continually pulled me out of the story. The sheer lack of realism was disruptive. So, the feeling was, "Oh wow, that's cool! And completely absurd." In the end, it does more harm than good. It was also interesting to see the story twisted so it was a grassroots uprising against the tyrannical rulers. It felt different than previous Robin Hood movies, while still remaining true to the spirit of the character. It doesn't help that this movie was written so as to set things up for a sequel- the franchise aspirations are on full display. That makes this movie less effective, especially when you consider the terrible box office ensures a sequel won't get made.

Robin Hood tried to do something different and certainly gains points for its novel approach to an old story. However, new approaches need to work and they don't here. This movie might feature stylish action scenes, but the characters and story feel generic and uncompelling. This was a decent film, but not one that needed to be made.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Robin Hood (2010), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Kingsman: The Secret Service