Robin Hood (2018)
This latest version of the Robin Hood legend is a lot of fun – deliberately throwing historical accuracy out of the window in favour of adopting a superhero-style approach to the story of the lord-turned-vigilant.
Premise: After becoming disillusioned with the unjust Crusades in the holy lands, Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) returns home, only to find that the corrupt Sherriff (Ben Mendelsohn) is oppressing the people of Nottingham. Powerless to intervene as Lord Loxley, John (Jamie Foxx) trains Robin to adopt a new mantle to strike at the Sherriff and free the people.
Review:
This is one of those films that seems to have been written off by the critics and declared a flop before it even opens, and I think that’s really unfair. Okay, so this latest version of Robin Hood is no masterpiece, but it’s not trying to win any Oscars, and for what it’s trying to be, it’s a lot of fun. This version is far more enjoyable than either Russell Crowe’s joyless 2010 version, or Patrick Bergin’s po-faced 1991 interpretation – in fact, the only cinematic version as entertaining as this 2018 version is Kevin Costner’s classic Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
But whereas Kevin Costner took the romantic/adventure route, Patrick Bergin opted for alleged historical accuracy, and Russell Crowe decided to avoid most elements of the Robin Hood legend altogether (his character was not even “Robin of Loxley”, after all), Taron Egerton and director Otto Bathurst have taken a fresh approach, applying the trappings of a modern superhero movie to the legend. And it makes perfect sense – Robin Hood was, of course, the inspiration for the DC Comics character Green Arrow (a wealthy businessman and celebrity by day, social crusading vigilant by night), and so things come full circle to now reinterpret Robin Hood himself as a medieval superhero.
“…feels like it’s been ripped from the pages of a comic book rather than a history book…”
Critics who liken this version of Robin Hood to either 2005’s Batman Begins or 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword are making lazy comparisons – as I said, 2018’s Robin Hood has far more in common with Green Arrow than Batman (for obvious reasons), and Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur film was deliberately stylised (like this Robin Hood), but it did so for the sake of it, rather than to bring a superhero aesthetic to the movie. This Robin Hood is deliberately anachronistic – the soldiers’ armour in the Crusades is reminiscent of modern flak jackets, the Sherriff’s guards are armed with riot shields rather than medieval shields, and rapid-fire crossbows behaving more like assault rifles – but all of that just adds to the sense of heightened, stylised reality.
This version is going out of its way to not be historically accurate or realistic – and it’s all the better for it. Both Russell Crowe and Patrick Bergin made “realistic” versions of the Robin Hood legend … and they were tiresome, unengaging and miserable. This version of Robin Hood is a bright primary colour superhero origin tale writ large – the costumes and characters feeling like they’ve been ripped from the pages of a comic book rather than a history book. But it’s precisely this lack of realism that makes the film so much fun.
“…for what it’s trying to be, it’s a great action-packed ride…”
Taron Egerton is great as Robin of Loxley, a moral man shattered by his experiences at war, who comes home to find his life destroyed. But in this version, he’s trained by John (Jamie Foxx), a warrior from the holy lands, who explains that to bring peace and end the unjust war, Robin must ingratiate himself with the Sherriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn) by day, while stealing the Sherriff’s ill-gotten gains by night as the mysterious “Hood”. The inclusion of a secret identity subplot into the Robin Hood legend really reinforces the comic book influence, and brings an interesting new spin on the material.
Yes, this Robin Hood is not perfect (for example, the opening and closing narration is absolutely cringe-worthy), but for what it’s trying to be, it’s a great action-packed ride. The characters are admittedly rather cartoonish, but that’s part of the charm – and they’re not exactly two-dimensional either, as both Ben Mendelsohn and Jamie Dornan (as Will Scarlett) in particular find moments to add little extra elements to their characters. Tim Minchin holds his own in his film debut as Friar Tuck, and the relatively unknown Eve Hewson is a perfectly decent Marian, although she is arguably the most underwritten character.
“…a full-throttle, action packed, superhero reinterpretation of the Robin Hood legend…”
The action is also deliberately stylised and over-the-top – Robin has truly superhuman archery skills in this version (which I loved, as too many other cinematic Robin Hoods have been swordsmen more than archers), and he operates by prowling on rooftops and striking from shadows. For the most part, it really feels like those critics who have been so harsh are judging the film for what they wanted it to be, rather than what it was trying to be. As a full-throttle, action packed, superhero reinterpretation of the Robin Hood legend, I can’t help but feel that this achieved exactly what it set out to do. If that’s not your cup of tea, then fair enough – but if you can get on board with its tone, this has an enjoyable guilty pleasure quality to it.
