This film is a 12A, was released on November 21st 2018, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
Introduction
Nowadays, we see a lot of reboots coming from Hollywood. This is mainly because they're struggling for new ideas, but also because it's easier to find a fanbase and make money from a product that already exists. However, we do occasionally end up with tons of interpretations of one story. The classic folk tale of Robin Hood is a perfect example of this. The classic story of the thief who robs from the rich and gives to the poor has been put to the screen many times.
But, in my opinion, the best interpretation was from Disney in 1973, which didn't even star humans! It was anthropormorhpic foxes and bears. I grew up with this film and it was one of those Disney films that lived in the DVD player. So, I don't think that there is much more left to explore with this character, but maybe I'm wrong...
Thoughts Going In
I was excited for this film at first. I really like Taron Egerton and the trailers did make it look cool, to say the least. However, a swarm of negativity surrounded it over the past week, making me wonder whether it was actually worth my time or not. Well, it's the middle of exam season so I'll take a cinema trip whenever one comes about. My expectations were mixed for the most part.
The Story
So, is there anything new that this interpretation shows us? Kind of. In this version, Robin begins as your average medieval tough guy who meets a girl named Marian. The two instantly fall in love but Robin has to go and fight in the Middle East. After a mishap where Robin almost betrays his leader, everyone believes him to be dead. However, he returns to England only to find that the Sheriff of Nottingham is ripping everyone off with their taxes, and Marian has found new love with a man named Will. So, Robin teams up with a fugitive named John, and the swashbuckling thievery begins.
What I Liked
The best thing about this film was Egerton as Robin Hood. I think his strongest points as an actor are when he brings charm, wit and humour to his roles, many will be familiar if you've seen the Kingsman films (2014 and 2017), Eddie the Eagle (2016) or Sing (2016). Here, while he doesn't fully utilise his strengths, he is still very likeable and has enough charm to be entertaining. He pulls off the tough guy performance well enough and was definitely a bright spot in the film. I should also mention that supporting roles from Jamie Foxx and Ben Mendelsohn were decent too.
There is the occasional good action scene, but there is one in particular that I thought was amazing. It's basically a chase involving horse-drawn wagons through narrow streets of a mining town, along with a small tangent when Robin hops on one of the horses and begins to run around the rooftops. The choreography of all the fighting and various other set pieces was really well organised. It was the only scene that I thought was worth mentioning.
What I Didn't Like
My biggest issue with this film was the way it looked and was stylised. We're supposed to believe that this is medieval times, but the clothing and action seems so much like such from nowadays or even the last decade. As you may have seen from the trailers, there is a section in the Middle East. Nothing about this scene is specific to the time period. You could easily substitute the bows and crossbows for guns and it'd make so little of an impact. The costumes were also hugely distracting. There's so much leather, revealing clothes on women, fancy jackets, and an assortment of things you'd see people wearing today, as well as hair and make up which seems remarkably unrealistic. I think this film could've easily settled with this style if it set the story in the 21st century. That also would've given the film more of an identity, and make it stand out against the tons and tons of other versions of this story.
The pacing of the film also seemed a little bit off. The beginning is not only extremely pretentious, but very rushed. We flippantly switch from introduction to characters, to the first bit of conflict, to meeting John and training with him, all in the first half an hour. This really undercut what could've been some really engaging scenes. If they had extended out all of this, we as the audience would have a much deeper understanding of who these characters are and how they came to be who they are in the second act. Because as it is, we're not really connected to these people and can't really connect to the struggles they face. I understand that they want to cut to the cool bits where we see Robin as a thief, but weirdly enough, the first 3 proper robberies he does are glossed over. We see a quick cut of action but not enough to enjoy ourselves. This is only apparent until the chase I mentioned earlier and the climax. So not only do we skip all the parts which are necessary for the story, but we don't even see many of the parts we came to see and get a kick out of.
Conclusion
Robin Hood isn't exactly a disappointment. It further enforces why Taron Egerton is a strong talent, along with delivering some neat set pieces. But it can't decide what exactly it wants to be as well as glossing over what could be some really necessary and exciting moments. I think this film will pass the time just fine for anyone, but it isn't exactly anything great. As for me, I don't think I'll be watching it again any time soon, but I won't actively try to avoid it either. I think I'll just stick with the animated version for now.
I'm going to give Robin Hood an A
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