Robin Hood (2018 Film) Review
Taron Egerton is the latest actor to play Robin of Loxley in "Robin Hood," a film that tells the origin story of the titular character. In this interpretation, Jamie Foxx is playing John, Ben Mendelsohn is playing the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Eve Hewson is playing Marian. (By the way, my Dad told me that Eve Hewson is the daughter of U2's Bono.)
"Robin Hood" was directed by Otto Bathurst and was written by Ben Chandler and David James Kelly. It was produced by Jennifer Davisson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Wait, am I reading that right? You mean, Academy Award-winner and "Inception" superstar Leonardo DiCaprio? Wow, you do learn something new every day. Lionsgate distributed this film.
Introduction
Going into this film, I had the lowest expectations imaginable. I was incredibly underwhelmed by the trailers and had not much of a desire to see this film in theaters. Despite that, I ended up seeing it, hence this review. Fair warning, I'm not that knowledgeable of the Robin Hood lore. I know the general story well, but like King Arthur, I couldn't tell you specific details about the story. All I know about the story are the films I've seen about the man whether it's the 1938, Errol Flynn classic, the anthropomorphized Disney film, or the Kevin Costner film, my personal favorite interpretation thus far. With so many adaptations scattered across many decades, does this latest adaptation have anything new to offer?
Overall Thoughts
Remember "The Amazing Spider-Man" and how, leading up to its release, it was being marketed as "The Untold Story" when it ended up being a simple retelling of Peter Parker's origin story for the first hour or so? This "Robin Hood" finds itself in a similar situation. This film plays it unimaginably safe. There's a strong focus on sticking to the simple formula of Robin Hood. There's very few differences between versions and though this telling does a few things different, such as making the Church a main antagonist, it's not a story you didn't know about this character before. (I know that I may have spoiled something just now, but I needed to use something as an example. That just shows how little this film changes things up.)
Never before had it occurred to me how much the Robin Hood legend may have inspired Christopher Nolan when he made "Batman Begins" because this Robin Hood is essentially a medieval version of a poor-man's Bruce Wayne/Batman. Either this film is basing itself off of the original tale, or it's ripping off Nolan. Those of you who know the Robin Hood lore will have to let me know. All in all, it was distracting to watch this movie and be reminded of a much better film. You might think that I'm making up the comparison, but if you choose to see this movie, you'll find that out for yourselves.
Now, I said that I had the lowest expectations for "Robin Hood" and that the trailers didn't do it any favors. As it turns out, I found myself having a lot of fun. It's stupid, it has too many flaws to count, but it has legitimately good elements to it like a charming lead, a flawless score, and a nice message that isn't beaten over your head a million times. It's a lot like last year's"King Arthur: Legend of the Sword." Most of everyone hated it and though it was convoluted, it had some of the same strengths.
Never before had it occurred to me how much the Robin Hood legend may have inspired Christopher Nolan when he made "Batman Begins" because this Robin Hood is essentially a medieval version of a poor-man's Bruce Wayne/Batman. Either this film is basing itself off of the original tale, or it's ripping off Nolan. Those of you who know the Robin Hood lore will have to let me know. All in all, it was distracting to watch this movie and be reminded of a much better film. You might think that I'm making up the comparison, but if you choose to see this movie, you'll find that out for yourselves.
Now, I said that I had the lowest expectations for "Robin Hood" and that the trailers didn't do it any favors. As it turns out, I found myself having a lot of fun. It's stupid, it has too many flaws to count, but it has legitimately good elements to it like a charming lead, a flawless score, and a nice message that isn't beaten over your head a million times. It's a lot like last year's"King Arthur: Legend of the Sword." Most of everyone hated it and though it was convoluted, it had some of the same strengths.
In five years, maybe we'll look back on this film and regard Taron Egerton as one of the worst portrayals of Robin Hood, but for now, I liked him. His wasn't able to push his acting limits, but Egerton makes the most of the role and clearly has fun doing all these stunts. Sure, in this film, Robin sucks at keeping his vigilante side a secret and no one, outside of the narrator, ever calls him Robin Hood, a flaw that may be distracting to long-time fans. Still, I found much to like about him. He had ideals that you could get behind. I've seen worse films this year that had terrible lead characters with unlikeable desires. He isn't one of them. I actually think that the rest of the cast is dull.
Ben Mendelsohn as the Sheriff of Nottingham is nowhere near as well-written a villain role as Mendelsohn's part in this year's "Ready Player One." The Sheriff is menacing, tenacious, and not much else. He's everything you expect a one dimensional character might be. Jamie Foxx is certainly likable, but is also stuck playing a one dimensional character. I don't know, he had little time overall, so I kept forgetting about him every time he popped up again. Eve Hewson as Marion had similar problem where she popped up at random places in the film. Really, she wasn't necessary. If the movie had just been about Robin and had given more thought to the Sheriff, perhaps it would've made for a better story. You didn't need these other two characters.
Ben Mendelsohn as the Sheriff of Nottingham is nowhere near as well-written a villain role as Mendelsohn's part in this year's "Ready Player One." The Sheriff is menacing, tenacious, and not much else. He's everything you expect a one dimensional character might be. Jamie Foxx is certainly likable, but is also stuck playing a one dimensional character. I don't know, he had little time overall, so I kept forgetting about him every time he popped up again. Eve Hewson as Marion had similar problem where she popped up at random places in the film. Really, she wasn't necessary. If the movie had just been about Robin and had given more thought to the Sheriff, perhaps it would've made for a better story. You didn't need these other two characters.
Action/CGI
The action is bananas. When everything seems fake, nothing is real. I wanted to believe that Taron Egerton learned how to fire a bow that quick, but the whole time while watching the fighting portions of the film, I couldn't help feeling that it was done with a CGI stunt-double.
The action is fast and slow in all the wrong areas. Sure, the film needs to suddenly speed up when Robin's firing his a bow, but when a rebel civilian is throwing a makeshift bomb, the camera needlessly slows the action down in order to focus on that particular item. It's still enjoyable nonetheless and you do get enjoyment at seeing Robin pull off these impossible shots. The cinematography provides pleasing wide-shots of the midivil city as Robin partakes in many chase scenes, but it's lacking in the tension department. It's full of excitement, but it needed a sense of danger to push it all the way the end.
The action is fast and slow in all the wrong areas. Sure, the film needs to suddenly speed up when Robin's firing his a bow, but when a rebel civilian is throwing a makeshift bomb, the camera needlessly slows the action down in order to focus on that particular item. It's still enjoyable nonetheless and you do get enjoyment at seeing Robin pull off these impossible shots. The cinematography provides pleasing wide-shots of the midivil city as Robin partakes in many chase scenes, but it's lacking in the tension department. It's full of excitement, but it needed a sense of danger to push it all the way the end.
Score
It was a welcome surprise to find Joseph Trapanese's name attached to this film. I'm such a fan of the composer. For those of you who don't know, he has had involvement in making the scores for each of the three films that Joseph Kosinski has directed so far ("Tron Legacy," "Oblivion," and "Only the Brave"). Fortunately, his score is the one area of "Robin Hood" that I don't have any issues with.
The action sequences may be a mixed bag, but they come attached to some wonderful tunes. The music is filled with the composer's signature techniques. His go-to movie is to have a grand orchestra play throughout the heroic moments while sneaking in some techno-style music that is sprinkled throughout. He does it a lot, but fails to make it uninteresting. The epic highs of the film are made so because of the score. At the very least, it brings a lot of energy to many scenes in the film, especially the ones where it was needed the most. It's not a perfect score, but it's an above-average composition that accompanies a so-so film.
The action sequences may be a mixed bag, but they come attached to some wonderful tunes. The music is filled with the composer's signature techniques. His go-to movie is to have a grand orchestra play throughout the heroic moments while sneaking in some techno-style music that is sprinkled throughout. He does it a lot, but fails to make it uninteresting. The epic highs of the film are made so because of the score. At the very least, it brings a lot of energy to many scenes in the film, especially the ones where it was needed the most. It's not a perfect score, but it's an above-average composition that accompanies a so-so film.
Grade: C-
Telling a story that's been told before, this version of "Robin Hood" provides you with fun elements, but its lack of interesting characters and inclusion of unnecessary characters hinders it's ability to be genuinely good, rendering it a dumb fun flick.
Unless you're a dedicated fan of this story, you do not need to see this movie, even though I categorized it as "dumb fun." I would hardly recommend you see it in the theaters, but if you see it available to rent later on down the line, give it a try and have a laugh.
Conclusion
This has been my review of "Robin Hood." I'm glad that you decided to check it out. Are you planning to see "Robin Hood" anytime soon? What's your take on my review? Share your thoughts in the comments below. I really do appreciate any feedback. Feel free to recommend a film that you want me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm Dallin, your resident Film Fanatic, and I'll return soon with another editorial.
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