I got stranded at my house this week due to my JEEP's starter dying on me and all the parts stores were closed over the weekend, so I decided to watch and review another movie for you all. I watched Summit Entertainment's 2018 adaptation of the Classic story of Robin of Loxley. You can currently watch Robin Hood 2018 on HBO Max.
Authored by Doc Comeau on Saturday, April 9th, 2022 at 1:12 PM EST
This version of Robin Hood is not the traditional tale. All the characters are present Robin, Marian, Little John and the Sheriff, etc., but it is more of the origin story of Robin Hood. It explores the war he fought in the crusades and his training to become the legendary thief.
Robin Hood 2018 was directed by London born Otto Bathurst, This was the first project he produces that I have watched and its a magnificently bad movie. He is also responsible for 2013's "Peaky Blinders" and " 2011's "Black Mirror." This show got acclaim for its brand of dystopian fiction.
This version of Robin is played by Taron Egerton, actor, producer and soundtrack composer. Egerton doesn't do a bad job in this film, but its clear the direction or what seems like lack there of didn't provide enough material for the actor to work with. In this film adaptation we see the Legendary Thief slowly become the man we know him to be and even gets some of his time in the Crusades something we have only ever been told at the beginning of other Robin Hood movies.
Jamie Foxx stars alongside Egerton as this film's version of Little John. A Moorish man whose name translates to John and Robin fought against in the Crusades. Inspired by Loxley's courage and compassion he follows him back to Nottingham in the hopes he will help him put and end to the Crusades by stealing the war funding. John helps refine Loxley's war skills and mold him into the Legendary Theif.
Loxley's Maid Marian is brought to life by Eve Hewson. This version of the character was Robin's inspiration for becoming a man who gives what he steals to the poor. A young, compassionate common woman who cares about the people suffering in Nottingham.
The Sheriff of Nottighan and the main antagonist of this film is portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn. This version of Loxley's nemesis is an emotionally disturbed man hell bent on destroying the kingdom to get revenge for being raped by the Lord's of the land when he was a child. A ruthless and cruel man that rules the land with an iron fist.
This movie bombed at the Box Office. The Tomatometer has the movies sitting at a measly "15%" out of "167 reviews" and an Audience Score of "40%" out of "2500+ reviews." The Critic Consensus found below suggest this movie is the real thief.
CRITICS CONSENSUS: Robin Hood robs from rich source material, but is ultimately just another poor attempt to needlessly gussy up a classic tale with amped-up action and modern special effects.
Okay, so I am a fan of legends and historical fiction with Robin Hood alongside King Arthur being among my favorite ancient tales. Despite having a fan bias and enjoying the movie from that I tried to stay critical during the review of this movie. This movie is a less than average film. While I didn't find it as bad as the Critics on Rotten Tomatoes I was inclined with most of the Audience on this adaptation. I was forced to give this film a 4 out of 10. I do not recommend watching this movie unless you are a fan of the characters and legend.
As always from here on out I will not be avoiding spoilers so please jump to the conclusion if you want to avoid them. Though I am not sure why you would as I have already told you, you might want to continue to avoid this film as you have made it this long already. If you don't care about that sort of thing I will break this film down into three sections and explain why I gave the film the score I did.
"I was forced to give this film a 4 out of 10." - Doc Comeau
This is where this film went horribly wrong to such a degree it's hard for me to even begin. This section is split on this film. It had an interesting story, but the Screenplay based on what I have seen seems like it lacked enough material for the actors to work with to pull it off in a successful way.
So the story is an interesting take from any of the previous versions of this story. Instead of telling the story of Robin and his Merry Men living in Sherwood Forest, it is the take of the Young Lord's time during the Crusades and his journey to becoming the Legendary Theif. Something that was quite clearly set up to make multiple films.
An origin story for the character with a modern twist is an intriguing enough idea to peak any film goers interest, but choosing to apply that to the historical time period fell flat to me. If I didn't learn it was meant to be the time of the Crusades, I would have thought it was a Post Apocalyptic Dystopian Future tale. Which alongside a modern day version or a traditionally accurate version for new audiences would have been a much better attempt at reaching younger movie goers.
The modern elements felt out of place in such a historic setting and I forced to deduct points for how disjointed some of the story's elements were. Sadly, this did not live up to my expectations as a fan of the character and definitely didn't bring in the audience the film's producers would hope for. I had to give this section a 4 out 10. It was a valiant attempt that just fell flat.
I had to give this section a 4 out 10. It was a valiant attempt that just fell flat. - Doc Comeau
The Performances in this film could have been great, but it felt like none of the cast had enough material to bring it all together. They rushed through Egerton and Marian's romance at the beginning. Instead of building some character development they decided to use a montage sequence despite Egerton and Hewson's chemistry. Their attraction felt real and the montage was a waste of character development time for Marian.
Especially since this romance was central to Rob as he is called in this adaptation's origin into the Legendary Theif that gives what he steals to the poor. Before hearing her suggest he do this in the film, he was using it to finance what he and Little John were planning. To stop all the war financing.
Despite the actors giving it their all it focused too much on big spectacle action scenes that were awesome and glorious, but came at the expense of dialogue and character development. Jamie Foxx's version of Little John barely gets explored outside the character's introduction and felt more like comic relief than a part of Robin's crew. Something that was sad because it was an interesting take on the character that didn't kill the essence of the original tales.
This has to be the best part of this film. Had the stars been given good material to work with and been allowed to shine a bit more than the flashy CGI, this could have been a great film. I had to remove points for some of the things mentioned above. However, the people in this film were too good for the film. I give this section a 5 out of 10. Your typical example of the stars elevating the nature of a bad direction.
I give this section a 5 out of 10. Your typical example of the stars elevating the nature of a bad direction. - Doc Comeau
This section of my review is going to be a bit interesting because if I graded it without considering the other sections as I normally do It would elevate the rating of the film despite the cinematography being one of the reasons the film failed. They put way too much effort into the spectacular action sequences, but without a good story and character development it fails to carry the movie. Textbook example of sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
The action sequences during the Crusade War scenes were phenomenal and excellent action sequences that were shot with mostly continuous filming. Something really hard to do, but the automatic balistas pulled you out of the film's narrative and broke the sense of immersion. They were visually compelling, but made the story feel more like a Post Apocalyptic War than a medieval one.
Ultimately, this movie was all flair and no substance and as a fan is a shame, because this cast could have pulled off a good trilogy for Robin Hood had the focus on allowing the characters to tell their tale. It's hard to appreciate a story when the action sequences, remove you from it. I was forced to give this section a 3 out of 10 for this film. Sad really because combined with these actors and a better story and stage direction it could have been a 10 out of 10.
I was forced to give this section a 3 out of 10 for this film. Sad really because combined with these actors and a better story and stage direction it could have been a 10 out of 10. - Doc Comeau
Robin Hood 2018 is the ultimate Robin Hood trilogy failed to be told. It missed key character development requirements and the action pulled you out of the time period and broke my immersion with the film. If you are a Robin Hood fan, you will enjoy this movie, but if you are an average movie goer you may want to skip this one.
1) IMDb.com. (2018, November 21). Robin Hood. IMDb. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4532826/
Archived At; https://archive.ph/hejQY
2) Robin Hood. Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robin_hood_2018
Archived At; https://archive.ph/jZ2Sv
3) Egerton, T., Foxx, J., & Mendlsohn, B. (2018). Robin Hood. Summit Entertainment.
4( Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, April 1). Otto Bathurst. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Bathurst
Archived At; https://archive.ph/lcW9V
