Robin Hood is hardly a terrible movie, it did have some passion behind-the-scenes and I did genuinely like Jamie Foxx as John, but most everything else makes you wonder: what’s the point of a big budget movie like this?
Robin Hood
(2018)
Genre(s): Adventure, Drama
Lionsgate | PG13 – 116 min. – $42.99 | February 19, 2019
Date Published: 02/20/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Lionsgate provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.25/5 |
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Note: This review does contain some major plot spoilers, so please beware. There have literally been 1,000 adaptations (I counted) of Robin Hood dating back to 1908 with Robin Hood and His Merry Men and has had numerous TV series including DC’s Arrow, a character certainly inspired by the classic character. The last Hollywood big budget before this in 2010 starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. Well, eight years later and I guess it was time for yet another version and like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword before it, this adventure-drama falls flat on its back, or maybe an arrow through its heart.
Taron Egerton takes on the iconic role this go around, Robin of Loxley has been sent to fight a war against the Arabians where he first meets Yahya (JAMIE FOXX), who is fighting for Arabia and is ultimately captured and Robin is sent back after unsuccessfully attempting to save Yahya’s son from execution. Upon his return to Nottingham, where he left his beloved Marian (EVE HEWSON) to wait for him in his stately estate, he discovers his home had been repossessed by the Sheriff of Nottingham (BEN MENDOLSPHN) who rules with an iron fist, and Marian has been sent to live and work in the mines. Robin also discovers two years prior, Robin had been declared dead, with Marian moving on with Will Scarlet (JAMIE DORNAN), a local mouthpiece for the downtrodden. Seeing Marian with someone else, Robin skulks about when he’s approached by Yahya, aka John, to join forces to help the lower class citizens fight against the Sheriff and upper crust of society. Soon Robin begin robbing the rich to garner entry to meet the Sheriff and entrench himself with those around him, to discover what the Sheriff and others are up to. Meanwhile, Marian, with the help of Friar Tuck (TIM MINCHIN), to uncover a conspiracy between the Sheriff and the church Cardinal (F. MURRAY ABRAHAM). Jamie Foxx acquits himself well enough, though for me he is one of only a few actors working that can overcome a poor script, which Foxx does even in a somewhat underdeveloped character, of course with the sequel-baiting, surely there were more plans for him. The other two highlights, for perhaps the wrong reasons, were Ben Mendelsohn and F. Murray Abraham, both normally amazing actors but effectively chew up the scenery, the latter with some an amazingly laughable facial performance while Mendelsohn was at least seemed to be having a fun old time playing the villain.
Oh, and would be remiss not to mention Jamie Dornan as Will Scarlet, perhaps the biggest change in the Robin Hood lore. This is spoiler territory, but he definitely does not play a true friend to Robin and by film’s end, is baited to be the villain in the never-will-happen sequel… As for Taron Egerton… I liked him in the Kingsman movies (even the disappointing sequel) but he never carried himself adequately in the lead role, and even appeared a uncomfortable, lacking a certain gravitas necessary for the role, even when considering Robin Hood was in his early days. Combine that and the absolutely lacking chemistry opposite Eve Hewson’s Marian, and you’ve got a film that’s pretty hard to watch, and it’s not for a lack of talent. Robin Hood (2018 edition) was directed by Otto Bathurst, marking his feature film debut with a background in television helming a variety of series which included Hustle, Black Mirror and Criminal Justice. I suppose Bathurst wasn’t bad, able to at least make an interesting looking movie, even when the story and performances weren’t. The costumes and production designs at least looked fine, the former apparently a combination of historically accurate apparel combined with more contemporary and futuristic aspects, I guess attempting to set it apart from other versions.
In the end, I really didn’t ‘hate’ this movie but also don’t think there it was necessary with hundreds of different versions that have been released in the past 100 years, and there’s not enough entertainment value that can overcome the script from Ben Chandler and David James Kelly, both also making their feature film debuts. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5 |
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This release comes with a matted and semi-reflective slip cover, inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. All of the features are included on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs. Outlaws and Auteurs: Reshaping Robin Hood (1:04:28) is a 7-part making-of featurette with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with members of the cast and crew explaining this new version of the classic character. Outtakes (4:38) filled with line flubs and on-set mistakes. Deleted Scenes (8:26) – Six scenes were left on the cutting room floor, probably for good reason, likely due to pacing issues. |
4K VIDEO – 5.0/5, BD VIDEO – 5.0/5 |
| Robin Hood swings onto 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Lionsgate presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers respectively. This is a great looking picture in either format; there is a wide variety of colors from the natural end of the spectrum to some more vibrancy elements, aided by the included HDR for the 4K disc (Dolby Vision is also available, but I don’t have the equipment). Detail is incredibly sharp and it is a clean transfer with no apparent instances of banding, aliasing or artifacting. |
AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
| Both the 4K and Blu-ray comes equipped with a strong Dolby Atmos track (TrueHD 7.1 for older systems) and while I won’t go so far to say it’s the best sounding track I’ve come across as the depth isn’t quite as dramatic compared with other releases, this still sounds excellent; dialogue levels are crisp and clear throughout and when the action picks up, and there are a few horse chase sequences with explosions no less, all channels come to life, including the LFE which kicks on for that extra measure of rumbling. |
OVERALL – 2.75/5 |
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Overall, Robin Hood is hardly a terrible movie, it did have some passion behind-the-scenes and I did genuinely like Jamie Foxx as John, but most everything else makes you wonder: what’s the point of a big budget movie like this? In addition, Talon Egerton never looked right for the role. As such, this is at best a rental. This 4K/Blu-ray combo pack comes with great video and audio transfers and at least comes with a lengthy making-of featurette. |
The screen captures came from the Blu-ray copy and are here to add visuals to the review and do not represent the 4K video.