A modern Robin fighting in the past
Robin Hood, with Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Eve Hewson, Ben Mendelsohn. Directed by Otto Bathurst. 3.5/5
The new Robin Hood is an entertaining thrill ride, even if it includes some incongruous political sentiments and highly unlikely action sequences.
There have been many movies made about the legend of Robin Hood, one of the best known tales of English folklore, but this version owes more to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which featured Kevin Costner in the title role and Morgan Freeman as his Saracen right-hand man.
But, possibly to appeal to a younger audience, this Robin is a lot younger, with Taron Egerton in the starring role. Even after a four-year stint in the Crusades, he still comes back looking like a teenager.
Incorporating familiar elements of the legend, Robin of Loxley is a nobleman living an idyllic life. He even meets Maid Marian (Eve Hewson) at this point, as she attempts to steal one of his horses for a poor farmer. He allows her to take it and so their romance begins.
But this perfect life comes crashing down when Robin is conscripted into the army to fight in the Third Crusade in Arabia.
This is where the film takes a notable detour from the myth, with a platoon of English archers depicted quite amusingly in a way that is intended to represent US marines in Iraq or Afghanistan, stalking through the streets of a war-torn Arab city, trying to avoid snipers above with incredible Gatling gun-type arrow shooters.
Robin meets his nemesis, who later becomes his friend, in the form of Yahya (Jamie Foxx), a highly skilled archer who almost kills him before Robin’s commander, Guy of Gisborne (Paul Anderson), comes to his aid.
But Robin defies his commander when he objects to the summary execution of prisoners, including Yahya’s young son. For his disobedience, he is shipped back to England.
On his return, he finds his mansion in ruins, the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn) having declared him dead two years prior and seized his property for the war effort.
The local populace is also suffering under the yoke of heavy labour in the coal mines, and taxed to death.
Even worse for Robin, Marian has married another man, Will Scarlet (Jamie Dornan), a man of the people with political ambitions.
In despair, Robin is confronted by Yahya, who escaped captivity and stowed away on a ship to England to find Robin. He swears allegiance to Robin because he tried to save his son and says his name can be translated to “John” (thus Little John).
John mentors and trains Robin to become a peerless archer, robbing from the Sheriff in increasingly brazen heists. John’s motive is to stop the flow of financial support for the war, while Robin’s is more personal.
In the midst of this is the involvement of corrupt clergy, and there is even a reference to the sexual abuse of children – another modern revelation projected back onto the past.
It’s a gritty and somewhat jarring version of the legend, but also sprinkled with humour.