It’s Been 33 Years Since a Good ‘Robin Hood’ Movie — So Why Does Hollywood Keep Going Back for More? (original) (raw)
A closeup of Robin Hood, played by actor Kevin Costner, drawing back an arrow ready to fire in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Image via Warner Bros.
Published Oct 30, 2024, 11:10 AM EDT
Liam Gaughan is a film and TV writer at Collider. He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. Between relentlessly adding new titles to his watchlist and attending as many screenings as he can, Liam is always watching new movies and television shows.
In addition to reviewing, writing, and commentating on both new and old releases, Liam has interviewed talent such as Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Plemons, Sam Mendes, Billy Eichner, Dylan O'Brien, Luke Wilson, and B.J. Novak. Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. He lives in Allentown, PA.
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The character of Robin Hoodis one of the many properties that lies in the public domain, which means that any studio or filmmaker can use it as a source of inspiration for an upcoming project. Due to the fact that no fees or licensing deals are involved, there have been countless Robin Hood films over the course of history, with some as old as the silent era of cinema. Robin Hood is a character that should seemingly be relevant within any era, as the story of a brave hero who fights against the wealthy class will always resonate with audiences. Unfortunately, Hollywood does not seem to understand that Robin Hood has been overexposed, and that any new version of the story needs to have a compelling hook that informs audiences what they’re seeing is not a complete retread of the past.
The Best ‘Robin Hood’ Stories Have Already Been Told
An inherent issue that many Robin Hood stories face is living up to the past, as it is very hard to introduce a new version of a character that has already become iconic in previous incarnations. 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood is a classic of the Golden Age of Hollywood that has stood the test of time, as Errol Flynn’s interpretation of the hero of Nottingham set the precedent for what all future versions of the character would look like. The only subsequent version that attained the same level of cultural credibility is Disney’s animated version of the story, as the instantly iconic songs and eye-popping visuals were able to appeal to younger audiences.
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The Robin Hood films that have succeeded have made dramatic changes to the source material that challenged the audience's perception of the characters. Long before the term “dark and gritty” became synonymous with the superhero genre, Richard Lester’s underrated 1976 film Robin and Marian featured a much older version of Robin and Maid Marian, played brilliantly by Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn, respectively. Instead of focusing on the action, Robin and Marian examined the challenges that the characters had in living up to the legacy that they had earned when they were younger. Similarly, 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves morphed the story into an unabashed historical epic that coasted on the charisma of its stars. While there are many flaws to be found in the film (including Kevin Costner’s notoriously weak English accent), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves filled the void of epic melodrama that audiences in the 1990s wanted, and modernized the story with a terrific soundtrack and epic set pieces.
Modern ‘Robin Hood’ Movies Don’t Have Anything New To Offer
The more recent attempts to reboot the Robin Hood mythology have not convinced audiences that they are necessary. Ridley Scott’s 2010 take on the character took a considerably darker approach to the material, but there was nothing unique enough about the story being told that would distinguish it from the other, much better historical epics that have been made. While the 2018 reboot starring Taron Egertonmay have become a hit on Netflix, it failed in theaters because the character has simply been overexposed. These films also made the mistake of being entirely joyless; Robin Hood is a character that comes from myths and fables, and thus should at least provide some playfulness to viewers.
Robin Hood’s mythology may not be complex enough to justify multiple incarnations. While a character like King Arthur can be analyzed for the various historical, political, and religious allusions within the text, Robin Hood may have simply been a forebear to the vigilante concept, which has grown into a unique subgenre of its own. It doesn’t help that the character has been parodied countless times over the years, as Mel Brooks’ comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights has made it difficult to take anything about the character seriously moving forward. There is still some hope that Michael Sarnoski’s upcoming A24 film The Death of Robin Hoodmay breathe some life back into the property, but it will need to be a masterpiece in order to prove that Nottingham is worth revisiting on the big screen.
Release Date
November 21, 2018
Runtime
1h 56m
Director
Otto Barthurst
Writers
David James Kelly, Ben Chandler
Cast
Paul Anderson
Robin Hood - A Fox (voice)
Tim Minchin
Little John - A Bear (voice)
Friar Tuck - A Badger (voice)
Maid Marian - A Vixen (voice)
A retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, the 2018 film stars Taron Egerton as the English folk hero. Egerton's Robin Hood is trained by Little John (Jamie Foxx) and fights in secret against the corrupt rule of the Sherriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn). Jamie Dornan, Tim Minchin, Eve Hewson, Paul Anderson, and F. Murray Abraham also appear in supporting roles.
Robin Hood is streaming on Netflix in the United States.