Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Beyond Sherwood Forest Blu-ray Movie Review

Dragons, portals, and plenty of "I wanna be like Kevin" shots make up this oddball adaptation.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 20, 2010

A thief perhaps but a most uncommon one I assure you.

Folk legend Robin Hood -- he of "take from the rich and give to the poor" fame -- and his band of Merry Men have since the early days of cinema taken their act from Sherwood Forest to the silver screen, the famed archer's stories living on through a plethora of big- and small-screen adventures of varying quality but most of some appeal if only for yet another look into the legend that won't die. England's favorite thief has been portrayed by some of Hollywood's finest -- Errol Flynn, Kevin Costner, Cary Elwes, Russell Crowe, and even Patrick Stewart in a crowd-pleasing episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" -- and there seems to be no sign of waning interest in the character, with Director Ridley Scott's take still in theaters and having just surpassed the $100,000,000 domestic gross mark. For all the fair-to-excellent adaptations over the years, there are, of course, some clunkers hoping to cash in on the frenzy. 2009's made-for-TV movie Beyond Sherwood Forest is one such example, the picture playing loose with lore and delving into a mystical and magical plot line that doesn't exactly fit in with traditional Robin Hood motifs, but what the heck. Give it credit for doing something different, even if it did so only to separate itself from every other on-the-cheap Robin Hood clones out there.

Winner: Kevin Costner impersonation.

England, 1174. Robin Hood (Robin Dunne) and his "band" of merry men -- which include the walking oxymoron Little John (Mark Gibbon) and the wannabe Gareth (Cainan Wiebe) -- are doing their thing, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, when they stumble upon Maid Marian (Erica Durance) in Sherwood Forest. She's fled from home; she's to marry an Austrian man she doesn't love for the sake of the kingdom's political alliances, and she's not about to succumb to a life she doesn't want. A furious Prince John (David Richmond-Peck), who could really use some Proactiv and a toothbrush, demands of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Julian Sands) that he retrieve the fair maiden and her dowry at all costs, and while he's at it, he may as well take out Robin Hood, too. The Sheriff and Robin have a past -- it turns out he murdered Robin's father back when he was a wee lad still learning his way around the bow and arrow -- which, of course, will come to the forefront at some point along the journey, but not before the Sheriff summons a young woman who just so happens to have the ability to transform into a menacing dragon to do his dirty work for him. Robin and his men, with Will Scarlet (Richard de Klerk) now in tow, must travel beyond -- well beyond -- Sherwood Forest if they have any hopes of beating the dragon, stopping the Sheriff, and setting things straight in Nottingham once and for all.

What is there to say about Beyond Sherwood Forest? Not much, really. The picture's not nearly good enough to keep one's interest, and it's nowhere near bad enough to warrant a "Mystery Science Theater 3000"-like watch. It's just another in cinema's Sea of Forgotten Films, a little venture that probably paid some bills, padded some resumés, and entertained a few people on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Considering that the vast majority of movies fall into that category, it's not like Beyond Sherwood Forest is in particularly bad company. The movie is actually fairly impressive for what it is. The made-for-television market might actually be worse in terms of production values and quality of story than the direct-to-video fodder that finds its way onto store shelves week after week, but this particular effort more often than not finds itself chugging along on a few cylinders, even when the legend of Robin Hood takes a turn for the absurd, like some strange "Twilight Zone" episode run amok. Imagine King Arthur fighting off some Martians or Jesus taking it to some vampires...oops, they actually did that one...but Beyond Sherwood Forest's inexplicable addition of a dragon -- a fragile human girl who mutates into a winged beast at several points in the film -- isn't just completely out of left field, it's way out there beyond the bleachers, across the street, through the sports bar, past the river, and over the state line. Whatever, it works well enough in an odd sort of way; the story's suitably coherent, anyway, but don't expect anything that sticks to reality or even the "legend" of Robin Hood beyond the basics (i.e. names, dates, bows and arrows, and the whole giving to the poor thing).

As an Action film, Beyond Sherwood Forest proves pretty tepid. The combat scenes are unconvincing -- slow paced, clumsy, and not exactly able to get the blood pumping -- and the better ones seem like they've been "borrowed" from the 1991 Kevin Costner film, changing around a few things here and there but viewers familiar with Costner's picture will recognize where the writers were inspired after watching the DVD a few times. In fact, the picture sometimes plays out more like a video game than a movie; the characters aren't really developed enough to matter, but the filmmakers get them to a point where they're each instantly recognizable and their general purpose known when they happen to pop up on the screen. The whole supernatural mystique surrounding the film would seem better suited in the digital realm; such anomalies like portals in the middle of the forest, mutating girls, and wounds that magically heal themselves work better on the PS3 than they do on film -- particularly when they're set in the English countryside circa the 12th century -- but at least Beyond Sherwood Forest aims to separate itself from the crowd, for better or for worse. On the technical side of the ledger, the dragon special effects aren't half bad, certainly a step up from the usual eye-gouging sort of material that dots SyFy fare. TV Director Peter DeLuise handles the material well enough to keep the picture moving at a fair pace, and leading couple Robin Dunne and Erica Durance share a chemistry that ain't exactly Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, but they're charming enough in a film that requires of them little beyond looking good together.

Beyond Sherwood Forest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beyond Sherwood Forest goes through the Blu portal and brings with it a capable 1080p transfer, framed in the film's broadcast-original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The image enjoys good texturing on faces, where rough wrinkles, scraggly facial hair, and fine pores are readily evident in just about every close-up shot. Additionally, the transfer boasts above-average detailing on most every object in the film, whether period costumes, foliage, or twigs and pebbles lining Sherwood's floor. A few shots go noticeably but not excessively soft, such nuisances intermixed with what is a generally sharp and clear image. Black levels aren't overtly problematic, delivering solidly dark elements with only a hint of crushing in spots; flesh tones are consistent and well-balanced throughout. Unfortunately, the transfer does suffer from some chunky color gradations, but never is the problem front-and-center. All in all, this is a quality transfer from Starz, particularly given the film's roots as a made-for-television time killer.

Beyond Sherwood Forest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beyond Sherwood Forest doesn't go beyond the basics, the disc offering listeners a singular audio option in the form of a passable but paltry Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. An absence of punch and vigor defines this one; it tries to make up for its lack of power with a good sense of space, solid directional effects, a couple of discrete elements, and an occasional back-channel surprise, but at best these elements only conceal the problem rather than alleviate it. This on-the-cheap picture doesn't offer the same calibre of sound effects that are found in bigger Robin Hood movies with money to splurge on such luxuries; arrows generally don't "swoosh" through the sky, but listeners will note their impact on objects, which occasionally occur off to the side of the soundstage. The surround channels are used to decent effect to bring the listening area partially alive with several sounds of nature, but never does the track engender a sense of wonderment at the living, breathing entity that could have been Sherwood Forest. As it is, the track comes about as-expected of a SyFy movie-turned-Blu-ray; dialogue is strong enough, and most of the sound elements are convincing but absent a more honest and effortless presentation.

Beyond Sherwood Forest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are included with this Blu-ray release of Beyond Sherwood Forest.

Beyond Sherwood Forest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Since it's a SyFy Channel movie, it's no surprise that Beyond Sherwood Forest has some Science Fiction/Fantasy elements, even if it does cull its source material from a legend that doesn't really have anything to do with dragons, self-healing wounds, or portals to other dimensions. No matter, the film manages to say "hey, I'm different!" even if it does recall Kevin Costner's film in several scenes, but when something that kinda-sorta looks like a Stargate hovers over the Sherwood Forest floor, well, it's obvious that someone had one too many while desperately trying to come up with an idea for the movie of the week. Beyond Sherwood Forest is suitably entertaining if taken in the proper perspective; in many ways it's better than the usual made-for-TV junk, but Robin Hood purists need not apply. Beyond Sherwood Forest arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Starz/Anchor Bay with no supplements but a decent technical presentation. The curiously-inclined might want to give it a rent, and diehard Blu-ray collectors will enjoy the disc's aggressive pricing.