Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

Robin Hood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 8, 2019

The frequently questionable Wikipedia has an entire page devoted to cinematic and/or television adaptations of the Robin Hood story here, and even if the list seems either overly inclusive or in fact incomplete, depending on your point of view, it at least points out the fact that Robin of Loxley and Maid Marian, not to mention Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet, and that nefarious Sheriff of Nottingham, have imprinted themselves on the collective psyche in a rather remarkable way since the dawn of the film (and later the television) industry. Unfortunately, the very fact that Robin Hood has been adapted so many times and so variously through the years may have put an inescapable onus on this latest iteration of the timeless tale, and this particular Robin Hood arguably tries way too hard to give a “hip and happening” spin on the saga. It frankly doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was discussing some of the “other” Robin Hood adaptations in my review of the Ridley Scott — Russell Crowe Robin Hood, arguably the most recent “big” adaptation prior to this one, but whatever issues that version may have had, they frankly pale in comparison to some of the outright odd decisions that were made with regard to this version. From an opening narration that urges the viewer to forget everything they think they know about Robin Hood, through a series of bewildering events that evidently were designed to set up a future franchise, Robin Hood arguably might have worked better if they had divorced the story from its supposed time period, especially since some elements of the production design seem to hint at a more modern ambience. But it's that very modernity that seems intentionally designed (in more ways than one) to set this Robin Hood apart from "all the rest", and it's something that may actually detract from enjoyment rather than add to it.

One of the first ways Robin Hood “reinvents” its baseline tale is to have that aforementioned narration talk about a thief, only to divulge that the first robber shown actually turns out to be Marian (Eve Hewson). In just the first of several kind of silly sequences, Marian has broken into the stables of what turns out to be the estate of Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton), who freely offers up one of his stallions if only Marian will remove her veil and disclose her name. Of course the film wastes absolutely no time in then delivering a “lovers’ montage” documenting the romance between the two. Things at least get putatively more interesting in yet another oddly contemporary seeming moment when Robin gets a draft notice (to the Crusades, no less) from the Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn). Inquiring minds may want to know why draft notices are being sent by courier to various folks, not to mention why they’re being issued by the local sheriff, but Robin Hood just kind of plows along willy nilly, introducing “updates” to the basic mythology without much rhyme or reason.

The film has a number of stylistic conceits as it gets into a brief Crusade vignette, including bows and arrows that sound a lot like guns and bullets (including a “repeating arrow” that is kind of like the ancient analog to a Gattling gun), but it’s here that Robin, a loyal if unhappy warrior, tries to halt the execution of a young prisoner of war who is the son of an older captive named Yahya (Jamie Foxx). While Robin isn’t able to prevent the killing, his good deed gets him demobbed back to Merrie (?) Olde England, where he finds he’s been declared dead, his estate is in ruins, and more troublingly Marian is in the hands of upstart revolutionary Will Tillman (Jamie Dornan). In the midst of all this chaos Yahya, who has stowed away on the boat carrying Robin home, shows up and pledges his allegiance to Robin since Robin at least tried to save Yahya’s son. And because Robin has a hard time pronouncing “Yahya”, the character assumes the name of John, little or not (he’s missing a hand in this version, so at least he’s somewhat smaller than usual).

The film then spends an inordinate amount of time documenting the attempts of John to help train Robin to become the vigilante the traditional legend depicts him as being, though in this case the “rich” Robin wants to steal from is not an amorphous class, but Nottingham himself. Various machinations unfold, leading to a weird kind of ménage à trois feeling between Robin, Marian and Will. Director Otto Bathurst offers a relentlessly peripatetic camera (and editing) style, with propulsive sound effects and manic framings, but it’s all built upon a rather flimsy foundation, with characters that seem neither real (despite or actually maybe because of their ostensible “modernization”) or even sympathetic.

Perhaps the film’s oddest aspect is its production design, though. As perhaps can be gleaned from some of the screenshots accompanying this review, costumes in particular seem weirdly contemporary (take a gander at Nottingham’s natty topcoat in 12). Even hairstyles seem designed to evoke a current day ethos, while other elements, like brief CGI scenes of Nottingham, seem like a steampunk take on feudalism. Performances are probably hobbled by some fairly trite screenwriting, but Egerton never seems to muster the easy bravado that previous portrayers like Errol Flynn or even Kevin Costner managed to convey. Foxx is just over the top most of the time, and Hewson has little to work with as Marian other than various clinches with her two hunky paramours. The fact that this entry seems to have been written to provide a launching pad (trebuchet?) for a series may be at least as entertaining, at least to some jaded viewers, as anything the film itself has to offer.

Robin Hood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Robin Hood is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The IMDb lists Panavision's Millennium's DXL as having digitally captured the imagery, which was then finished at a 4K DI. I'm not overly familiar with this camera, though Panavision's site contains some interesting info about it, including the fact that it has a RED sensor and that its source resolution is 8K. Both of those elements may have played into the nicely sharp and well detailed image that this transfer boasts, despite some at times pretty clunky looking CGI. Director Bathurst and cinematographer George Steel opt for any number of cinematic bells and whistles along the way, but despite various stylistic artifices, detail and fine detail levels are typically excellent, even in less than excellent lighting situations. Some of the material that's been fairly heavily graded toward either yellow or blue may arguably have a few deficits in fine detail at times compared to more naturally graded or lit sequences, but it's a minimal difference at worst. On the whole fine detail on costumes and even some of the props like the quills in arrows is precise and virtually palpable at times. The makeup on Foxx's face is also tactile looking even in some midrange shots.

Robin Hood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

No matter what qualms some may have with Robin Hood in general, from a sound design perspective it's a lot of fun, and the Dolby Atmos track on this disc is one of the most consistently enjoyable I've listened to recently. The first fight sequence is a great example (and one that's repeated), where rapid fire bows finding their targets exploit clear engagement of the Atmos channels, as well as some really nifty panning sounds and then the "thwack" of arrow tip finding its target. The "Gattling gun" arrows that the Saracens have in the first fight sequence also provides a glut of great activity, albeit in short bursts. There are a number of big crowd scenes in the film where the spill of the background rabble nicely fills the surround channels, and a number of outdoor scenes have nicely realized ambient environmental sounds dotting the side and rear channels. Dialogue and Joseph Trapanese's score are both presented with excellent fidelity and no problems whatsoever.

Robin Hood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Outlaws and Auteurs: Reshaping Robin Hood (1080p; 1:04:28) is a longer than usual if ultimately standard issue EPK which at least offers the probably unintended entertainment value of "auteurs" being used in this context. There is some fun behind the scenes footage here for those curious as to how some of the set pieces were staged and shot.


• Outtakes (1080p; 4:38)


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 8:26) have timecode captions (with other interesting info for you data nerds) running beneath the image.

Robin Hood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robin Hood on Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic, and yet it's still a curiously "meh" experience. This tale has probably been visited too many times previously for a "hip and happening" reboot to come off as anything much more than unintended camp. The disc's technical merits are first rate, though, so for those who like sharp imagery and explosive sound design, there's a lot to look at and listen to here, even if the overall film is distinctly lacking in anything that memorable.