Robin Hood missed the mark at the box-office. We mean missed the mark so widely that we can't believe that a movie so unfocused and flailing could bear the name of the mythical archer.
Kingsman: The Secret Service star Taron Egerton plays the titular role guided by Jaime Foxx channelling every mentor figure in a movie ever. We'd like to say there were some Gandalf and some Albus Dumbledore in the Oscar winner's performance but we would be lying.
Taron Egerton basically plays "Eggsy", his character from Kingsman, minus his charm and wit. While Ben Mendelsohn's Sheriff of Nottingham is a rehash of his performance as Orson Krennic in Rogue One. We mean he is a brilliant actor but he is literally playing the same cardboard cut-out bad guy here.
The most recent example of a medieval legend missing its mark was King Arthur: Legend of the Sword starring Charlie Hunnam. Directed by Guy Ritchie the movie left a bad taste in our mouth. And we are sad to say that Robin Hood only adds to that.
The movie does have some redeemable points though. Surprisingly, that point comes from the performance of Jamie Dornan as Will Scarlet, a man of the people fighting for social justice. Coming off his portrayal as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades series, it seems like Jamie Dornan is trying extra hard to prove himself as an actor. And we have to say it worked for him. The other performance worthy of note is that of Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck, and he goes to town with the role providing the only actual source of humour in the film. Robin Hood at its core is a heist movie, but it isn't a very interesting one.
There have been various iterations of the Robin Hood mythos ranging from good (Robin Hood: Men in Tights) to the heavy-handed not-so-good Russel Crowe's Robin Hood. And we have to say that Taron Egerton's Robin Hood just added to the latter group. Hey, we'll even go as far as to say that we miss Kevin Costner as Robin Hood.
