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It’s hard to overstate how influentialThe Dark Knightwas on blockbusters for almost an entire decade, for both better and worse. It proved that genre films were fully capable of delivering dramatic goods and resonating with fans and critics alike, but while it encouraged some filmmakers to up their game, too many learned the wrong lessons. Studios came to believe that making their blockbusters darker and grittier was the key to success, not understanding how the tone servedThe Dark Knight’s story, and this lesson was learned the hard way with unsuccessful reimaginings of Spider-Man and Superman. Yet out of all the dark and gritty reboots that permeated the 2010s, none were as inexplicable as 2018’sRobin Hood.
A massive critical and commercial bomb,it pushed the idea of the darker reboot to the point of self-parodyand arguably killed off the trend on its own. But we’d be lying if we claimed the film wasn’t entertaining, albeit for the wrong reasons. In a sea of modern blockbusters that feel like few involved cared about making them,Robin Hoodis so bafflingly assured of its convictions that it reaches so-bad-it’s-good territory.
Robin Hood
Robin Hood Utterly Fails to Modernize Itself
Maybe the nicest thing we can say aboutRobin Hoodis that it rips the band-aid off quickly. Viewers go in expecting one of theworst incarnations of the character, and within minutes, the film confirms those fears, eschewing any slowly building dread. By the 10-minute mark, it’s impossible not to be distracted by the blatant anachronisms on display, asthe costume design looks far too contemporaryto believably match the time period, andthe modern dialogue is completely out of place.
Of course, historical anachronisms on their own aren’t necessarily a death sentence; modern Shakespeare adaptations that keep the original dialogue have become a subgenre, and Baz Luhrmann’s reimagining ofThe Great Gatsbyproved a big hit with audiences. But whenRobin Hoodincludes scenes of Nottingham soldiers wearing modern military uniforms or of a riot scene in Nottingham that brings back memories of Occupy Wall Street, it’s actively distracting.
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This is all before getting intoRobin Hood’s ham-fisted political allegories. Early in the runtime, the titular hero gets drafted to fight in the Third Crusades against the Saracens. Viewers are then treated to a combat sequence straight out ofThe Hurt Locker, complete with the Crusaders calling in airstrikes from catapults and taking cover from a ballista firing arrows with the rapidity of a machine gun. The visual parallelswith the Iraq and Afghanistan warsare comically obvious and only provoke laughter in their bluntness. One almost expects Robin’s commanding officer to say, “Mission accomplished.”
The allegory only becomes more shoehorned with later plot revelations that the Church is actively funding the war effort on both sides while using the Sheriff of Nottingham as a pawn to overthrow the King of England.The film is fully committed to this allegory, which would be admirable if an Iraq War commentary didn’t feel old in 2018 or if it didn’t feel entirely out of place in aRobin Hoodmovie. The result is afilm that utterly fails to reinvent itself for the modern era, and worse, the elements intended to be timely instead feel hopelessly dated.
Robin Hood Shamelessly Copies The Dark Knight
As previously mentioned,The Dark Knightwas a watershed moment for blockbusters that spawned countless imitators, some successful (Skyfall,Logan), others not (The Amazing Spider-Manfilms,2015’sFantastic Four). So, while it’s not surprising that a dark-and-gritty reboot ofRobin Hoodwould also attempt to follow in its footsteps, what’s shocking is howshamelessly the movie borderline plagiarizesThe Dark Knight.
Once Robin starts stealing back the goods that the Sheriff of Nottingham has confiscated from the villagers to fund the war, he earns the reputation of a vigilante and gets the unintentionally hysterical nickname “The Hood.” But it’s not enough for the film to simply make Robin Hood astand-in for Batman; to throw off suspicion from the Sheriff, he spends his days masquerading as a reckless playboy, effectively putting on a different kind of mask for the rest of the world. Again, one can’t fault the movie for not being 100% committed to the bit.
But even more hilarious is how the film utilizes Will Scarlet, known in the Robin Hood legend as one of the hero’s most recognizable Merry Men. Scarlet, played by a woefully miscast Jamie Dornan (not among his best work), is introduced as the leader of a group of commoners rebelling against the Sheriff’s regime, even though he’s clearly only interested in revolution as a means to help him further his standing. He’s also deeply in love with Maid Marian, leading to him regularly clashing with Robin to a degree that they gradually become at odds with each other.
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To begin with,the love triangle between Will Scarlet, Maid Marian, and Robin shares more than a few similarities with the dynamic between Bruce Wayne, Rachel Dawes, and Harvey Dent inThe Dark Knight. While the overlap isn’t one-to-one (Marian thankfully survives), they’re still close enough thatRobin Hoodruns the risk of plagiarism, mostly in how the hero’s ally gradually morphs into an antagonist. But in case viewers still didn’t pick up on the similarities, the film drives them home in a comical post-credits scene (which adorably sets up a sequel that never happened), showing Will becoming the new Sheriff of Nottingham — with half his face scarred from the climactic battle.
Yet, despite desperately trend-chasing as the movie sounds,Robin Hoodis a surprising laugh riot, even though it wasn’t intended to be. Too many blockbusters nowadays feel too calculated to be accessible to as large a demographic as possible. As such, they have to stay semi-competent and play things safe (as evidenced by how theVenomfilms would be better off embracing pure schlock but don’t commit to it).
However,RobinHoodis nothing if not fully committed to its baffling convictions, no matter how shamelessly it apesThe Dark Knightor how much its political allegory doesn’t add up. As it turns out, it’s that bizarre sincerity that makesRobin Hoodone of the most hilariouslyso bad it’s good blockbustersof the last decade.Robin Hoodis streaming onNetflix.
