The Death of Robin Hood review

THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD: 

HUGH JACKMAN SHINES, BUT THIS ALTERNATE TAKE ON ROBIN HOOD IS A DULL SLOG! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

A24

Hugh Jackman in The Death of Robin Hood

 

            A24 and Hugh Jackman (X-Men franchise, The Prestige, The Sheep Detectives) join forces to bring a different take on Robin Hood in The Death of Robin Hood, the new film from director Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One), based on the anonymous work, Robin Hood’s Death. I thought the movie looked interesting when I saw the trailer, and regardless of what I end up saying about it, I still stand by the fact that it’s a fascinating idea: What if Robin Hood killed and robbed people simply because he enjoyed it? 

            That already sets it apart from previous interpretations like the Disney animated Robin Hood or the Kevin Costner Robin Hood, and with a great actor like Jackman portraying him and an amazing director like Michael Sarnoski helming it, surely, this will be a gripping and engaging film…*sighs* it didn’t do much for me, sadly. I don’t think The Death of Robin Hood is a terrible movie, as there are a lot of impressive things about it, but I just found this film very repetitive and surprisingly dull. 

            The film follows Robin Hood (Jackman), who was not the noble and heroic thief who stole from the rich and gave to the needy or rescued Maid Marion from a devious ruler; instead, this Robin Hood killed and robbed for the enjoyment of it. He is gravely injured in what he thought would be his last battle and is offered a chance at salvation by healer and prioress, Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer-Free Guy, The Last Duel, 28 Years Later). 

            The film also stars Bill Skarsgård (It: Chapters 1 and 2, John Wick: Chapter 4, Nosferatu) as Little John, Murray Bartlett (Looking, The White Lotus, Nine Perfect Strangers) as The Leaper/Guy of Gisborne, Noah Jupe (Wonder, A Quiet Place 1 and 2, Ford v. Ferrari) as Arthur/Godwyn, and Jade Croot (The Witcher, The Serpent Queen, Rabbit Trap) as Wainwright. 

            Overall, The Death of Robin Hood has a lot going for it: Hugh Jackman gives a stellar performance as usual, the production design is impressive, and Michael Sarnoski’s direction is big and epic. Unfortunately, its sloppy execution, sluggish pacing, and waste of potential bog down this interpretation of Robin Hood. 

            This could have been a fascinating and epically powerful deconstruction of the Robin Hood character, and while there are some interesting ideas being explored here, I didn’t find the film itself to be all that captivating. I thought the first half was very strong with gritty and brutal combat in a depressing world, and now, he’s wounded and has to face the consequences for his actions. There was a lot of emotional weight there, and Jackman sells every minute of it. 

            However, like I said, as the film goes on, it meanders and slows down to a crawl, I don’t know if it was because I got up early that morning or if it was the movie itself, but I actually started to doze a bit in the latter half of the film (I never fall asleep during a movie, but I really felt the length with this one). I’m not against slow-paced movies; going to another recent A24 film, Backrooms, was also a slow burn, and I thought that was great because it kept that intrigue and tension throughout the movie. 

            Here, the film had a solid first half that was very tense, brutal, and compelling, but when it slows down in the latter half, it completely loses all that energy and becomes a chore to sit through with no real payoff at the end. Had the runtime either been trimmed down, the pacing issues been fixed, and the characters had more development, I think we could have gotten a great Robin Hood deconstruction. As is, it’s just a very mid A24 version of the whole “If you think you know the story, think again” type of film. 

            It makes me sad to call this film mid because Hugh Jackman is great as Robin Hood and was often giving me Wolverine from Logan vibes with his performance; he sells the emotion and tragedy of this version of the character, and is easily the best part of the film. Jodie Comer is also great as the woman who heals Robin Hood, though she isn’t given much to do in the film’s story; she makes do with the material she has. 

            Everyone else is just kinda there. I completely forgot about Bill Skarsgård as Little John, and making me forget an actor as legendary as him is in your movie is a serious crime. I actually remembered him better as The Crow in that terrible reboot that came out a couple years ago than his performance in this. 

            I just want to get this review done. The Death of Robin Hood had a strong start with an amazing Hugh Jackman performance and solid tension, but by the second half, it just nose-dives and becomes a slow, uninteresting slog that wastes all the talents in front of and behind the camera. Sadly, this is Michael Sarnoski’s worst movie, coming off of such an incredible film like Pig and a pretty good Quiet Place prequel. 

            It’s also crazy to think that the movie where Hugh Jackman is a shepherd who gets murdered and a bunch of talking sheep have to solve the mystery is the better 2026 Hugh Jackman movie than this gritty, A24 Robin Hood film, but it is what it is. Still better than that godawful Taron Egerton Robin Hood movie from 2018, though.