Movie review: Robin Hood misses the mark
The aesthetic of this film really bugs me.
The Robin Hood story we know is set in mediaeval times. This latest version is purportedly during that period too, though the look feels modern.
Sure, they try to fudge the timeline when the narrator tells you they cannot remember "what year it is".
This re-imagining of the classic tale really takes the look to a whole new level. The makers even tell you at the start to "forget what you've seen before; forget what you think you know".
Nottingham and its nearby mining community feel like an offshoot of the Capitol and District 12 from The Hunger Games.
The rebels look like they just walked out of an Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement, sporting high street-style beanies and hoodies.
The sheriff (Ben Mendelsohn deserves an award for playing yet another villain) looks spiffy with his slicked hairdo, immaculately tailored pleather trench and shiny boots.
And Robin's diamond stitch quilted jacket looks like an outerwear you would find in Uniqlo - you could even say he borrowed the wardrobe from US superhero TV series Arrow.
Even his name is updated as Rob, and his alter-ego gets a hip-hop moniker, The Hood.
You can easily rename this film Robin Begins, where our hero lives like a Bruce Wayne-esque playboy millionaire by day and becomes a vigilante by night.
His crumbled mansion serves as his Batcave where he trains to become the fearsome Hoodie Crusader.
If you can overlook all the jarring anachronisms, this retelling of the famous legend may sit well with you. After all, it is packed with pretty faces and fast and furious action.
There is a fun chemistry between Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx, which helps balance out the thinly-written film.
Egerton is as charming as ever, and his comic timing is spot-on too.
Foxx is entertaining as his mentor (conveniently named John), although it is puzzling how a former Arab prisoner knows so much about English politics and the workings of the church.
The lone female presence is newcomer Eve Hewson, Irish rock star Bono's daughter.
She commands the screen even though her existence merely facilitates the token love triangle, although the tussle between the men never quite reaches any tension.
Perhaps they will address more of this in the next instalment, seeing how this has already set up a sequel.
RATING: 2.5/5
MOVIE: Robin Hood
STARRING: Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Jamie Dornan
DIRECTORS: Otto Bathurst
THE SKINNY: Nobleman Robin of Loxley (Egerton) is sent away to fight in the Crusades. In his absence, he loses his land to the Sheriff of Nottingham (Mendelsohn) and his girlfriend Marian (Hewson) leaves him for hunky Will (Dornan). A bitter Robin plots revenge.
RATING: PG13
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