FILM REVIEWS:
THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD (USA 2026)**
Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Many years after his legendary exploits, Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) is no longer the youthful hero of folklore. He is an ageing, battle-scarred outlaw haunted by a lifetime of violence, theft, and killing. Jackman is hardly recognizable with his dishevelled beard and hair. The film presents a much darker version of the character than most previous adaptations. The darkness also transcends to the screen. The lighting is often poor, and one can hardly tell what is going on in many scenes.
The story begins after what Robin (Hugh Jackman) believes will be his final battle. The fight leaves him gravely wounded and near death. Alone and physically broken, he is taken in by a mysterious woman (Jodie Comer) who nurses him back from the brink of death.
Also dishevelled Little John (Bill Skarsgard, also hardly recognizable), whom the film claims Mohave then the identity of someone (Edward) he had killed, who is a good friend of Robin’s.
I am not one to champion changes in classic stories or even in the classic comics like the BATMAN movies. In the latter BATMAN films, Batman gets married, or his identity is known to many others, going against the DC comic universe. I cringe at the fact. So THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD IS a new Robin Hood movie stressing that the Robin Hood myth is a big lie and Robin is no hero but a brutal killer and villain. Unless you like your film dark and violent with a slow-moving, reflective, and character-driven plot that is focused on guilt, mortality, and redemption.
So, Robin and the film have only one way to go. What will Robin do now? Seek redemption or just live with his sordid past? Robin striving and getting his redemption at the very end is the only way this film can go.
Not that anyone cares in this really slow burn an, unwatchable film, one wonders what the filmmakers are thinking. Another film, THE BRIDE! that turned into a flop, is another such film that filmmakers make that nobody wants to pay to see.
