Sarnoski has made a contemplative Robin Hood movie that is without action set pieces, eschews glorifying righteous violence, and questions our ideas of heroism. This isn't what were used to in a film about famous action heroes. But it is a gorgeous film that is full of weight and power and continues Jackman's recent streak of picking quite interesting projects.
The marketing has leaned into what this film is. From the outset the film tells us (like the trailers and posters) that Robin Hood isn't a hero. We are given a lot of violence in the first act and most of it is brutal and isn't something we're rooting for. It isn't framed in the way these stories usually frame it with the good guy overcoming the bad guy. It is presented as morally ambiguous and Jackman's character is taking little to no pleasure in it, making it hard for us to
Then the rest of the move settles into a story of regret and atonement. It asks us to think about how legends are told and how little fact there is behind what we tell ourselves. Much of The Death of Robin Hood is rooted in how we convince ourselves to do the terrible things we do, or to cheer for those terrible things, and then how we must reckon with that. I found this fascinating even when the story took a little too long. The pacing struggled but the film remained powerfully engaging.
Jackman is good here, not overdoing it, but embodying the character well. Overall the cast is strong overcoming the challenges of an action movie with no action, and delivering a story that will give its audience something to sit with.
The Death of Robin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Faith Delanye, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, Noah Jupe
Writer/Director: Michael Sarnoski
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