Title: The Death of Robin Hood
MPA Rating: R
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård
Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins
What It Is: The legendary Robin Hood (Jackman) is seriously injured following a battle. As can happen with people on their deathbed, Robin is nostalgic and sincerely apologetic about all the murder and theft he’s committed. When he meets Sister Brigid (Comer) he sees her and the healing she’s providing as a second chance to make a last impression, and though he has one foot in the grave he’s going to take that second foot and put it to good use.
What We Think: So initially I was wholly on board with what this film was bringing to the table. I was not a fan of the execution. Director Michael Sarnoski brings a lot to the table in regards to style. He’s always done this. Look at his previous features A Quiet Place: Day One and Pig. They have a similar aesthetic and move along at a pace that’s slower than normal. That worked best in his Nicolas Cage vehicle more so than it works here. This almost worked as an alternate universe period piece, but even there it’s just so boring. Jackman is trying his best but it’s just not an interesting enough feature to pull me in and I’m already not a huge Hugh Jackman fan.
Our Grade: C-,If you enjoy Sarnoski’s deliberateness you’ll love this, but if you’re like me and it is dependent on the material you’ll want to clearly skip this. A24 will probably continue to let Sarnoski cook and he tends to bleed their sensibilities, but from a financial standpoint they have to ask themselves if trying to recoup 20 million on a film by a director whose most successful film was already tied to an IP is worthwhile. Nonetheless not my money. My biggest gripe is the artistic merit of just making greyed out films that are twenty minutes too long.