Much maligned movie, which flopped for good reason - it isn't that good. But it could have been good, which is frustrating.
I think it was an excellent idea to reboot it as a parallel to the War on Terror, with Robin as a veteran of wars in the Middle East - the opening sequence of fighting in back alleys is very well done, and I liked the concept of Ben Mendhelson bagging the Muslims as part of his scare campaign. I think it was fantastic to have Robin Hood decide to be a Scarlet Pimpernel figure and befriend Nottingham while secretly doing what's right. It was good to have Little John be a former enemy from the crusades.
But having set up this, the film doesn't do anything with it.
The parallels to the War on Terror are dropped. There's no Muslim stuff after the first act. There's no fun with Robin Hood befriending the baddy - no alter ago to contrast.
Jamie Foxx's John could be cut out of the film. I mean, he does suggest the plan and train him but really Robin could have thought of that himself... and the training montage feels superfluous because Robin's already a soldier. He doesn't influence the plot after that. I guess he gets captured and then escapes somehow and helps Robin live but... ugh.
Maid Marian basically just serves water. I mean, really she does nothing. Traditional Mary at least was a spy. This one just hangs around. It's a terrible role.
Will Scarlett has some potential - setting up for the sequel. But really I think Scarlet should have gone bad earlier.
Friar Tuck just kind of hangs out. There's a villainous cardinal, F Murray Abraham, but I missed Prince John. The point of the original is to raise money for King Richard but there's no Richard here - Robin Hood isn't for anything except "the people", who are random extras.
I was willing to give this a fair shake. The opening moments were very iffy - unnecessary narration, unnecessary showing of how Robin met Marian, the silly "draft notice" - then it recovered well for a strong action sequence, then got progressively sillier.
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