Going into the theater to see Robin Hood, I expected an average movie with exciting action and a weak, predictable plot. My expectations were fairly accurate, but I did find the plot more engaging than I had expected. The movie follows the classic tale of Robin Hood, but with a more modern feel to it than previous takes on the story. There is an underlying theme of corruption and the movie is about a plan to fight this corruption.

    The movie follows Robin of Loxley, played by Taron Egerton. Robin lives in a medieval England. The action does not take long to commence, as he is quickly sent off to war in Arabia. The ensuing scenes closely resemble modern war films. Although the soldiers are only using bows and crossbows, the war scene is filled with action and suspense. The director, Otto Bathurst, does a great job at portraying the idea of war as we see it today. Soldiers are seen taking cover from a barrage of bolts, sneaking around corners between buildings, and taking part in an ambush. The whole scene feels reminiscent of many recent war films set in Afghanistan.

It is in Arabia that Robin meets John, played by Jamie Foxx, who becomes a mentor to him. The relationship between Robin and John is a big part of the movie, with Robin becoming like a son to John. While this relationship is somewhat cliche, it fits the movie well. John picks Robin to be his partner in crime, literally, as he trains Robin to be a thief. Together, Robin and John work against the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Ben Mendelsohn. Mendelsohn plays the role of the villain well, in a similar manner to his roles in Ready Player One and Rogue One. While at times he oversells the villain stereotype, Mendelsohn does a good job at developing a hateable character that will get the viewers to root for the hero.

On the other side of things, the hero, Robin, is an interesting character who lacks deep character development. Robin starts out as a wealthy, pampered citizen. Then, he becomes a soldier. Finally, he is turned into a revolutionary. While he changes roles in the story, the character itself does not go through much personal change. Robin as a citizen or a soldier feels the same as Robin as a revolutionary. While he may be doing different things, he thinks and acts very similarly. For instance, before he is sent off to war, he chooses to give up an expensive horse for someone who needed it more. Even before he is turned into a hero for the people, he acts generous. However, this lack of character development is to be expected of an action hero. The focus on the movie is clearly more on the action and overall plot than on personal struggles that the characters are going through. Therefore, the lack of character development doesn’t harm the movie all that much.

Overall, I enjoyed watching Robin Hood. It was an entertaining film with a lot of action with a unique spin. It wasn’t a boring, cliche action movie and it felt different enough to seem new and exciting. I would recommend seeing this movie if you like fast paced movies with a lot of action. It lacks a little in plot, but the story was more developed than I had imagined it would be and the acting was strong. It is definitely not a movie to watch again and again, but it is worth seeing at least once.