You want to give me a somber, meditative, and grim movie set in a Medieval setting that challenges our notions of heroism, virtue, and sacrifice, and I am down for that dour experience. A deconstructionist view on the legend of Robin Hood sounds fantastic, but that’s not exactly what writer/director Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One) offers with his take on the legendary figure. It plays more like an old Western, the aged gunslinger attempting to make amends late in life for a career of regrets and bloodshed. The first 30-40 minutes is an intense and disconcerting beginning, stripping away the glamour of the legend. From there, much of the movie is Robin at rest trying to raise a little girl to do better than him. Jodie Comer (28 Years Later) plays a prioress whose family was massacred in the past by Robin, and that provides a notable sense of dread when the revelation will or ever come to surface. However, being such an aged outlaw, much of the Robin Hood lore and figures of fame are long out of the picture or dead, making this grounded Robin Hood feel less connected to the basis for the character. At this rate he could have just been any older outlaw wondering if he deserves some moment of redemption or peace. Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine) is aggressively compelling even when the movie props up the character as more a symbol with his humanity long elapsed. Sarnoski has a fantastic sense of atmosphere with his movies and he allows his stories to have these grace notes and lingers on unexpected poignancy that I really appreciate. Pig is such a disarming movie hiding as an assumed revenge vehicle. I was hoping for another disarming and subversive surprise from The Death of Robin Hood, but just making Robin Hood darker, grittier, and lonely doesn’t serve the same purpose as an illuminating character study. The tone and perspective and presentation is right, but it’s missing too many of the details that would make such a character exploration engaging and intriguing for two hours.

Nate’s Grade: C+