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Robin Hood Won't Exactly Steal Your Heart
Robin Hood courtesy BBC America
BBC America's miniseries adapting the beloved tale of Robin Hood is at first quite a charmer: stacked as it is with so many adorably blue-eyed, tousle-haired English cuties, you might at first mistake it for a dramatic music video from an up-and-coming Britpop group. But watch on, and you may soon find yourself bored to death — and not by an arrow from one of Nottingham's famous archers.
Robin and his boys do certainly hold their charms, however. The Hood in question, played by Jonas Armstrong, comes back from the Crusades to find his estate in shambles, his people in poverty, and his homeland suffering under the cruel tyrannies of the sheriff of Nottingham (Keith Allen) and minor despot Guy of Gisborne (Richard Armitage). Even worse, a couple of Robin's childhood pals are now under threat of hanging, all for the inconsequential crime of having stolen some flour. There's some good news, though: his childhood sweetheart Marian (newcomer Lucy Griffiths) has managed to escape the noose of nuptials these past five years, so although she's fiery, temperamental and playing very hard to get, Robin's happy to learn that she's nonetheless technically up for grabs. And we all know that grabbed she will be.
The movie sticks to the legend pretty closely, and the tale's exacting pronouncements about the true nature of economic equality and social justice are proclaimed with unerring clarity throughout — all part of England's national identity of political anticlassism. Even the sets themselves are classically "shire": you'll find rolling green hills, stone cottages with dear little thatched roofs, filthy freckled children frolicking in the fields, and more than a few buxom country wenches who are eager for a roll in the hay with the Hood. But the miniseries is stymied by its painfully slow pacing, its jarring handheld camerawork, its trenchant anachronisms (the girls are so heavily made up, one might mistake the series for an episode of EastEnders), and its stunted dialogue that too often falls awkwardly flat (upon seeing Nottingham's devastated, empty villages, Much daftly exclaims, "Where is everybody?" not once but twice in about 10 minutes of screen time).
Still, Jonas Armstrong, with his mischievous eyes and wry humor, is a charismatic choice for the leader of the Merry Men, and the miniseries' structure shows a side of the legend rarely focused on: Robin and his pal Much, through their goofy, accidentally successful world adventures, grow as close as brothers. This makes the whole affair seem at moments like a big, rollicking buddy movie that happens to be set in medieval times. And perhaps it's best viewed as such.
The miniseries airs its five episodes through April.
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Mar 15, 2007 3:52 PM
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I'm pretty sure Robin's friend is actually named Much, not Little Jon.
This show is okay. I'm mostly watching out of boredom on Saturdays. The pacing is really slow and the dialogue is splendidly cheesy. It's fun to watch Robin shoot things.
I read a great young adult book when I was in junior high about Sherwood Forest - in it Robin was just a poseur, Marion was actually the good shot.
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Mar 15, 2007 4:46 PM
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Is BBC America only showing part of the series then? It was an actual thirteen episode tv series in England, not a miniseries.
I'm enjoying the campiness of it, although I think the episodes are leaving out crucial parts since they're formatted for 45 minutes. There's some continuity problems that has to be due to editing for a shorter time slot.
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Mar 15, 2007 5:03 PM
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alalia - I've seen the version shown in England, nothing has been cut on BBCA so far. I'm clearly surprised by that, since BBCA edits everything.
I read somewhere that they were going to show all 13 episodes. Robin Hood has been picked up for a second series of 13 episodes by the BBC.
I've talked to some people who loved it, many more who hated it and one who thought it was pandering to American audiances. All I know is Richard Armitage is the best thing about this show. I don't know what to make of it. The BBC usualy does so well with costume dramas, the costumes look so cheap, and they are an important aspect of the show. It keeps you in that time period. I'm only entertained for about 3 minutes, then bored the rest. I'm rewatching on saturday nights because nothing else is on.
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Mar 16, 2007 1:26 PM
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Thanks, TVforMe, I did indeed confuse Little John and Much, silly me!
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Mar 16, 2007 4:49 PM
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I'm thoroughly enjoying "Robin Hood." I too noticed the anachronistic make-up and even some of the clothing (Marian wearing bright red, for example), but hey, it's all in the name of entertainment. (Plus, as already mentioned, many of the main characters are easy on the eyes!) If we can't ignore a few minor details while watching a show about justice, nobility, and good-vs-evil, then why bother watching TV at all?
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Mar 17, 2007 9:02 AM
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I am enjoying Robin Hood--it's mindless entertainment. I hope that BBCA is showing all 13 episodes, as it gives me something to watch Sunday afternoons (gotta love the TiVo). I've also read that the series picks up the pace around episode 5 or 6, so that is something to look forward to. And if BBC is filming more episodes, that's even better!
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Mar 17, 2007 11:47 AM
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If you just go with Robin Hood as cheesy fun, it actually works pretty well. A friend and I watched together and mocked it nonstop: the plot holes, the dialogue, the costumes, Richard Armitage's eyeliner...and we had a terrific time. We'll definitely be back for the next series. The show doesn't take itself entirely seriously (fortunately!), and Robin's best if you take that idea and run with it.
BTW, the book someone mentioned upthread is by The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley.
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Mar 17, 2007 11:51 AM
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I for one am enjoying the series because my two sons (10 and 8) are watching it with me. They have always been into the Robin Hood thing and have been making bows out of sticks for about five years now , so they are really enjoying it. I think the campiness is beyond them obviously, but it is just fun tv.
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Mar 18, 2007 1:48 AM
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i couldn't get past the first 15 minutes of the episode i saw..robin ain't no ERROL FLYNN...but then who is?
voxpop
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Mar 19, 2007 5:12 PM
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The movie sticks to the legend pretty closely,
Not from any version I've ever heard. Much as a former serf who is now a freed man from his time in the Crusades? "Little Jon" being the son of the big outlaw (who never gets to fight Robin on a bridge)? Marian as daughter of the (still alive) former sheriff?
Yes, there are a few elements of the tale that may be familiar .... but otherwise it wouldn't be Robin Hood!
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Mar 19, 2007 11:05 PM
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This reviewer found something in the woods to smoke that rattled his brains. Robin Hood is great! As a fan of the book, the Flynn version and others, I think this is a delightful interpretation. The cast, fun to watch as very distinct characters with their appropriate expressions, is very easy on the eyes. The setting is a city-dwellers escape and makes me feel relaxed just being among the trees. The clothing is good...Marion's is a little up to date, but it doesn't distract much. The language, with it's use of contemporary expressions is designed to make topics clearer to a modern audience. I laugh at various phrases used but if you can get past the language, the story is as modern as today...the rich taking from the poor. That's very contemporary. The good guys are usually good and the bad guys are marvelously bad. Relax, laugh, enjoy, but don't acquire your history from this series.
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Dec 11, 2007 12:51 PM
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