REVIEW: THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD
THE GIST
If you are wanting to see the typical Robin Hood type film, this is not for you.
If you like intimate character study’s then this film is worth a watch.
THE REVIEW
!!!SPOILERS!!!
EXPECTATIONS
Even though Hugh Jackman’s 2 other outings were pleasant surprises in 2026, I did not expect a 3rd film from him. And once again, like the other 2 films, I was initially, not expecting much.
The Death Of Robin Hood trailer looked ok, then I saw the full trailer and got a bit more excited.
I’m not sure how turning Robin Hood into a bad guy will fare, but in Hugh Jackman we trust.
Upon further investigation I found out Robin Hood being a good guy is actually a myth. So the film is portraying him closer to the truth than I thought.
RATINGS SO FAR
The first rating I saw a few weeks ago on iMDB was 7.8. This looked promising. But it has declined ever since as more reviews came in and bought it down to down to a 6.5. Combining it with the other ratings released gives us a 6.5 MovieMe rating.
6.5 rated films are usually still good watches. Not great. But good.
CONTEXT
In May 2024, it was announced that a dark re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend was in development, with Michael Sarnoski writing and directing, and Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer starring. Lyrical Media financed the film and produced alongside Ryder Picture Company (RPC). Shortly thereafter, A24 acquired U.S. rights to the project in a competitive situation at the Marché du Film.
In February 2025, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, and Noah Jupe were added to the cast. Principal photography began in early February 2025, in Northern Ireland. A March 2025 press release from the Northern Ireland Executive Office said filming took place at Belfast Harbour Studios and on location at Silent Valley, Glenram, and Murlough Bay, with post-production at Yellowmoon in Holywood, County Down. Filming had wrapped by late March. Pat Scola served as cinematographer for the film and it was shot on 35mm film.
THE PLOT
Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.
Starring:
Hugh Jackman as Robin
Jodie Comer as Sister Brigid
Bill Skarsgard as Edward/Little John
THE EXPERIENCE
Just before I saw this, I was eating a meal and reading the reviews which lowered my expectations. I was expecting to “have to” sit through this and be let down. But at no point was I bored or checking the time, this movie intrigued me from beginning to end.
I was pulled into the world that was created here. Transported back to this bleak and brutal period in time. It made me feel grateful for being born when I was.
I am still thinking about this film 2 days later and finding myself wanting to see it again.
I am struggling to understand why people are hating on it so much.
THE MEAT
Writer/Director Michael Sarnoski: Previously wrote and directed Pig and wrote the screenplay and directed A Quiet Place: Day One. I haven’t seen either but I want to see Pig, I have heard good things. It was a well written and directed film. I think if anyone else wrote it, it would have been hard to get the writers vision on screen.
Hugh Jackman/Robin: It’s a masterful performance. His acting ability ages like fine wine. He played this grizzled and weary version of Robin perfectly. It’s all very subtle but everything he needed to get across was there. I was listening to an interview with him and he said in one of the fight scenes when him and his opponent are lying on the ground in a fight, in the mud, they were so exhausted that he just rested upon his opponent for a while before delivering the final blow. That was the scene that made it to the film. It was very real and intimate, just like Jackman’s whole performance.
Jodie Comer/Sister Brigid: The only thing I have seen Comer in was last year’s 28 Years Later, of which I thought she gave a great performance in that too. Apparently she frequently tackles vulnerable, traumatized, or complex individuals. Which explains why she was so great in this.
Bill Skarsgard/Edward/Little John: I didn’t recognise him until after a few scenes, and even then I was still guessing whether it was him or not. His voice and accent was hard to understand sometimes, but worked for the character. He is always good in anything I see him in, he’s a solid actor.
Cinematography: Pat Scola was the cinematographer on this as well as Sarnoski’s other two films. He is well seasoned but not any work I am familiar with. It is beautifully shot on 35mm film which is exquisite to look at.
Wardrobe/Make-up: There was a lot of dirt and grime in this movie and it was all so believable. The costumes seemed like they were made in that era.
The Story: It’s certainly a very different take on the Robin Hood most people know. But it only takes a bit of internet sleuthing to discover what most of us know about Robin Hood has been, well, a made up story. Essentially, and most likely, all stories of Robin Hood are made up, he is not a historical figure, but a folk legend. Just as the audience is coming to terms with Robin Hood not being the person they thought he was, the Robin Hood in this film is frustrated by the “romanticising” of his story too. He knows who he is and his violent past is being looked over as it constantly catches up with him. People he murdered without a second thought in the past, have families and acquaintances who seek retribution only for Robin to have to kill them too. This is his curse. Constantly looking over his shoulder for his past catching up with him. Robin runs into Little John (Bill Skarsgard) who had killed a man and replaced that man in his family, even taking on his name, Edward. This creates enemies for “Edward” who want retribution. This is when “Edward” gets Robin to help fight them off, leading to Robin’s near fatal injuries and the murder of “Edward’s” “wife”, with his “daughter”, Little Margaret, witnessing it. Edward saves Robin (who didn’t want to be saved) and drags Robin away with his daughter in tow but at some point leaves Robin to be found by people of a priory on an island. This is where Robin recovers under the care of a prioress, Sister Brigid, played by Jodie Comer. It’s at this point the story loses a lot of people. It does slow down compared to the first 30mins or so, but those 30mins were purely to demonstrate just how violent and brutal Robin’s past actually is. As he recovers at the priory, it would seem this may be a place he can escape his past and redeem himself, but this slowly unravels. His past is never far away from catching up with him.
The Ending: Some folk have been saying there is no pay off or landing to this but they are so wrong. As the story at the priory unfolds, Robin’s past inevitably starts catching up with him again. The leper, before his death, reveals to Robin that he has known who he is all along. In fact, he succumbed to Robin’s violent past when Robin cut his ear off many years ago. The leper doesn’t tell anyone and begs Robin to not tell the prioress who he is either. But Robin eventually does tell her, only to find out that she was subjected to his violent past as well. Her house, along with her husband and children were burnt alive by Robin and his men many years ago. That’s essentially why she ended up on the island as a prioress. The news to her breaks her down and she near kills Robin by draining too much blood from his arm. But she doesn’t, and that says a lot about her.
The final scene is of Robin’s inevitable death. He is lying on the bed, willingly getting drained of his blood until he dies.
The speech he gives at the end to Little Margaret and the Prioress is cathartic for them. That is the redemption for Robin. Willingly ending his life and making sure the only people he had come close to will come to no more harm and can have a sense of finality and release of their horrific past that Robin played a part in.
It wasn’t a perfect way to redeem himself, but then again, he was no hero.
SUMMARY
I think people are so used to everything being so romanticised that when they see something more raw and subdued, without any spectacle, it can be quite jarring. I am open to these types of stories so it’s easy for me to assimilate.
If you decide to see it, look up about Robin Hood’s origins first. It will give you an idea of how a story can change and become what it wants to whoever wants it over time. This is a theme during the movie and I found being familiar with it helped.
