It takes strong minds to pull off epic heists. This week, movie-goers will get to see the rebirth of a 2018 cinematic superhero in “Robin Hood”.
Over the years, we’ve seen various iterations of “Robin Hood” on the big screen. The new version of “Robin Hood” offers a fresh take on the titular hero. The action, the characters and even the costumes all have a unique twist to them.
The press release states that “Robin is a thoroughly modern shadow warrior. He may have been born into privilege as Lord of Loxley, but now he returns from war a haunted veteran who has lost everything, including his one true love Marian. With the help of an equally war-scarred Moor, once his mortal enemy, John, Robin adopts a new alter-ego: as the hooded avenger who strikes at the powerful seeking justice for the people“.
Besides having an all-star cast with impressive resumes, there is a number of reasons to watch “Robin Hood” when it debuts in cinemas worldwide. Thanks to our friends from TGV, we did a little digging and came up with 10 reasons why you should be heading to the theatres to watch “Robin Hood”.
1. The fresh take on “Robin Hood”
So why is this 2018 version from the rest? Director Otto Bathurst explains, “To me ‘Robin Hood’ had the makings of an utterly contemporary and relevant story. Here’s a guy who seemingly has the perfect and comfortable life and goes off to war, full of ideals, beliefs and passion, but then his eyes are opened to the corruption and evil of the people who are running the world—and it breaks him. It dissolves his faith in his nation and his religion and leaves him disillusioned. We see Robin as a hero, but I wanted to see why and how he became this legend, what it is that burns inside of him and what inspires him to set out to fight with such commitment to the truth.”
He added, “I thought a lot about Robin and who he was in my mind. You don’t become a legend from simply stealing a few bags of money from rich people and giving them to poor people. I mean, that’s a cool thing to do, but it’s not iconic. The real reason ‘Robin Hood’ has been a hero for 800 years is that he was a major thorn in the side of society, of government, of the establishment. That’s why people still love him, because he’s a symbol of that voice out there kicking against the status quo that we are all responsible for allowing. He’s a reflection for all of us in that he isn’t given special powers or born a Superhero, he is simply an everyman who is prepared to do what is needed to bring change and to sacrifice his own comfort for the bigger picture.”
2. Jennifer Davisson and Leonardo DiCaprio onboard as producers
“One of the things that is really important to Leonardo and me is that the films that we’re involved feel special and unique in one way or another. This movie definitely feels really current and vibrant. All the archetypal ‘Robin Hood’ characters you know from the legend are there, but we get to see them through the lens of our lives today and that’s what makes it special,” Jennifer Davisson shared.
She added, “We were intrigued by the script’s originality and fresh take on timeless themes, which fits very well with what we do at our company. This is a complex Robin Hood’. The same way that Bruce Wayne didn’t seek to be a hero, but became one because Gotham City needed a Batman, Robin doesn’t set out to be Robin Hood, but Nottingham needs him to be.”
3. The scale is also much larger
The entire world in “Robin Hood” was build from scratch. “We wanted to massively redefine Nottingham as a place, to make it feel relatable to a modern audience, to make it feel relevant and important so we took the chance to create something unique. Our Nottingham is a teeming industrial capital full of global influences, a political epicenter and a very powerful stronghold of the church. Break the system here and the repercussions will ripple out,” the filmmaker recalled.
4. Taron Egerton grew up loving Robin Hood
The 28-year-old British heartthrob recalls his childhood days when he used to play Robin Hood in his living room. “Robin Hood is 1 of 2 characters that I had a costume for as a kid— Robin Hood and Superman. I’d jump from sofa to sofa and pretend I was flying and I did that as Robin Hood, as well. I had the little plastic bow and the costume. I always liked him. There’s an idea people have always connected with in Robin Hood: that there can be a noble renegade who acts selflessly for the good of others, which is something I connected with,” Taron Egerton said.
In this storyline, Robin is a war veteran returns home hoping to live a peaceful life. Unfortunately, the inequality and injustice in his hometown compels him to take on the persona of The Hood. “At first, The Hood is a just a disguise through which Robin can hide from who he is. As he merges into this avenging, dark, enigmatic force within Nottingham, he realises The Hood is part of his own being,” the actor explained.
5. Robin Hood’s mentor and partner-in-crime: John
In this storyline, John is “a Saracen fighter, an Arabic Moor fighting on the opposite side of the Crusades from Robin” and later decides to mentor and train Robin in becoming Robin Hood. “John was a king several years before we meet him, but now he just wants to fight for the memory of his son and fight for what is right. John is a fierce competitor and he sees that same quality in Robin. Both are desperate and have lost everything. Each needs something from the other—and that evolves into a loyal friendship,” Jamie Foxx shared.
Egerton agreed, saying, “What I absolutely love about the relationship with Robin and John is that we start with Robin treating John as an enemy Moor with great disdain. Yet, through their bond, Robin begins to see the error of his viewpoint. Robin starts off cocky, self-loathing and misguided and John channels all those feelings into something constructive. It’s a great relationship, because it has real heart. In one sense, there’s a kind of father-son thing that develops but it’s also two soldiers, brothers-in-arms, realising that they have a bigger idea to fight for.”
6. Robin’s love interest Marion is his equal
The movie is a bromance, but it is also a love story. “Marian is one of the pivotal aspects of this film that I feel most passionately about. She’s a powerful and deeply committed woman, an arrow of truth. Indeed, she is the catalyst for Robin’s whole journey and there is no question that without Marian there would be no Robin Hood, in that it is she who pulls him out of his selfish anger and shows him the true path. Robin has to really, really fight to get her back because our Marian is no swooning damsel! I’m thrilled that our film has such a strong female character,” the filmmaker disclosed.
7. Robin’s nemesis: the Sheriff of Nottingham
Played by Ben Mendelsohn, the Sheriff is described as “a complex and daunting villain, an angry, cynical man dripping with inner darkness, hungry for limitless power and wealth, but also seeking to make others suffer as he once did as an orphan”.
So how did Mendelsohn approach this scary character? The Australian actor Sheriff as an “astute political animal, a master manipulator who grew up under the cruel hand of the church and the nobility, leaving him with a venomous hatred of both. He’s a great and vivid character. He believes solely in power, so he’s been busy building his war machine and living his depraved life without any concern for the citizens of Nottingham. His past has led him to develop an incredibly strong survival instinct. Like Robin, he sees that the people in power are full of lies and rubbish, but he decides to go all in as a scumbag to take advantage of it, whereas Robin decides to fight for the people and become a hero.”
8. Each weapon is customised to the character
Egerton’s character starts off by wielding a traditional English longbow (which all the Crusaders carry). Once John starts training Robin, our hero a recurve bow (a bow that curves away from the archer when unstrung—providing more power and speed to the arrow). “Robin’s bow has nun-chucks across the wrist and knuckles and it also has sharpened tips on the bow so he can slash and stab with it in the middle of a close battle,” teased renowned weapons designer Tim Wildgoose.
9. Taron Egerton displays impressive archery skills
“Robin Hood is the very incarnation of archery so it was great fun to be part of this. When people think about archery they usually think about what they have seen in a Robin Hood movie. With this film, we finally had a chance to bring that archery closer to reality and hopefully people will see that archery can be extremely exciting. People are used to seeing a more static archery in films but archery can be incredibly dynamic,” said professional archer Andersen.
10. Taron Egerton making this expression while shirtless
We rest our case 😉
“Robin Hood” opens in cinemas 22nd November 2018.
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