You know the story of Robin Hood. He robs from the rich and gives to the poor, etc., etc. Well, maybe you don’t know it this time. Robin (Kevin Costner) now has a Moorish sidekick, Azeem (Morgan Freeman), his father has been accused of Satanism and murdered, and Will Scarlett (Christian Slater) hates him. There’s no Prince John and no archery tournament. However, there’s still Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who’s as cute as ever, and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman), who’s more than normally evil. So maybe the story isn’t that different after all.
With deep forests, a labyrinthine castle, treetop combat, vicious knights, sensational archery, explosions, chases across English hills that make you want to rush there just to see the sights, and heroic music, Robin hasn’t had it this good since Errol Flynn walked out on a tree branch in 1938. Everything needed for a new classic was lavished on this production, and it looks great. It’s fun. It’s exciting. But all is not well in Sherwood Forest. Yes, Robin’s been given everything, except good dialog, and an actor who can play the hero without looking foolish, while giving us someone to believe in.
Robin of Locksley is a hard role to play, but because he isn’t part of a modern street drama or is mentally or physically handicapped (the roles that critics and the Academy take seriously), no one notices how tricky it is. The man who portrays Robin needs to be able to appear sincere without being melodramatic, funny without being silly, romantic without being effeminate, a leader without being high-and-mighty, friendly without being sappy, and energetic without being frantic. It’s not easy. Errol Flynn could do it. Kevin Costner can not. Costner can manage a gee-shucks Western U.S. charm when he’s impudent, and just looks bored the rest of the time. While Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves should give him plenty of opportunity to display that out-of-place charisma, it doesn’t. Instead, he is stuck with far to many earnest moments, during which it seems likely he will keel over and start snoring. Outside of appropriate physicality, Costner has none of the requirements of the part.
Much has been made of Costner’s horrible British accent. And it is horrible, but alone, that isn’t a huge problem. If everyone sounded wrong, that would be OK. But he can’t keep it up, and slips back to his natural tongue, sometimes during a sentence. When he is standing next to an actual Brit, it does become grating. When he is joined by Christian Slater, perhaps the only person on the face of the Earth to sound less English than Costner, the movie turns into a parody.
The flick is still surprisingly enjoyable, considering those huge flaws. Mainly, because the other parts were cast better. In the writer’s sharpest move, they introduced a new character, Azeem the Moor. This allows for religious and cultural clashes that are more interesting than the main conflicts. It also presents us with something we haven’t seen before. I’ve seen the 1938 version of Robin Hood fifty or more times, on the big screen and at home. I don’t need a film to regurgitate it, particularly when there is no way it could match it. So, something different spices things up, while supplying a part for Morgan Freeman, who brings dignity to the proceedings while being funny and one hell of a fighter.
But what makes this a worthwhile film, and counters the languid portrayal of Robin, is Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham. The best action films are the ones with the best villains, and this is the stuff of villain legends. He’s powerful, smart, and completely insane (all things you want in your black hat). He’s also extremely funny, getting most of the best lines. There’s a reason for that. Rickman only took the role with the understanding that he could run with it, and create something memorable. So, he did, ad-libbing both dialog and action. He proves himself to be an accomplished writer.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves will not be remembered years from now, nor is it significant for the Swashbuckler genre. But due to an outstanding villain, it is a lot of fun.
Other Robin Hood Swashbucklers reviewed on this site: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946), Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), Robin and Marian (1976), and Robin Hood (1991).