Popular culture’s routine repurposing of Robin Hood’s legend is a legacy: The follow dates again to 1908, with Percy Stow’s Robin Hood and His Merry Males. The story was later Hollywood-ized in 1938 with Errol Flynn, then achieved ubiquity with Disney’s 1973 animated movie. Kevin Costner had his flip in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, simply earlier than Mel Brooks parodied the legend two years later. Ridley Scott made his personal model and sucked all of the air enjoyable of the narrative, however … we don’t speak about that.

So we now how the story goes: Robin of Loxley returns from the Crusades to search out his land seized by the Sheriff of Nottingham, then embarks on a quest to avenge his household identify as an outlaw, fomenting revolt amongst commoners.

What this new Robin Hood film, directed by Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders), presupposes is that we solely suppose we all know the story; this main movement image is telling the reality. “I’d bore you with the historical past,” the opening voiceover says chidingly, “however you wouldn’t pay attention.”

Looking back this seems like truthful warning. Seems each earlier adaptation of the legend failed to notice that Robin, greater than a thief, was truly Batman, eras earlier than Bruce Wayne’s mother and father died in an alleyway.

Lionsgate

That the main points of Robin of Loxley’s origin story differ from the basic Batman origin issues little — anybody who can struggle crime might be The Dark Knight in 2018. Or since our hero is getting back from non secular conflict, possibly he’s extra of the Caped Crusader. On this model, Robin (Taron Egerton), throughout his tour in battle, spares the lifetime of an enemy Moor, Yahya, (Jamie Foxx), whose identify interprets to “John,” which is nice as a result of in a not-hilarious recurring joke, not one of the movie’s white characters can pronounce it.

John is a composite of Azeem (Morgan Freeman’s character in Prince of Thieves), Little John, and shock shock, most of The League of Shadows. John, proven mercy by Robin whereas prisoner to the king’s military, hitches a journey to England and persuades him to hit the evil Sheriff (Ben Mendelsohn), and thus the crown, the place it hurts most: his coffers.

John serves each as Robin’s archery teacher and his Crossfit coach, whipping the younger man into his fightingest form, instructing him in stealth and subterfuge, becoming a member of him on his crime sprees and fashioning him a dressing up for disguise (although as Robin tends to not go away survivors, the masks and hood really feel superfluous). He’s without delay Robin’s loyal staff-wielding ally, a person obsessed by revenge, and Henri Ducard, exhibiting Robin the ropes of proto-superheroism, remodeling Robin of Loxley from folkloric determine to modern-day comedian guide character.

This Robin is a well-heeled man fallen from grace, remodeled by his damage into an emblem that strikes concern into the hearts of evildoers. His crumbling manse is his Batcave. His bow is his utility belt. His disguise evokes his pseudonym. The likeness between Robin and Bruce Wayne is uncanny.

The similarity crystallizes when Marian (Eve Hewson) encourages Robin’s revolt by supplying the ultimate piece of the profile: Loxley an an alter ego. See, Robin Hood is his actual id. And so his superherofication is full.

Gone is the swashbuckling rogue, changed by a well-known mixture: Robin Hood makes a brooding try at grounding the story in the actual world, whereas Robin’s superhuman feats of martial in addition to athletic prowess undermine the gritty realism. This isn’t historical past, it’s his story — a literal line from the introductory monologue, assuring us that this tackle Robin Hood is the real article and never the hokem we’ve been spoon fed up to now.

Lionsgate

As straightforwardly dimwitted as this method is, there’s a component of honesty at play in its macho aggrandizement. Bathurst could also be given the flawed angle for Robin Hood, however he does have the proper concept about how non-superhero characters can really feel more and more superheroic with the assistance of audacious set items.

Whereas precise comedian guide hero Aquaman can talk with sea creatures, Jason Statham’s Jonas Taylor from this August’s The Meg doesn’t don’t want to talk shark to summon a veritable wall of sharks within the film’s climax. He simply wants to chop the actually large shark he’s been searching deep sufficient that the blood scent attracts each shark in (and outdoors of) the South China Sea for a CGI feeding frenzy.

Or take a look at The Girl within the Spider’s Internet, stripping away the particulars of Lisbeth Salander, the woman on the web page, and molding her as a tragic avenging antihero: Garbed in black with a superhero lair of her personal, an array of devices that’d make Batman himself blush, a heartbreaking origin story of her personal, a masks of a form, even an archnemesis.

Non-super issues made tremendous isn’t a brand new aesthetic, however it’s at its most shameless in Robin Hood, superimposing uncooked important elements stolen from Batman’s background upon its supply materials. All that’s lacking is Egerton soberly declaring that “I’m the Hood.”

Bathurst even units up one other character as an apparent Two-Face analogue for a possible sequel to the movie, assuming audiences purchase into an up to date and modern Robin Hood franchise. In the event that they do, possibly it’ll solely be as a result of they need one other Batman franchise with the DCEU in flux. The movie fortunately obliges, however its use of the Dark Knight’s iconography is troubling. The Incredibles warned us: If each hero is tremendous, none of them are.

Andy Crump is a contributor for Paste journal, The Playlist, WBUR’s The ARTery, Slant Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, and Beginning. Films. Loss of life., and is a member of the On-line Movie Critics Society and the Boston On-line Movie Critics Affiliation. Observe him on Twitter @agracru.