The story of Robin Hood and his band of merry men has never really fascinated me. I mean, if you’ve seen the countless films devoted to the bow-wielding champion of the people, you’d scratch your head and ask, “Why?”
Sure, the premise of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor by a band of skilled men seems endearing at first, but really? Is that plot even expandable? The idea of making Robin Hood into a film seems understandable, hence Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman starring in the 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. A film is a most reasonable option; what else could you do with a plot revolving around one sole villain, one evident hero and countless cases of the robbing of the rich?
Ah, but BBC has the answer.
Why not make the worn-out Robin Hood character much younger and cuter (let’s face it, Kevin Costner, with the long, disheveled hair? It made us want to give him a bath), make the battles more skilled and exciting (whoever choreographed the sequence in Prince of Thieves where they break out of an Israeli jail was probably on some form of drugs, because it didn’t work), and make maid Marian a badass. Take all these and make it into a series. Oh yeah, and actually making sure that Robin Hood has a British accent would help (pfft, Kevin Costner! Don’t you know that Robin Hood was English?) Why has no one thought of this before?
It was a most excellent idea. I found myself gazing at the cool 3D cover of the first season DVD when I saw it on one of the shelves at Borders. Well, let’s just say this photo caught my eye.
Yes, it’s dead sexy. And after watching the entire extremely entertaining series, Jonas Armstrong (above, who plays our tights-clothed hero) has made a starring appearance in every one of my dreams. Jonas Armstrong’s Robin Hood is flawed. Unlike Costner’s Hood, he is arrogant, self-interested, and yet charismatically gallant. His relationship with maid Marian is far from Shakespearean and there are no occasional bursts of song, a la Robin Hood: Men in Tights (although that movie still never fails to make me laugh).
Although the cliffhangers are sometimes poorly conceptualized, and the back-and-forth between Robin Hood and the Sherriff of Nottingham does get a bit tiring, the show definitely brings a fresh approach to the old hero. Swordfighting is now more pronounced, and the costumes and sets are definitely well-made.
Overall, the series is extremely entertaining. I am just waiting for the DVD’s price to drop so I can relive the robbing-from-the-rich moments. It’s 70 fucking dollars! That’s like, 2 DVDs! Anyway, if any of you get the chance, you should go check this series out. I guarantee you, you will fall in love with Mr. Armstrong.
