Alicia Tripp

ROBIN HOOD

The new Robin Hood, said to “make the classic cool again”, has previewed in Sydney and is sure to be a hit. With the generation too young to know Prince of Thieves, that is.

There is no doubt that the target audience is under thirty. Robin of Loxley is played by the boyish Taron Egerton, whose face looks like it belongs on a teenage bedroom wall.  It is interesting to see Maid Marian, played by Eve Hewson, in an updated modern role, as a passionate, fearless young activist. A buff, street-cool Jamie Fox plays a character which is a fusion of Little John and the Moor played by Morgan Freeman in the 1991 film.

The film, or rather, the movie itself is huge and fast and loud. Full-on action. We’re talking Rocky-style fitness and battle training, fast and furious chariot races, and Nicholas Cage/Bruce Willis scale explosions. Robin Hood is almost a super-hero. And the ending is an opening for a sequel. All the ingredients for a box office success.

Pertinently, the shameless luxury, corruption and inhumanity of religion are centre-stage (including an admission from the Cardinal that hell is an invention of the church rather than God, to keep people in fear.) Tim Minchin is a cool and ironic addition as Friar Tuck, grateful for being liberated after his de-robing.

This Robin Hood strives neither to be historically accurate, nor faithful to the legend. And, as mentioned, it is certainly no Prince of Thieves. But then, how could anyone beat the combined magic of Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater and Alan Rickman? Or could I just be showing my age?

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Alicia Tripp

Alicia Tripp is a seasoned arts and music critic, as a former journalist for the ABC’s Limelight and State of the Arts magazines. She has a degree in Media & Communications, English and Music from the University of Sydney. As a pianist and a piano teacher, music is her first love. Having been a ballerina as a child and teen, she feels a strong connection to dance. In recent years she has passionately studied and learned to speak several languages, but still feels that the richness and complexity of the English language cannot be trumped. Reviewing Sydney’s premiere concerts, operas, ballets and stage shows allows her to combine her passion for music, dance and the written word.