Robin Hood

The Swashbuckling legend of Robin Hood unfolds in the 12th century when the mighty Normans ruled England with an iron fist.

This time it's Patrick Bergin who dons the Lincoln Green to lead the Saxons against the oppressive Normans who would steal their lands and tax them out of their homes. He is pitched against the menacing "Folcanet" (Jürgen Prochnow) who not only has it in for him, but also plans to wed the lady "Marian" (a terribly uncomfortable looking Uma Thurman) who just happens to be the neice of the local sheriff "Daguerre" (Jeroen Krabbé). Initially "Robin" and this latter fellow were friendly, but an altercation in the woods and some provocation from his new nemesis throws that to the wolves. Exiled from civilisation, and with only "Will" (Owen Teale) for company, the pair befriend others who have taken to the woods for safety and together there are soon a formidable thorn in the side of the authorities just as Prince John (Edward Fox) is due to arrive to collect his 50,000 marks! Now the scene is set for a battle royal to save "Marian" from wedded hell and to relieve the Normans of the tax money. It's all pretty standard fayre, this adventure, and the production has quite an earthy grittiness to it. The casting, however, is pretty shocking. A motley collection of accents may have been intended to provide an international scope to this, but for the most part it is little better than a spaghetti outlaw story with way too much dialogue and nowhere near enough action. Some remakes were simply unnecessary and this, I'm afraid, is just one of them...