Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

At the peak of his movie stardom and in the wake of having just won several Oscars for Best Picture-winner Dances With Wolves which he both starred in and directed, Kevin Costner (Yellowstone, Bull Durham, JFK) took on the iconic role of Robin of Locksley for his next major project.  He partnered with long-time friend and director Kevin Reynolds (Waterworld, The Count of Monte Cristo) to spearhead this this new adaptation of an iconic story, while also filling key roles with several prominent stars of the time including Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman as Azeem, Christian Slater as Will Scarlett, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Marian, and most importantly at the time.....Alan Rickman (Die Hard) as the Sheriff of Nottingham.  What resulted was a very rushed, messy production where several roles ended up being miscast (including California-native Costner as the British Robin) and where the villain pretty much stole the show.  And yet when released in June of 1991, this film was a MASSIVE hit (much of that due to Costner's stardom) with several iconic scenes and a best-selling soundtrack.  In fact, this would go to be the ONLY genuinely successful on-screen adaptation of the Robin Legend since then.....so did it actually work, does it hold up?  Well only one way to find out....and remember that before you embark on this review: No blades! No bows! Leave your weapons here! 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES - 1991

Directed by Kevin Reynolds

Starring Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alan Rickman, Christian Slater, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane, Brian Blessed, Michael Wincott, Nick Brimble, Soo Drouet, Daniel Newman, Daniel Newman, Daniel Peacock, Walter Sparrow, Harold Innocent, and Sean Connery

Genre: Action Adventure (Audio clip)

Why do I myself rewatching this film seemingly every couple of years? 🤔 Oh yeah...because outside of the mostly awful lead performance by peak Costner very miscast as Robin Hood, it's quite a blast! Actually Costner is not bad as long as he's not actually talking...he looks like the kind of realistic and unchiseled, scrappy hero this story is going for. All around, there's a tactile grittiness to everything which has aged pretty well - even the castles feel lived-in and I have to say all of the Sherwood Forest stuff looks tangible even in a way the Ewok Village in Return of the Jedi never did. (Though when I was eight, I still REALLY wanted that Ewok Village toy set.)

The rest of the supporting cast is actually pretty good as well....beautifully mained Michael Wincott always plays a fun henchman, Nick Brimble is a perfect Little John, Brian "Gordon's ALIVE!" Blessed is also spot-on as Robin's father with his limited screentime, and the whole lot of the rest of the Sherwood Forest gang each have their moments and are well-cast. 

RICKMAN...he's pretty great stealing every scene though at times, he feels like he's in a different movie. Slater is also kind of miscast in that he spends 90% of his time brooding over a subplot which honestly doesn’t end up carry as much weight as it should.  Mastrantonio is pretty strong though sadly, they REALLY relegate her to pure damsel-in-distress mode towards the end which is a waste. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Ok get ready for a semi-controversial take here: I never liked the Bryan Adams song sorry I just didn’t.  Besides the fact that you don’t actually hear it until well into the closing credits of the movie, I just always found it kind of dull….it also annoying unavoidable for the remainder of 1991. (Audio clip) 

But that’s actually ok because I happen to LOVE the score for this film….just rousing, old fashioned action adventure music from a master composer who was pretty much at the top of his game around this time….coming off of fun orchestral scores for a SLEW of genre classics, ALL previous episodes mind you….Highlander, Roadhouse, the Lethal Weapons AND the Die Hards, I’m of course referring to the late, great Michael Kamen. (Audio clip) 

And his music pretty much OWNS you from the opening credits with a bombastic overture loaded with soaring strings and horns all set against a dark medieval backdrop – this is SO good Disney would eventually license it out to play over their logo,  it’s the textbook definition of “hero music.”  I’m referring to the now kind of underrated but irresistibly catchy “Prince of Thieves.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

I might SOUND like I’m contradicting myself here because I sort of defended him earlier.  Make no mistake though, Kevin Costner is an extremely mixed bag in this and at the end of the day, he WAS miscast - he has several ghastly line readings which are as distractingly bad as anything from Hayden Christiansen in 'Attack of the Clones but....he really delivers in the action department, convincing with all of the stunts and the archery. But you can’t help but notice though that it's NOT Costner who's given the rousing speech towards the end...nope that would Morgan Freeman's Azeem.  And I’ll get back to him in just a bit….

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Given how I have both praised and criticized Costner, I’ll go one better with Christian Slater.  You see around this time in the early ‘90’s, Christian Slater the actor had crafted a very distinct persona in films as varied as Pump Up the Volume, Gleaming the Cube, Young Guns II, and Heathers…..he was a smart-ass with an inflection in his voice pretty much resembling a young Jack Nicholson.  He did this well, that was his appeal, this handsome wise-ass persona was what drove his charisma on screen.  (Audio clip) 

And as I previously mentioned, his character as written and acted here is COMPLETELY antithetical to that persona….which is why he’s pretty much miscast.  EXCEPT for one key moment late in the film, it’s a brief moment, but I can remember the audience going COMPLETELY apeshit because it just came out of nowhere and brought some definitely levity to the climax of this film.  Let me set the scene…..the Sheriff of Nottingham’s plan has FAILED, he’s on the run in his castle, revolution has broken out….and both Robin and Azeem are determined to pursue the Sheriff into said castle as he has kidnapped Marian, only there’s a high gate in their way.   So their flock finds a catapult, our two main heroes sit on the edge of that catapult and Slater’s Will Scarlet launches them OVER the gait, landing in a bale of hay….how convenient!  It’s still fun and what caps this moment is immediately after when Christian Slater is FINALLY allowed to play Christian Slater.  I don’t care if this is a PG-13 movie and how this expression sounds anachronistic, I don’t care how it almost feels as if Slater himself is breaking character AND the fourth wall here…..the expression on his face, the way he says this….it’s a full-on audience pleasing moment and I LOVE it! (Audio clip) 

MVP (person most responsible for the success of this film):

It has become almost cliched at this point to say that Alan Rickman SAVED this film and hell, he even won a BAFTA for his performance here.  But I’m going to zag a bit because as fun as Rickman is to watch, he often feels like he’s in a different film from the rest of the cast – that’s not in ANY way a criticism of his performance because by all accounts, the late, great thespian was TRULY making the best of what was a pretty bad situation.  A film locked into a release date without a finished script RUSHED into production lead by a star and director who were constantly at loggerheads.  So I wouldn’t have faulted Alan for just taking this opportunity to have the most fun he could with this role. (Audio clip) 

Therefore, get ready for ANOTHER semi-controversial take here.  Alan Rickman does NOT carry this movie…..because it’s actually Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman who carries this film on his back.  Seriously, he's mostly nails HIS accent, he’s engaging, he’s funny, and he’s dare I say....DASHING in this role?? 🤔 He was 54 at the time of filming and already generally playing characters who were older, but not here. Seriously it's kinda crazy that he did Unforgiven just the year and 'Shawshank the following year because he looks at least ten years older and way more haggard in those roles. (Which did fit the characters of course)  Regardless his Azeem is the true hero of the story and of the movie...he grounds the film while also creating some inexplicable chemistry with Costner along the way.  It’s also just a genuine kick to see the actor playing an action hero for a change…..for potraying the hero which Sherwood Forest both deserved AND needed at the time, Morgan Freeman is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5 

Overall now thirty-five years after it was first released, this film still generally works despite several glaring flaws. (The less said of the Witch and rapey Nottingham towards the end, the better.) And this is pretty much faint praise considering the competition during that time, but it STILL remains the best Robin Hood movie of the past 35+ years.

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And that ends another BECAUSE IT’S DULL, YOU TWIT  review!