Robin Hood reviews SLAM Taron Egerton, Jamie Dornan movie – Rotten Tomatoes score very low

The film stars Taron Egerton in the title role, with Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson and Tim Minchin also in the cast. Fifty Shades star Jamie Dornan has a supporting role too. So what’s gone wrong?

The film currently has a lowly 18% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The consensus on the site reads: “Robin Hood robs from rich source material, but is ultimately just another poor attempt to needlessly gussy up a classic tale with amped-up action and modern special effects.”

Entertainment Weekly gave a C grade, saying: “Bathurst’s approach is derivative, and lacks the narrative purpose that has made the aesthetic shine in other contexts.”

The New York Times complained: “The plot is twisty in a perfunctory way, the action predictably explosive, the sought-after exhilaration nonexistent.”

The Guardian gave a two-star verdict, saying: “This is a pretty serious and stodgy Robin with lots of very serious and extended action scenes created for laptop-digital landscapes.”

The Independent were more mixed with a three-star critique, saying a lot of the elements don’t add up – but the sheer pace makes up for it.

“This is such an energetic affair that it hardly seems to matter when its aim is less than true,” they said.

Empire awarded two stars, summarising: “Like Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur, this tries hard to do something new and exciting with an old formula.

“It quickly makes you wish for something more traditional and straightforward.”

The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, called Egerton “a boy doing a man’s job”, adding that the action is “too phony and mechanically cranked up to believe that anything is on the line”.

The film will face Creed II and Ralph Breaks The Internet at the box office.

Robin Hood is out on Friday.