Movie review: 'Death of Robin Hood' dispels Hugh Jackman heroics

LOS ANGELES, June 17 (UPI) --The Death of Robin Hood, in theaters Friday, lives up to its title exploring the final days of the fabled hero. It is a poignant depiction of violent man reflecting on the truth of his life vs. the fiction.

Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) is used to entertaining potential assassins. All the people he's killed have families who seek revenge.

This Robin Hood is hard to kill though. It is a two hour movie so the title is not going to come true in the first 30 minutes.

Robin doesn't dawdle with would-be assassins. He defends himself with stabs to the throat and head, lands headshots with his bow and arrow, and stabs extremities when the killshot isn't immediately available.

He has to help Little John (Bill Skarsgård) defend his family from many such enemies too. After one such battle, Robin wakes up in St. Clement under the care of Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer).

He spends the rest of the film recovering here, given time to reflect on his life. After seeing how powerful he was, his injuries have left him more vulnerable until he heals.

Robin doesn't necessarily feel guilty. He's already told a visitor that Maid Marion was just a story, and he robbed and killed because he liked it.

Rather, Robin seems to feel resignation that his past begets a retirement of defending himself. He still has a self-preservation instinct. He's not letting aggrieved next of kin have their revenge.

Writer/director Michael Sarnoski keeps reminding viewers of all the murders this film didn't show, too via Robin's stories or those of other characters remembering his attacks. It's like the Unforgiven approach to Robin Hood, inspired by the Eugene Field poem.

Jackman has been playing superheroes for 26 years, so it's a little early in his career but he can pull off the weathered, weary post-action hero. Robin is not making peace with his past so much as simply acknowledging it.

Robin can take his violence to the grave. John bears the possibility of passing this on to his daughter, Margaret (Faith Delaney). Many of the vengeful family members are young too, not waiting for adulthood to take up the mantle.

Sarnoski makes the shift from action to reflection dramatically. The widescreen frame associated with action movies expands vertically to indicate Robin's arrival at St. Clement.

Even within that frame, cinematographer Pat Scola remains tight on Jackman. When Robin pushes a boat from shore into the water, that camera remains on the boat so Jackman remains centered as the boat inches closer to the water.

The Death of Robin Hood asks questions about the stories we believe and the cost of a life of action. It's the kind of film that leaves them up to the audience to answer and does not make them easy or obvious.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 5:35 AM.