The Death of Robin Hood (15)

Hugh Jackman gives a bruising new life to Robin Hood in this stark, wintry tale of revenge, violence and redemption.

In bleak 1247 England, an ageing and isolated Robin Hood is tracked down by a young man seeking revenge. When his old friend Little John arrives needing help, Robin is drawn into one final adventure. After a bloody massacre, they rescue an orphaned girl and seek refuge at an island priory, where a determined nun nurses Robin back to health. But as old enemies and painful memories resurface, Robin is forced to confront the violence that has defined his legend.

Michael Sarnoski (director of the brilliant 2021 drama Pig) creates a grim, immersive medieval world of cold landscapes, muddy roads and astonishingly brutal violence. The pace is deliberately measured, with whispered conversations carrying as much weight as the frequent bursts of gore. Jackman is excellent as a weary, embittered Robin, balancing a fearsome physicality with unexpected tenderness, while Jodie Comer brings a compelling edge to the role of Sister Brigid.

Bloody and introspective, this is a Robin Hood story less interested in legend than the damaged man beneath it, and in whether revenge can ever truly offer redemption