'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' took our money, but the hero misfires

Kevin Costner’s arrows had more fire than his performance in 1991’s “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” (Warner Bros/MovieStillsDB.com)

The movie sinks mainly because the miscast hero and rushed visuals drain the life and epic adventure out of Robin Hood

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
Released June 14, 1991
Directed by Kevin Reynolds
Where to Watch

Dear reader, I come to the Ultimate Movie Year not to bury movies but to praise them. As I grow older and watch the world change, I've realized that there are abundant opportunities to spend our time praising the culture we love because there's way too much of the negative. So I've developed this column keeping that in mind, finding a way to celebrate the historically best movies.

But when one chooses to deep dive into a particular period – say, the Summer of 1991 – that philosophy becomes more challenging because you are literally limited to the films released on a specific weekend in a particular year. And no matter how well you scout out the season to count as many bangers as you can for 18 weeks, it seems inevitable that sooner or later, you'll have to write about the stinkers too.

That moment has arrived with "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."

A folklore character who has been adapted countless times over the years in many different mediums, the 1991 version of Robin Hood (Kevin Costner) is introduced as a former warrior of the Crusades, fighting for King Richard. He returns home after the war with another veteran, Azeem the Moor (Morgan Freedman), who joins Robin to repay a life debt. Still, Robin finds himself displaced after the Sherrif of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) seized his family's property in the king's absence. Robin is forced into the woods of Sherwood, where he first befriends and eventually leads a group of other transient people to rebel against the Sherriff's oppressive rule in the country. Robin becomes a bandit – stealing from the rich to provide for the poor – while making amends with a former childhood friend and noblewoman Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) along the way.

Robin Hood has enjoyed several iconic movie adaptations in the history of cinema. Errol Flynn charmed audiences with his fun, swashbuckling persona as the character in 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood," still regarded as one of that era's best studio adventure films. Disney amorphized the legendary characters in the 1973 animated movie "Robin Hood," which holds the affections of many fans. Actors Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn earned high praise for their performances in 1976's "Robin and Marian," which featured the characters in the twilight of their lives.

Cinematically, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" had a lot to live up to. And it does not. The end result was a 200-minute dull slog for the big screen with all the energy and splendor of a television movie. "Prince of Thieves" not only fails to reach the character's previous standards, but it's also a yawn-inducing bore of the adventure films of its era.

The top-level issue with the movie, much-discussed elsewhere, is Costner is wildly miscast. After a series of roles in the late 80s helped make Costner a star, he reached the apex of his career in the winter and spring of 1991, fresh off the success of his directorial debut, "Dances with Wolves," which won him Oscar gold. Costner cashed in his acclaim into a proto-superhero movie (he won't be the last), but audiences fell in love with his blue-collar, midwestern persona; not exactly the personality that calls to mind Robin Hood. That odd fit showed in the results, as Costner looks uncomfortable in scenes with physical action or moments he needs to convey aristocratic charm. And the less said about his failed attempt at an English accent, the better. There are moments where Costner gives up on an accent midway through sentences. It was just a poor choice all around, like somebody casting Jason Statham as Zorro.

Another problem is that for a medieval movie shot on location in the English countryside, director Kevin Reynolds and cinematographer Douglas Milsone shoot the landscape in the most uninspiring manner. There are several excellent examples of directors using their landscapes to enhance the story of an adventure movie, from John Ford  and David Lean to Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee. The cinematography in these classic scenes is very intentional, balancing the landscape vistas with the characters in the shot, placed precisely within the frame. Hence, the epic nature of these stories is always conveyed, but our focus always remains on the individual at the center. "Prince of Thieves" occasionally has a shot within a scene that enhances the characters within the location, but the rest of the visuals are mediocre and muddled. Unneeded objects often appear in the forefront of the frame, or actors awkwardly enter and exit the frame, giving the feeling that we're all watching an expensive television movie – ironic, as "Prince of Thieves" was competing with another Robin Hood movie in production that eventually premiered on TV.

The issues with "Prince of Thieves" can likely be placed on the film's rushed production. While the movie was a massive cinematic effort for the early 90s, Reynolds only had 10 weeks of pre-production time. Costner arrived on set three days before the production started without rehearsal. Significant roles weren't even cast yet. And then, once the production wrapped, there were internal battles about the final cut of the movie that left the director feeling unappreciated.

" To be honest, I was never a giant Robin Hood fan," Reynolds told Entertainment Weekly in 1991 about the behind-the-scenes hardships. “But I liked the story and the time period. I thought it would be intriguing to do a medieval action picture."

One person who exceeds his role in the film is Rickman, turning in a scene-stealing, scenery-chewing performance for the ages. Two years after Jack Nicholson established the template for villains you love to watch in "Batman," Rickman's Sheriff is dramatically over-the-top with every line, seemingly more at home in an animated Disney picture than the grounded take Reynolds is aiming for here. The Entertainment Weekly article offers insight that Reynolds wanted to build more of "Prince of Thieves" around the Sheriff, leading to consternation with Costner. In any event, the movie's energy picks up whenever Rickman enters the frame, bringing the kind of life to a scene that encourages audiences to sit up. Thirty years later, Rickman's performance is easily the best-remembered aspect of "Prince of Thieves,” although playing the Sheriff’s rapist tendencies for laughs in the climax is a poor choice then and now.

If there was a second place, it's likely the music of the movie. Michael Kamen composes a rousing adventure score that's better than the film itself. The work outlasted the cultural memory of "Prince of Thieves" by a country mile, so much that Disney Studios would later reappropriate the signature theme for its commercials for home entertainment. Meanwhile, musician Bryan Adams wrote a ballot, "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)," inspired by Kamen's love theme for Robin and Marian. The song was a huge hit, eventually reaching the top of the Billboard 100.

"Prince of Thieves" was also a massive hit at the box office. It earned $25.6 million on its debut weekend, the best opening of any movie at that point in the year. It remained a top box office draw for the first month and performed consistently throughout the rest of the summer, earning a worldwide total of $390.5 million. It was the second most successful of 1991, just behind "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

The star power and familiarity of Robin Hood got people into theaters, but its reputation is far more mixed. Critics sent "Prince of Thieves" to the gallows, offering an average rating of 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were more kind but not enthusiastic, with a 72 percent rating. 

"Director Kevin Reynolds does the entire project a disservice by shooting most scenes much too tightly, creating a claustrophobic mood without purpose," wrote Gene Siskel for The Chicago Tribune. "The picture only comes alive at the end with Robin and his Moorish helper (Morgan Freeman in a typically strong performance) turning into a medieval Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in hand-to-hand combat with the sheriff. Otherwise, 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is an entertainment without a particular point of view."

The plot of "Prince of Thieves" isn't awful; there's a solid foundation there, but the movie sinks mainly because the miscast hero and rushed visuals drain the life and epic adventure out of Robin Hood. In another universe, this movie could have starred Kenneth Branagh or Kevin Klein – theatrical actors with sound instincts on when to go big – as the leader of the Sherwood band of Merry Men. Or what happens if you reverse everybody's expectations and give Rickman the bow and arrows, giving him the rare career opportunity to play the hero? 

That's a universe where perhaps "Prince of Thieves" doesn't make as much money but is fondly remembered as one of the great adventure movies of the 90s. 

At the Box Office: The big story of the weekend is the astonishing opening of "Prince of Thieves," easily taking the top box office spot and well ahead of the competition. But many of the runners-up are showing some endurance in theaters, adding screens and seeing audience retention.

Last week's top draw, "City Slickers," fell to second place with an $11.3 million weekend. "Backdraft" continues its run as one of the year's strongest hits with a third-place finish of $5.2 million. Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" doesn't have the high distribution of its competitors, but a very impressive per-screen average gave it a weekend total of $5.2 million, good for fourth place. "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" is also hanging in there in its second weekend, entering the top five for the first time with a $3.4 million weekend gross.

In the News: Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win their first NBA Championship, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the seven-game series; David Lynch closed the door on the broadcast television run of the cult show "Twin Peaks," with a second season (and presumed series) finale that shocked and captivated its fans long afterward. Lynch and series co-creator Mark Frost would eventually resume the story in 2017; Boris Yeltsin is elected as president of the Russian republic as the Soviet Union continues its decline to dissolution; Paula Abdul's "Rush Rush" takes over the Billboard 100 for the first time; Jim Courier defeats Andre Agassi in the French Open Finals to win his first Grand Slam title.

Next Week: "The Rocketeer"