Beyond Sherwood Forest

I don't have any new Simon Cowell to add, so I'll only go into depth about what was good about this film: not a whole heck of a lot, but it was batting 1.000 when the guy came up with the idea. (I'm really interested in this genre since Origin Systems stopped producing Ultima) That idea was that a young woman who comes from another world (a murky one at that!) is somehow cursed for breaking a law and spends part of her day as a winged monster. A cynical government-actor captures her to use her as a weapon. This story is woven into a Robin Hood one. (How that last part works, I don't know, but I guess someone else does.) Unfortunately, the movie kept putting me to sleep (figuratively) so I missed some of the finer points of the plot.

The acting and English accents have a serious credibility problem, the dialogue isn't exactly chancy, and sometimes the seams show on the CGI. I don't think the plot was executed in a very good way either. There was a romantic dimension, but that looked like they remembered to throw it in at the last minute.

There are a couple of things that I can respect a movie like this for: one is that it didn't have a lot of silly modern slang (the worst was a single "a little help"). Also, while Katharine Isabelle does show a lot of skin, there is no bona fide nudity (possibly because Isabelle refuses to do any). A movie like this should be going for such cheap thrills, but it doesn't. Good for it!

I wish it was Steven Spielberg who'd gotten ahold of this idea. I think it would have made a fine story, but instead what we have is typical Canadian B.

the only question is why Julian Sands accept this role ? because it is only a poor film, with not inspired script, director or actors, using for transform a classic story old clichés and bad solutions. unconvincing, almost fake, a story about nothing, it is not a real surprise. only , maybe, waste of time. but that could not be a sin. the theme, the mixture of revenge, love story, fantastic in chaotic proportions is not a surprise. but it represents a good occasion to discover new forms of it. so, no Sherwood, no Robin Hood or Marian. only a kind of fairy tale who has not sense, humor or nice details. the choice of lead actors was not the best, the fight scenes are sketches, the technology is far to be decent. but, that is not a sin. except the high expectation.

Once upon a time, in 1174 England, a flying dragon attacked a man before turning into a young woman's belly. As a result, Robin Hood's father is killed near a giant blue circle in Sherwood Forest. Possibly thinking of the blue hole causes handsome Robin Dunne (as Robin Hood) to wake up a few years later. The flying dragon is still causing problems for Mr. Dunne, along with dastardly Julian Sands (as Malcolm). The dragon turns in and out of attractive Katharine Isabelle (as Alina), probably due to a curse. Erica Durance (as Maid Marian) is also pretty...

This story, courtesy of actor-turned-director Peter DeLuise and Syfy Channel fantasy writer Chase Parker, is sometimes difficult to comprehend. The cast is very good looking and adding a dragon to the Robin Hood mythos is an interesting idea. We can't determine much about the giant blue hole. It could be the threshold to dragon world. We do know Dunne keeps the most perfectly trimmed beard in Sherwood Forest. And, everyone has excellent eye make-up. Modern eye make-up really counts for something, especially during the Middle Ages.

**** Robin Hood: Beyond Sherwood (11/24/09) Peter DeLuise ~ Robin Dunne, Erica Durance, Julian Sands, Katharine Isabelle

This was one of the worst movies I have seen. Must have been first time roles for the actors unless they just grabbed people off the street. The whole movie felt fake and very forced due to the poor acting.

The storyline was definitely usable albeit a twist of many movies such as Stargate etc... I don't even know if that part of the movie was needed. It was like 2 short films put together to make a full length film.

The cgi was average and the fight scenes were very obviously acted and not believable at all.

All in all I would say a huge disappointment. Do not waste your time watching this movie.

There are four reasons to watching this film-- the CGI were-dragon, Katherine Isabelle as Alina the were-dragon, the CGI wolf-lions, and Erica Durance as Marian. The were-dragon sequences are incredibly well done and very realistic. The creature's design is distinctive, with a body like a winged puma. The transformations are very well done, limited only by Katherine Isabelle's refusal to do more than bare her shoulders or back for scenes where she should be nude. The animators get around this fairly well although it is obviously the nude Alina at the beginning of the transformation is a Poserette. Katherine Isabelle, who played the title character from the GINGER SNAPS series, is great at playing troubled, distressed, terminally sad characters. She's right up her alley here. She really does steal the film with her portrayal of the tragic Alina. Okay, her refusal to do nude scenes did limit the filmmakers somewhat. In scenes where she is ostensibly nude and vulnerable, Miss Isabelle is only shown from the shoulders up. The filmmakers couldn't afford to pay for her usual body double? The lion-like wolves in "Beyond" section of Sherwood Forest are quite believable as well. They are a nicely executed hybrid of natural wolf and magical hell-beast. Their interaction with their would-be human victims is spot-on. Erica Durance..... anything from her post-Smallville debut is worth watching just for a chance to watch her. She gets a few action scenes in, either practicing on a helpless dummy or fighting the were-dragon Alina. And she looks great in a medieval pantsuit.

Bad points? Robin Dunne, Robin Dunne, and Robin Dunne. He was at best phoning in his performance. Apparently no one taught him how to believably fire an arrow. The few times you see him fire an arrow, it is obvious the arrow only flew a dozen feet before dropping to the floor.

All in all, there was no reason to call this "Robin Hood" aside from the chance to skip over explaining who these various characters were. Friar Tuck for example shows up, talks to Robin and Marian a little, then gets killed. By calling him "Friar Tuck" the filmmakers spared themselves the five minutes or so of screen time they'd've needed to set him up as an original character.