Beyond Sherwood Forest

Had a conversation with friends the other day where we discussed the worst film we had ever seen. I found it difficult to answer. Having seen this in the meantime the answer is obvious (to me at least). This is truly one of the worst films I have ever seen. Whoever threw money at this tripe really should know better

Acting is horrible, director sesms to not care, no effort at consistency. The script isn't good, full of stereotypical lines but any chance of it coming across better is ruined by the acting and directing. The special effects are horrible

Avoid at all costs. Its time of your life you will never get back.

It's 1174 England. There are dragons and magic. Malcolm (Julian Sands) is leading a fight against dragons. He finds Alina (Katharine Isabelle), naked and injured. He tries to kill the obviously magically being but her wounds keep healing. He ends up killing his comrade who wanted to save the girl. Maid Marian (Erica Durance) is preparing reluctantly to marry Prince John who is in charge while King Richard is away with the Crusade. Robin Hood (Robin Dunne) and his men are in Sherwood Forest stealing from Prince John. He runs into Maid Marian in the woods.

This is a B-movie fantasy. The production is a little above cable TV movie. The start is functional but there are obvious issues. Malcolm should be blackmailing Alina with some kind of McGuffin. He could be holding a dragon egg hostage. The plot gets too complicated in the second half. While the production is fine, it's not good enough for anything close to theatrical release. There are a few actual actors in this. Julian Sands is always good to play a villain. Depending on expectations, this is almost watchable.

I wanted to see Beyond Sherwood Forest, as I did want to see what it would do as a twist on one of my childhood favourite legends growing up. I was also nervous, as it was SyFy, who have a notoriety for bad movies. I have to say that watching Beyond Sherwood Forest that it was not a great movie but it also could've been worse. In fact it is one of SyFy's more tolerable movies. It does have its faults, the script is weak with cheesy, stilted lines and references to insurance policies in a telling of a story that is meant to be 12th century, a story that is more solidly paced than most SyFy movies but at the end of the day felt like another of their monster and sorcery movies complete with a plodding Tree-Keepers subplot, the characters come across as standard and undeveloped fantasy clichés, the archery does not convince let alone thrill at all and the lead performance of Robin Dunne has none of the charm, heroism and charisma you'd associate with such a character. However, for SyFy it actually looks quite decent, the costumes and sets do look lovely and the effects are much better than most other SyFy movies that explore similar genres. The dragon is actually one of the best they've done to date for me. The music is suitably rousing in places, and there are good performances from Katherine Isabelle, whose troubled Alina makes for a performance of great poignancy and Julian Sands as a quite over-the-top but at the same time quite cool Malcolm the Sheriff of Nottingham. Erica Durance has an inconsistent accent but more than makes up for it by her sexiness and David Richmond-Peck is a devious Prince John, though he is not in enough of the film to make a bigger impression. Overall, a tolerable SyFy movie that could've been better I think. 5/10 Bethany Cox

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.

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