Hugh Jackman plays a grey, battered Robin Hood who regrets the life he has led. Michael Sarnoski’s film looks beautiful and is often brutal. Here is whether it’s worth renting.
Reviewed, edited and approved by Editor-in-chief Daniel Sköld · Updated 25 October 2026
Contents
Every British man of a certain age has his own Robin Hood. Yours might be Errol Flynn in tights, Michael Praed brooding through Robin of Sherwood on ITV, or Kevin Costner wandering from Dover to Nottingham via Hadrian’s Wall in an afternoon. Mine is all three, plus a plastic bow from Woolworths that never once hit what I aimed at.
The Death of Robin Hood wants to bury all of them. Michael Sarnoski’s film gives us a grey, battered outlaw in his later years. He is sick of the ballads, haunted by the people he has killed, and wondering whether a man like him is allowed a second chance. As midlife crises go, it makes buying a Triumph Bonneville look fairly sensible.
Premiere2026-06-18
GenreAdventure, Drama, Action
CastHugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett
Directed byMichael Sarnoski
Running time123 min
Rated15
Watch onRent or buy
68%
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Sherwood’s most wanted, now in his later years
Forget the merry men. This Robin is a hardened killer at the end of a long and very bloody career. In the early stretch he joins his old comrade Little John, who now calls himself Edward, for one more fight. Some men have taken Edward’s farm, and the fight goes about as well as you’d expect for two middle-aged men with bad knees. Badly wounded, Robin ends up in a remote priory in the care of Sister Brigid. For the first time in decades he finds some peace. He also knows his past will catch up with him sooner or later.
One running joke works well. Strangers who don’t know who he is keep telling Robin tales of the great outlaw Robin Hood, and he keeps telling them, grumpily, that it’s all nonsense. Sherwood, Nottingham and the legend are always in the background. The film is really about the gap between the story and the man it’s about.
Jackman, Comer and the man behind Pig
Hugh Jackman plays Robin, with Jodie Comer as Sister Brigid. Bill Skarsgård is Little John, and Murray Bartlett, of The White Lotus, plays a leper Robin befriends at the priory. Noah Jupe and Jade Croot complete the main cast. Sarnoski wrote and directed it, and anyone who saw Pig, his film with Nicolas Cage, will recognise the quiet, sorrowful tone. The film runs 123 minutes and is rated 15 in the UK. The rating is deserved, because the violence is nasty.
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What hits the target and what misses
The best thing here is Jackman. He played Wolverine as an old, worn-out man in Logan, and he is very good at playing heroes who are falling apart. Here he looks dreadful in the best possible way: grey hair, mud, scars and eyes that look as if they haven’t slept since the Crusades. Comer gives him something steady to play against, and their scenes at the priory are the heart of the film.
The film is also beautifully made, all stone, sackcloth and dark woodland. The problem is how it’s built. The bloodiest scenes are all in the first half hour, and the rest is a slow, thoughtful look at guilt and making amends. If you’ve rented it hoping for an archery showdown, you will be disappointed. The closest comparison is Robin and Marian, Richard Lester’s 1976 film with Sean Connery as an ageing Robin. Sarnoski’s version is darker. Connery’s Robin was still a hero underneath, and Jackman’s has blood on his hands from start to finish.
It’s less a story about Robin Hood than about what happens when a man outlives the legend everyone has built around him.
What the critics say
Critics mostly liked it, with some reservations. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus says the film could use more levity in its quiver but that its exploration of the man behind the folk hero nails the target. Time Out gave it four stars, calling it “Bold, brutal yet surprisingly sensitive” and praising Jackman’s performance as one of the best of his career. Variety found it intelligent and beautifully crafted but said it “tilts into dourness”. RTÉ also called Jackman’s performance one of his best.
Not everyone was convinced. Mark Kermode gave it two stars out of five and called it “gruelling on multiple levels”. He objected to a gory first half hour followed by 90 minutes of agonising. Personally, I think he’s harsh but not completely wrong.
Where to watch it in the UK
The Death of Robin Hood has had its cinema run and is now available to rent or buy on the main UK digital stores. It isn’t included with any UK subscription service yet, so for now you’ll have to pay to watch it. Check the usual digital stores for current prices.
Verdict
The Death of Robin Hood is grim and slow, and it contains one of the best performances Hugh Jackman has ever given. If you loved Logan or Robin and Marian and like your legends taken apart rather than polished, it’s well worth the rental fee. If you want a Friday-night swashbuckler with a Bryan Adams song over the credits, give it a miss.
Ashley Isaacs picks what's worth your evening – film, TV, streaming, music and books for men 45 and over with limited evenings and too many subscriptions. Reviews of what's new on Netflix, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and the rest, crime dramas worth a weekend, and classics worth a second look. What's worth watching, what isn't, and where to find it in the UK.
One of Midcent's writers. Spotted something? Write to ashley@midcent.uk.
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