Film reviews: Hugh Jackman's dark Robin Hood and a zany new comedy

THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD (15, 122 mins) ***

Robin Hood, Robin Hood riding through the glen… Robin Hood, Robin Hood back yet again… though not as you've ever seen him before.

Taglined 'He was no hero', this is Hugh Jackman's relentlessly downbeat version, portraying Robin as a ruthless killer.

Via multiple scenes of extreme violence perpetrated alongside Little John (Bill Skarsgård), Robin knows he will soon be meeting his own maker.

Eventually cared for by Jodie Comer's Sister Brigid, the film also has room for a leper (Murray Bartlett) and Little John's young daughter, Little Margaret (Faith Delaney).

Given that the Robin Hood legend has always been powered by the romantic notion that he robbed the rich to give to the poor, this is an ambitiously dark, introspective insight into what makes some bad men tick.

Blessed with fabulous Northern Ireland landscapes, the look is cold and grey, while the music is woven in beautifully to match. So why is this ultimately no match for The Northman (2022), which starred Bill Skarsgård's brother Alexander (another son of Swedish acting legend Stellan Skarsgård)?

Despite the promise of his premise, Wisconsin writer-director Michael Sarnoski's script often sounds more like a monotonous log than a monologue, even though Jackman is clearly channelling his inner Sean Bean.

Now 57, it's always good to see the talented Jackman stretching himself beyond the fantasy X-Men world, as Les Misérables, Prisoners and The Greatest Showman have proved.

But because he's an Australian-born Hollywood star working here in Belfast, it's no wonder his Nottingham accent frequently offers variations on a theme.

In that sense, The Death of Robin Hood echoes another Cillian Murphy swansong. It's like an equally mythologised Middle Ages version of Peaky Blinders, studying a killer's psychology and sense of purpose. Can we admire him even if we can't love his behaviour?

Many stars have played Robin Hood, including Sean Connery and even his son, Jason Connery. Jackman's variously matted hair and beards here suggest that Mel Gibson or the late Robbie Coltrane might have fancied this version – or even Sean Bean himself, if he hadn't just appeared in the 2025 TV series Robin Hood as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Ultimately, Sarnoski's revisionist story, despite its high ambitions, is just off target, rather like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). The end credits simply offer more time to reflect on what might have been.

GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS (15, 94 mins) ***

Hollywood has recently been obsessed with delivering cheap horror movies that never raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

So three cheers for a comedy shot on location across Los Angeles that will tickle your ribs at least some of the time – and that's whether you like the central concept or not.

Zoey Deutch plays a permanently effervescent hairdresser called Nouvelle Vague whose fiancé uses their fantasy agreement to actually make love to a celebrity he meets by chance.

This choice of surprise, uncredited guest really works – especially if you manage to see the film without knowing who it will be.

The only way Nouvelle can get even is to cash in her own free 'pass' with another celebrity, this one played by Jon Hamm as himself, alongside fellow Mad Men co-star John Slattery, also playing himself (but weirdly looking more and more like British DJ Chris Evans).

Can she find her favourite star and, more importantly, Hamm it up?

The name Daughtry sounds like a cross between Roger Daltrey and Carry On star Charles Hawtrey – and that kind of sums up the daft nature of what you are about to see.

Nouvelle's Kansas origins don't just hint at a Wizard of Oz-style journey, but one scene even resembles a Benny Hill chase sequence shot by Quentin Tarantino.

Where last week's One Night Only stretched its pizza-base premise wafer thin, Gail Daughtry has a relentless, goofball energy.

Even if you fully buy into the sheer zaniness of Role Models director David Wain's world, Nouvelle is duty-bound to happily wear you out before the end credits roll, thanks to the final scene.

Reviewing films in Birmingham since 1989, Graham Young is a former UK Regional Film Journalist of the Year and three-time runner-up.