The Death of Robin Hood Review: No Arrows, All Atonement

The Death of Robin Hood trades arrows and merry men for a deathbed reckoning, and the trade mostly works. Michael Sarnoski, who made Pig, directs Hugh Jackman as a wounded Robin recovering at a priory under the care of a sister with her own judgment to pass. It is a slow, grisly film with a quiet ending, and it earns its patience in most of the places that count. Anyone hunting a Friday night action fix should look elsewhere.

This Robin Hood is not based on a book. Sarnoski builds from the old death ballads, the ones where a prioress bleeds the outlaw dry on an island, a strand of the legend Richard Lester wanted for Robin and Marian back in 1976. Sarnoski's version opened in US theaters on June 19, 2026, rated R at 123 minutes, and the theatrical run fizzled: $9.9 million worldwide against a $25 million budget. Critics were kinder than the box office. Rotten Tomatoes has the Tomatometer at 69 percent from 189 reviews, Metacritic sits at 61, and paying audiences graded the film a CinemaScore C+.

What The Death of Robin Hood is about

Robin comes off one final battle beside Little John, gravely wounded, and washes up at a priory on a small island. Sister Brigid tends his body and works on his soul. Flashbacks carry the legend: the Sheriff, the outlaws, the violence that built his name. The opening stretch is a nightmare of mud and close-quarters slaughter, shot in Northern Ireland in a harsh 2.4:1 frame, and the film widens its aspect ratio once the fighting stops.

The Death of Robin Hood cast and performances

Hugh Jackman plays Robin as an exhausted veteran who wants nothing to do with the old showmanship, and he commits to the misery without winking. Jodie Comer is the film's spine. Her Sister Brigid is half nurse and half inquisitor, and the stretches where the two of them argue over what Robin owes the people he hurt give the movie its best scenes. Bill Skarsgård plays Little John as a haunted survivor whose loyalty has curdled, and his scenes with Faith Delaney, who plays his young daughter Margaret, bring the film its only warmth. Murray Bartlett and Noah Jupe fill out the priory and the flashbacks.

What works

Commitment. Jackman and Comer play everything at a hushed intensity, and the film refuses Robin a heroic exit. The final stretch denies the Eastwood ending you can see coming for two hours and simply lets judgment arrive. The locations, shot in Northern Ireland, supply real weather and real weight, and the aspect-ratio shift separates the war from what the war cost.

What doesn't

Pace and joy. The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "tedious slog," and the first hour backs them up: gore scene after gore scene before the priory story finds its rhythm. The New York Times' Alissa Wilkinson found the violence tedious through the first half even while praising the cast, and Rotten Tomatoes' critics consensus says the film "could use more levity in its quiver." A24's marketing sold an action movie, and the plot that arrives is a penance drama. The 69 percent critic score next to a 56 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes captures that split exactly.

Where to watch The Death of Robin Hood

The theatrical run is over, so searches for The Death of Robin Hood showtimes near you will come up empty; the wide release happened back in June 2026. Streaming took over on July 28, 2026, when the film hit digital, and the place to watch it now is HBO Max in the US. If you prefer a rental, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, and Fandango at Home all carry it.

Verdict

Is The Death of Robin Hood worth watching? If the pitch of Jackman and Comer arguing over a dying legend's soul works on you, yes, and it is streaming on HBO Max tonight. If you want the Robin Hood of Hollywood memory, this one will feel like homework. Rotten Tomatoes' consensus says the film could use more levity in its quiver, and that is the whole review in one line.

Rating: 6.0/10 (SAMPLE, owner adjusts)