What happens when you combine Robin Hood with a dragon? You get this 2009 movie:
It is 1174 AD. Three men are chasing a dragon. One races ahead and
fights the beast with his sword, getting mortally wounded for his
troubles. As the other two ride to their fallen comrade, the dragon
plummets from the sky and into the woods. "I told you I hit it,"€
Malcolm declares and races off to finish the beast. Robin stays with
Roland, the Sheriff of Nottingham. "œYou're Sheriff now,"€ Roland
says and dies of his wounds. Meanwhile, Malcolm encounters a naked girl
who has one of his arrows sticking out of her. Though she begs for his
help, he stabs her repeatedly. Yet she does not die. He reasons that
an immortal girl who becomes a dragon when exposed to sunlight could be
an asset. Sheriff Robin sees things differently and wants to help the
cursed girl. Malcolm will not be denied and attacks.
Elsewhere in the forest, teenaged Robert is trying to impress a teenaged Marian with his feats of archery. Not only is he a miserable archer, Robert is painfully obtuse with regard to Marian's affections. He leaves her in the forest, declaring he is off to hunt with his father. He happens upon the action between his father - Sheriff Robin - and Malcolm. He sees Malcolm kill his father and flees for his life. He hides near a mysterious gateway wreathed with blue-fire that leads to another world. Hmm, could this explain the presence of a dragon? Unable to locate young Robert, Malcolm finally leaves to carry off his prize and assume the office of Sheriff of Nottingham.
15 years later, our story resumes. That would make the year 1189. In 1189, Richard had not yet left for the Crusade (he departed in the summer of 1190) and Prince John had not yet usurped his way into the Regency. Nonetheless, our tale proposes that these things have happened. Robert, now calling himself Robin Hood, is doing the standard Robin Hood steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor routine. He is joined by Gareth, a mute boy and thief, and the towering Little John. We also meet Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet along the way.
It so happens that Robin has captured something far more valuable than he realizes in his latest foray and Sheriff Malcolm finally resorts to unleashing his girl-dragon to track him down. In order to fight the dragon, Robin leads Little John and Will through the magical gate and into the Dark Woods and Beyond Sherwood Forest. Here they meet the Sylvans (basically druids) who explain that Alina (the girl-dragon) is a half-breed, part human and part Sylvan. The Dark Woods never have sunlight so she was shunned but not dangerous.
At one point, Marion complains to her father that she does not want to marry a man who is 20 years her senior. Well, Leopold of Austria was born in 1157, which would make him only 32 at the time of our story. And Marion was a teen in 1174, making her an old maid of 29 at the youngest. It is no wonder she is an old maid since she spends an inordinate amount of time practicing her combat skills. When she and Robin are first reunited after years apart, the two fight with staves on a log (the famed battle that Robin usually has with Little John).
Basically, this is the standard story of Robin Hood with a dragon tacked on to it. Alina is a sympathetic character, forced to be the Sheriff's pawn. Of course, later developments make you wonder why she is a pawn even though he possesses something of hers. She has made a bargain of sorts that has not paid off in 15 years but she is inexplicably hopeful that the Sheriff will eventually hold up his end.
This was one of the better SyFy movies. The plot is much less forced than most such shows and the characters likeable. This is D&D meets Robin Hood. The gateway, which might seem clumsy to some, was very fitting. It was something that might have appeared in Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell; perhaps called the "True Story of Robin Hood"™ or the like.
Elsewhere in the forest, teenaged Robert is trying to impress a teenaged Marian with his feats of archery. Not only is he a miserable archer, Robert is painfully obtuse with regard to Marian's affections. He leaves her in the forest, declaring he is off to hunt with his father. He happens upon the action between his father - Sheriff Robin - and Malcolm. He sees Malcolm kill his father and flees for his life. He hides near a mysterious gateway wreathed with blue-fire that leads to another world. Hmm, could this explain the presence of a dragon? Unable to locate young Robert, Malcolm finally leaves to carry off his prize and assume the office of Sheriff of Nottingham.
15 years later, our story resumes. That would make the year 1189. In 1189, Richard had not yet left for the Crusade (he departed in the summer of 1190) and Prince John had not yet usurped his way into the Regency. Nonetheless, our tale proposes that these things have happened. Robert, now calling himself Robin Hood, is doing the standard Robin Hood steal-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-poor routine. He is joined by Gareth, a mute boy and thief, and the towering Little John. We also meet Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet along the way.
It so happens that Robin has captured something far more valuable than he realizes in his latest foray and Sheriff Malcolm finally resorts to unleashing his girl-dragon to track him down. In order to fight the dragon, Robin leads Little John and Will through the magical gate and into the Dark Woods and Beyond Sherwood Forest. Here they meet the Sylvans (basically druids) who explain that Alina (the girl-dragon) is a half-breed, part human and part Sylvan. The Dark Woods never have sunlight so she was shunned but not dangerous.
At one point, Marion complains to her father that she does not want to marry a man who is 20 years her senior. Well, Leopold of Austria was born in 1157, which would make him only 32 at the time of our story. And Marion was a teen in 1174, making her an old maid of 29 at the youngest. It is no wonder she is an old maid since she spends an inordinate amount of time practicing her combat skills. When she and Robin are first reunited after years apart, the two fight with staves on a log (the famed battle that Robin usually has with Little John).
Basically, this is the standard story of Robin Hood with a dragon tacked on to it. Alina is a sympathetic character, forced to be the Sheriff's pawn. Of course, later developments make you wonder why she is a pawn even though he possesses something of hers. She has made a bargain of sorts that has not paid off in 15 years but she is inexplicably hopeful that the Sheriff will eventually hold up his end.
This was one of the better SyFy movies. The plot is much less forced than most such shows and the characters likeable. This is D&D meets Robin Hood. The gateway, which might seem clumsy to some, was very fitting. It was something that might have appeared in Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell; perhaps called the "True Story of Robin Hood"™ or the like.
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