Da'ud Bob's Movie Review
for
  June 2026


This month's review was first published back in June 2007. Enjoy!



It seems that the old saw is really true.  You know, the one that goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  The subject of this observation was a new (well, new to America) television series about an old, old hero.  The story has been told dozens of times; sometimes well, sometimes, well, not so well.  And occasionally abominably.  Still, it’s a compelling story; it must be, to have such staying power, and to keep rising again and again.  This time it was on BBC America on a bright early spring day in 2007.  It was the first episode of a series first shown in the fall of 2006 on BBC One in England.  (For those of you who can’t watch this on BBC America, and who still want to see it after this review, the full first season is scheduled to be released on DVD in the U.S. on June 5, 2007.)  So, which particularly English hero has the BBC done a new series on?  Why, the same one whose basic story is so familiar to all of us from so many movies and other TV series.  And so it is that this month, Da’ud Bob reviews Episode 1: “Will You Tolerate This?” of the BBC Original Series, Robin Hood.

Starring Jonas Armstrong as our erstwhile hero Robin of Locksley, Earl of Huntington, Lucy Griffiths as Marian, Richard Armitage as Sir Guy of Gisborne, Keith Allen as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Gordon Kennedy as Little John, Sam Troughton as Much, Joe Armstrong as Allan A Dale, and Harry Lloyd as Will Scarlett, “Will You Tolerate This?” finds Robin and his man Much returned from the Crusades, finding their home much changed, mostly for the worse, during their absence fighting with King Richard in the Middle East.  This episode revolves around Robin’s trying to settle back in and set things right, but making powerful enemies (the Sheriff and Sir Guy) and having to run to the forest to hide.

Good points: The horses are pretty.

Bad points: Fake – very fake – chain mail.  (The sort of thing, made from some kind of fabric, that you believe probably wouldn’t even slow down a decent breeze, much less a weapon of any kind.)  Digging using a wooden shovel with no metal edge on it.  (Yes, back then, metal edge braces made for shovels may have cost a little, but they so extended the life of the shovels that they were more than worth it.)  Father and daughter (the former Sheriff and Marian) are nearly the same age.  (What was he when she was born?  Five?  I don’t think so!)  Wandering about for extended periods of time with a bow fully strung.  (This is really not very good for the bow!)  Guy of Gisborne’s greatcoat.  Robin’s hood makes him look like a modern street thug wearing a hooded sweatshirt rather than a medieval man.  Counting money in “pounds”.  (It would far more likely have been done in “marks” or “merks”.)  The Sheriff saying, sarcastically, “Yippee.”  (The best dictionary I consulted said of the term: “1910–15, Americanism; expressive word of uncertain origin.” In short, it ain’t medieval, and it ain’t English.)

Zero breasts.  No blood.  No dead bodies.  Arrow fu.  Sword fu.  Brooch fu.  Men at arms roll.  Gratuitous decolletage.  Gratuitous scimitar.  Gratuitous slo-mo.  Gratuitous “Saracen” recurve bow.  Gratuitous crushing of songbird by the Sheriff.  A 93 on the Vomit Meter.  1½ Stars.  Anna Sue says, “He’s not that cute”, and noted that given her druthers, she’druther watch Robin Hood: Men In Tights.  To give you an idea about how Anna Sue feels about Men In Tights, she wouldn’t let me get my own copy of Army of Darkness until Men In Tights had replaced it on her list of all-time bad medieval movies.  Da’ud Bob says “Check it out!”



Upcoming movies and miniseries to watch for!


The Death of Robin Hood
June 19, 2026
Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation. Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgard, Noah Jupe, and Murray Bartlett.
The Odyssey
July 17, 2026		 A new film version of the epic poem by Homer. Directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, with Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, and more. Quite the impressive cast! I hope the script will let their talents shine. The plot is exactly what you'd expect: "After the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Circe along the way." (I still like the meme where Odysseus is asked by one of his sailors what an "odyssey" is, and Odysseus tells him that it's a long journey named after the only survivor, and the sailor goes, "Oh, okay. Wait! What?")
The King, the Swordsman, and the Sorceress
Was to be released December 30, 2025, but IMDb says it's still in "pre-production".		 Starring Donna Hamblin, Deborah Dutch, Jeffrey Schneider (who also directs), and Nick Dent, still no plot synopsis has been released. But given the title, surely it must be a Da'ud Bob kind of movie, yes? Well, maybe. AI seems to think it is a remake of 1982's The Sword and the Sorcerer, a movie which featured, as I said in my review of it, "the amazing new [three-bladed] Ronco Rocket Sword.  'It slices!  It dices!  It makes mincemeat of your enemies in minutes!')". If AI is right, we are all in serious trouble.
Highlander
2027		 Starring Henry Cavill, Russell, Crowe, and Karen Gillan, with Dave Bautista as the Kurgan. This is a remake of the 1986 original starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery that no one I know of is asking for. "An immortal Scottish swordsman faces off with other immortal warriors in order to obtain a coveted ability." Director Chad Stahelski confirmed the movie will be using Queen's soundtrack from the original, but "Probably in a different way than you think, but hardcore yes." [Da'ud Bob says, "How about 'hardcore no'?"]
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A second season of this streaming series is already lined up for a 2027 release		 Set a century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wander through Westeros ... a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends. A(nother) Game of Thrones prequel. Streaming on Max.


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