Director's Cut: Sherwood

 

Sherwood - Director's Cut

Genre: Action/Adventure/Historical

Director: Robert Schwentke

Writer: Mark Newton

Cast: Dan Stevens, Tom Holland, Hayley Atwell, Dominic West, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Adewale-Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Daniel Bruhl, Riz Ahmed

Plot: During the Crusades, Robin of Locksley (Dan Stevens) sits in a dim, stinking jail cell, bruised and bloodied but not broken. He awaits his execution next to two other supposed "war criminals": a mute Moor he’s dubbed “Little John” (Adewale-Akinnuoye-Agbaj) for irony’s sake, and a shackled Saracen assassin named Nasir (Riz Ahmed). Robin listens for the guards, counting footsteps. When they arrive to drag him to the gallows, he springs into action—using one guard’s momentum against him and slamming another into the iron bars. Nasir breaks his own chains in the confusion, and Little John throttles the last soldier with ease. Robin grabs a sword and nods to the others, asking if they are coming with him. The three men blast through the corridors, fending off more guards, and stealing horses at the castle gates. They ride into the night, heading for the coast, and then for England.

Things are festering in England under the rule of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Dominic West), who has seized near-total control of the region with King Richard still abroad. Robin returns to his ancestral lands to find them plundered by taxes, patrolled by armored thugs led by the Sheriff's right-hand man Guy of Gisborne (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and stripped of hope. They arrive in town just as the Sheriff publicly condemns Will Scarlett (Tom Holland) - Robin's nephew - to death for tax resistance. The trap door drops, but before the noose can tighten, Robin fires an arrow that cuts the rope. Will falls to the platform below, gasping. Guy rushes toward Will with a sword, but Robin rides in hard on his horse and Will jumps on. Nasir hurls a smoke bomb behind them as they vanish into the Sherwood Forest. As they leave town, they are spotted from a distance by Robin's childhood sweethear, Marian (Hayley Atwell), who recognizes Robin instantly beaneath his hood.

Robin, Will, Little John, and Nasir set up a camp in a narrow ravine hidden by brush deep in the Sherwood Forest. That night, a tax caravan rumbles through a road near their camp. Robin sees an opportunity. They ambush it from the trees above. Arrows destroy the wagons. Robin and his "Merry Men" steal the gold from the wagons. They strip the tax collectors of their weapons and march them out of the forest back toward town. 

Returning to camp, Robin is surprised to find Marian waiting, arms folded. She's furious - then relieved he's alive - then furious again. Robin shows the gold they robbed from the tax collectors. He offers her some, but she tells him that the people of Nottingham who have been aggressively taxed by the corrupt Sheriff are who really need the money.

Marian makes her way into town under cloak, a sack of gold carefully sewn into the lining of her cloak. She meets with Frian Tuck (Daniel Bruhl) in the cellar of the church where he brews beer. He is wary of her at first, but she dumps out the gold on a table and asks her his help to get the money back to the people who need it. They plan out a system to use the church as a front to quietly return the money back to the citizens of Nottingham. 

Robin and his men continue to rob the Sheriff's tax collection caravans every time they attempt to cross through the Sherwood Forest. Guy of Gisborne reports to the Sheriff to inform him of the string of robberies. The Sheriff decides to tighten his grip. He orders homes raided and taxes doubled. 

Guy searches the village and catches Marian with a pouch identical to those stolen from he caravan. He drags her before the Sheriff, but Marian refuses to betray Robin. Tuck is dragged in next, but he also refuses to talk despite being threatened by Guy. The Sheriff smiles and announces that Marian and Tuck will make good bait then.

The Sheriff posts a garrison around Nottingham Castle, waiting for Robin's arrival. That night, Robin, Will, Little John, and Nasir scout the perimeter from the tree line. Robin outlines a plan - quiet entry through the east wall, diversion in the barracks, then extraction in the chapel wing. Everyone agrees that the plan is madness, but that's how it should be. 

They move at midnight. Nasir slips inside first, killing a sentry and unlocking the side gate. to the castle. Will and Little John storm the barracks, drawing soldiers away. Robin slips through the castle hall, face hidden by his hood. He finds Marian locked in a chamber, guarded by Guy. The two clash in a sword duel. Guy nearly overpowers Robin until Will appears and drives a dagger deep into Guy's side - payback for nearly executing him previously.

Little John and Nasir fight their way to Friar Tuck and cut him loose. The group converges in the main hall - only for the Sheriff himself to appear, flanked by his remaining guards. Robin and the Sheriff through the castle. The Sheriff continues to taunt Robin throughout the fight. The Sheriff missteps, allowing Robin to drive a sword into the Sheriff's chest. He crumples to the floor as the remaining guards all flee.

Weeks later, the outlaws gather deep in the forest. Tuck stands beside an altar, reading a simple vow from the Bible. Robin and Marian clasp hands before him. Robin kisses Marian, and Tuck declares them husband and wife.