Robin and the Seven Hoods

2013 • 123 minutes

About this movie

The rat pack re-crafts the Robin Hood legend in this story of rival gangs set in the roaring '20s, where Marian--despite her blue-blood upbringing--has the conniving heart of a moll and Robbo the Hood can't help but do good and be admired in spite of his best efforts to be a gangster.

Ratings and reviews

I believe a musical needs catchy songs to really work, and despite its potent cast (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Bing Crosby all also star) this is one area where Robin and the Seven Hoods conspicuously falls down. In my opinion, only one song - Crosby's "Mr Booze" is at all likely to stick in your memory. Well, that and the rather bizarre experience that is watching Peter Falk try to sing. Script-wise, I'm also not really a fan. For one thing, the story plays a bit too loose with some of the characters of the Robin Hood legends for my tastes; though I will admit that the final pay-off for those licenses is almost worth it. The bigger problem, however, is that it's simply a bit too complacent in its pacing and its plotting. Much like the rather half-hearted soundtrack, it feels like the writers just assumed the charisma and talent of the cast would carry the film. Charisma and talent can get you a long way, but not even Crosby and the Rat Pack can pull off the kind of con job necessary to make this film look like a winner.