Beyond Sherwood Forest

Had a conversation with friends the other day where we discussed the worst film we had ever seen. I found it difficult to answer. Having seen this in the meantime the answer is obvious (to me at least). This is truly one of the worst films I have ever seen. Whoever threw money at this tripe really should know better

Acting is horrible, director sesms to not care, no effort at consistency. The script isn't good, full of stereotypical lines but any chance of it coming across better is ruined by the acting and directing. The special effects are horrible

Avoid at all costs. Its time of your life you will never get back.

It's 1174 England. There are dragons and magic. Malcolm (Julian Sands) is leading a fight against dragons. He finds Alina (Katharine Isabelle), naked and injured. He tries to kill the obviously magically being but her wounds keep healing. He ends up killing his comrade who wanted to save the girl. Maid Marian (Erica Durance) is preparing reluctantly to marry Prince John who is in charge while King Richard is away with the Crusade. Robin Hood (Robin Dunne) and his men are in Sherwood Forest stealing from Prince John. He runs into Maid Marian in the woods.

This is a B-movie fantasy. The production is a little above cable TV movie. The start is functional but there are obvious issues. Malcolm should be blackmailing Alina with some kind of McGuffin. He could be holding a dragon egg hostage. The plot gets too complicated in the second half. While the production is fine, it's not good enough for anything close to theatrical release. There are a few actual actors in this. Julian Sands is always good to play a villain. Depending on expectations, this is almost watchable.

The SyFy channel go all-out with fantasy nonsense for this virtually unwatchable Robin Hood epic. Like those dodgy Asylum films that came out a few years ago that had Sherlock Holmes fighting octopi and the like, BEYOND SHERWOOD FOREST takes a very loose grasp of the original legend and turns it into something completely unfamiliar - and, unfortunately, very bad indeed.

You know the film's off to a bad start when we're subjected to silly portals in the woods and a lame CGI dragon that looks like it's come from a computer game, but that's just the beginning of the problems. The worst thing about the film by far is the acting; the likes of Robin Dunne (as Robin Hood) and Erica Durance (Maid Marian) are astonishingly poor and some of the supporting cast were even worse. The worst thing about the acting? Those accents, which grated on my ear throughout. It doesn't help that the dialogue is reduced to the level of "Prithee, fair maiden" type nonsense.

The film muddles along, throwing in some half-hearted romance and plenty of scenes that copy the likes of ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, with Julian Sands delivering another hammy turn as the villain of the piece. Then, thankfully, it's over, and I couldn't be happier because the only thing truly monstrous about this production is that horrible CGI.

I have to say, I bought this film for two reasons after I stumbled upon it at a Silver Platters store. I am a self-professed Robin Hood junkie- every film adaption I can get my hands on, I willingly try to buy- ranging from the 1930's Errol Flynn version to the BBC series...I think I have about 10 different movie versions at the moment. Secondly, Erica Durance is in it as Marian and I absolutely loved her as Lois Lane on Smallville- she was everything in this that she is in Smallville: beautiful, feisty, spirited, yet compassionate. I have to say, I found this film very, very entertaining. Its not by any means an Oscar worthy movie with A-list acting and a Christopher Nolan script- but its entertainment value is endless, especially for a made-for-TV movie. I mean, come on, its Robin Hood vs. a dragon!? It's got adventure, romance, sci-fi, monsters, beautiful scenery, a fun cast- what's not to love? I thought the actors did a fine job, the special effects were good, and I thought the interplay between the characters was great- from the flirtation between Robin and Marian, to Little John complaining about being hungry, to the tense relationship between Robin and Will, to Alina's pleading to the unfeeling Malcolm. I think you have to give credit to the writer's too for creating a unique plot for such a frequently adapted tale; its definitely unlike any other Robin Hood adaption- it goes beyond (like the title) your typical rob-the-rich-to- feed-the-poor Robin Hood plot. They found a way to create a new twist and I really appreciate that about the film. Even the way Robin Hood questions himself (as do the other characters) is a bit different- in other adaptions, Robin usually has no qualms about what he's doing and is a bit roguish and cocky, and everyone is pleased with him, rather than angry with his provoking the monarchy. This Robin almost seeks approval in a way, while still maintaining those lovable snarky swashbuckler qualities. I have to say, Robin Dunne may be one of my favorite Robin Hood actors (and also one of the handsomest ;) )- up there with the likes of Richard Todd (the Disney live-action version), Errol Flynn, and Jonas Armstrong (of course, my opinion). So, if you are looking for just simple entertainment, this is for you. If you are expecting Inception or Gladiator- you will be disappointed.

I wanted to see Beyond Sherwood Forest, as I did want to see what it would do as a twist on one of my childhood favourite legends growing up. I was also nervous, as it was SyFy, who have a notoriety for bad movies. I have to say that watching Beyond Sherwood Forest that it was not a great movie but it also could've been worse. In fact it is one of SyFy's more tolerable movies. It does have its faults, the script is weak with cheesy, stilted lines and references to insurance policies in a telling of a story that is meant to be 12th century, a story that is more solidly paced than most SyFy movies but at the end of the day felt like another of their monster and sorcery movies complete with a plodding Tree-Keepers subplot, the characters come across as standard and undeveloped fantasy clichés, the archery does not convince let alone thrill at all and the lead performance of Robin Dunne has none of the charm, heroism and charisma you'd associate with such a character. However, for SyFy it actually looks quite decent, the costumes and sets do look lovely and the effects are much better than most other SyFy movies that explore similar genres. The dragon is actually one of the best they've done to date for me. The music is suitably rousing in places, and there are good performances from Katherine Isabelle, whose troubled Alina makes for a performance of great poignancy and Julian Sands as a quite over-the-top but at the same time quite cool Malcolm the Sheriff of Nottingham. Erica Durance has an inconsistent accent but more than makes up for it by her sexiness and David Richmond-Peck is a devious Prince John, though he is not in enough of the film to make a bigger impression. Overall, a tolerable SyFy movie that could've been better I think. 5/10 Bethany Cox