Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Deserves a Second Chance

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Some characters from older stories appear repeatedly in movies and TV shows. King Arthur and Sherlock Holmes are good examples, but perhaps the most famous is the legendary English outlaw. He’s been the subject of more than a dozen full-length films, plus numerous TV shows, shorts, and video games – a true testament to his enduring popularity.

Robin Hood has been reimagined many times, with a recent dark take appearing on MGM+ in 2025 and a new film starring Hugh Jackman currently being made by A24. These adaptations have been quite different in quality, and some haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve. A prime example is the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, which received unfair criticism when it first came out.

Reviews Tore Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves to Shreds

Pen Densham and John Watson wrote Prince of Thieves, and the director had also worked with them on other films. When Prince of Thieves was released, it had been over a decade since the last major Robin Hood movie – Robin and Marian, which came out in 1976 and featured Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn.

Following the massive success of Dances With Wolves in 1990, Kevin Costner’s popularity was at an all-time high. This created significant anticipation for Prince of Thieves, but many viewers were disappointed. While the film made a lot of money – over $390 million with a $60 million budget – critics generally didn’t like it.

I was really disappointed with Prince of Thieves. Critics didn’t seem to love it either – it only got a 51% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a pretty low two out of five stars. They said it felt messy, overly violent, and just generally downbeat, and the editing felt really rushed. Honestly, a lot of people, including me, thought Kevin Costner’s performance was pretty flat and lacked energy. It just didn’t quite live up to the classic Robin Hood story.

Kevin Costner’s performance was widely criticized for his inconsistent English accent. The accent changed during filming because the director, Mel Brooks, wasn’t sure if Costner should use his normal voice. This was parodied in the comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights, where a character directly commented, “Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.” Both Costner and Christian Slater (as Will Scarlet) received Golden Raspberry Awards for their acting; Costner was named Worst Actor, and Slater was named Worst Supporting Actor.

I remember when Prince of Thieves came out, a lot of people were upset about the violence and some of the adult themes, especially because it was advertised as something the whole family could enjoy. Looking back now, it doesn’t seem that bad compared to what we see in movies today, but back then it was definitely more graphic than people anticipated. Honestly, even with its issues, I think the movie was unfairly criticized and deserved a lot more love from both reviewers and regular moviegoers like me.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is an Underrated Gem

Even though the film received a couple of Razzie awards, its cast was a major highlight. In particular, the actor playing the Sheriff of Nottingham stood out with a lively performance that was both hilariously villainous and genuinely threatening. He had some of the film’s most quotable lines, including the memorable outburst: “Robin Hood steals from me, making me punish the people who actually like him? That’s it! No more charity for the poor, no more quick executions, and Christmas is cancelled!”

Even then, Alan Rickman was widely praised for his performance, winning a British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film also featured strong performances from Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Maid Marian and Morgan Freeman as the new character Azeem, along with a brief appearance by Sean Connery reprising his role as King Richard the Lionheart.

The movie Prince of Thieves begins with Robin Hood as a prisoner during the Third Crusade. He soon returns to England, but his time at war in Jerusalem profoundly shapes his character for the rest of the film. This grounding in historical events, rather than pure fantasy, was a key feature of the movie and inspired similar approaches in later versions of the Robin Hood story.

Unlike many medieval stories, Prince of Thieves wasn’t visually dull, despite being set in the past. While a realistic, gritty look can work, it often makes adaptations of lively characters like Robin Hood feel flat. This film smartly mixed darker settings with beautiful forests, lavish castles, and caves that seemed to glow with magic.

Despite Roger Ebert’s harsh criticism of the music in Prince of Thieves – calling it generic and overly dramatic – the score was actually quite memorable and worked well with the film. It was composed by Michael Kamen, who later created music for projects like the original X-Men and Band of Brothers. The film’s closing song, Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” was a major hit, reaching the top of the charts in both the US and the UK for several weeks, proving that at least one part of the soundtrack resonated with audiences.

People have been revisiting Prince of Thieves lately, and opinions are mixed – some enjoy it through nostalgia, while others are let down compared to their expectations. Interestingly, it actually has a better audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (72%) than the Robin Hood films from 2010 (58%) and 2018 (40%).

You can buy Prince of Thieves on many different streaming services, and it’s even available to watch for free on YouTube with ads, making it easy to enjoy whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering it for the first time. Even with new Robin Hood movies and shows on the way, we’re sure to see even more adaptations in the future, as Robin Hood remains one of the most beloved and timeless heroes in folklore.

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2026-01-28 03:07