The Adventures of Maid Marian – Fun Adventure
Director: Bill Thomas
Writer: Bill Thomas (Screenplay)
Starring: Sophie Craig, Bob Cryer, Jennifer Matter, Lainy Boyle, Dominic Andersen, James Groom
Plot: After three years of hiding in a remote priory, news reaches Marian that King Richard the Lionheart is dead. Her lover Robin Hood is returning from the wars. Leaving her sanctuary she hurries to meet him but they discover all is not as it seems. William De Wendenal, the disgraced Sheriff of Nottingham, has returned from exile and is out for revenge. Ambushed, Marian and Robin fight for their lives and escape, but Robin is badly injured. Deep in the forest and miles from help and hounded by ruthless mercenaries, Marian must use all the skills at her disposal to keep Robin alive and get him to safety.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Adventures of Maid Marian starts in the aftermath of Robin Hood (Andersen) Marian (Craig) seeing The Sheriff of Nottingham (Cryer) defeat, with Robin heading to war and Marian remaining behind in hiding.
When the war is over Marian can come out of hiding, in hopes of finding Robin again, only for them to find themselves facing up against a vengeful Sheriff who wants to make them pay for taking his life, leading the mercenaries down to hunt them down.
Thoughts on The Adventures of Maid Marian
Characters & Performances – Marian has been in hiding while King Richard leads the war in France, living in a monastery among the nuns, sneaking out to keep her fight together, helping the needy where she can. With Robin returning, she can come out of hiding, taking over the fight after Robin becomes injured, against an enemy. Marian takes center stage for one of the first times in the Robin Hood stories, made to be just as skilled as he is, never being the damsel in distress, many other versions can paint her out to be. The Sheriff of Nottingham has been waiting for his chance to get revenge on Robin and anyone who helped him, being fueled by vengeance over anything else before. Robin Hood does return from war, fighting with King Richard, looking to start a fresh life with Marian, he still has the connections in Nottingham, but his return has seen the Sheriff come back for more, despite him getting injured, he will trust the people around him to do the right thing. We do meet other familiar names in the stories of Robin Hood, with their own versions of the characters. The performances in the film are good with Sophie Craig in the role of Marian making her character standout, as the strongest character in the film.
Story – The story here will bring another spin on the legacy of the Robin Hood stories, this time making Maid Marian the focus of the adventure, being the one that needs to do the most fighting back against a familiar enemy. When it comes to the Robin Hood stories, we seem to get a different idea behind them every year, this one does feel fresher by focusing on Marian, showing her double life, as well as taking everything back into the forest for the adventures. It will play out like you imagine, with the small group needing to fight back a larger group who want to use their power to take advantage of the less fortunate in life.
Themes – The Adventures of Maid Marian is an adventure movie that will include plenty of sword swinging, arrow fizzing and traps as the two sides battle to stay ahead of each other, using the forest for the main location, showing how people can find hiding spots in this environment.
Signature Entertainment present The Adventures of Maid Marian on Digital Platforms 9th May.
Final Thoughts – The Adventures of Maid Marian is a fun adventure showing Maid Marian to be just as much of a fighter as Robin Hood.
