Figure 1.--.

Robin of Locksley is a modern adaptation of the adventures of Robin Hood. When a school friend from a poor family is injured and requires a series of operations, 16 years old Robin Mc Alister uses his sophisticated electronic gadgetry and his own computer smarts to transfer money from a wealthy corporation to the friend's hospital fund.

Filmography

Plot

Robin of Locksley is a modern adaptation of the adventures of Robin Hood. When a schoolfriend from a poor family is injured and requires a series of operations, 16 years old Robin Mc Alister uses his sophisticated electronic gadgetry and his own computer smarts to transfer money from a wealthy corporation to the friend's hospital fund.

After winning a state lottery, Robin's parents enroll him in a prestigious boys' prep school, Locksley Academy. Locksley is controlled by a tight clique of boys from ultra-wealthy families. These boys are bullies who intimidate weaker and smaller classmates and extort money from them; they call it variously an "ugly tax" or a "wimp tax". Robin despises them, and he befriends two of the bullies' long time targets: a tall, uncoordinated boy named John Little and a short, clever boy named Will Scarlett.

When Robin learns that a schoolmate from a poor family, one of the "scholarship students", has broken a leg and need a series of operations to make a full recovery, he decides to do whatever is necessary to help. Robin's parents have let the money go to their heads: they're in Europe buying horses for the ranch they purchased with their lottery money. When they call from overseas, Robin tries to tell them about his friend and to ask for his parents' help. Robin can't seem to make them understand, and he realizes he has to do things his way.

The father of one of the school bullies, John Prince, Senior, heads a multi-billion dollar corporation with a nominal charity fund. Using a voice synthesizer and hacking the corporation's computers, Robin is able to transfer the needed money to his injured and destitute school friend. Robin and his friends share the fun of helping a friend and gaining some revenge at the expense of their school rivals.

The missing money, however, does not go unnoticed by the coldhearted corporate dad. Eventually, two buffoonish FBI agents - one is named Walter Nottingham - investigate. They are thoroughgoing bumblers, but they do zero in on the source of the computer crime - Robin's home. The FBI agents, however, conclude The parents, not Robin, must have masterminded the theft.

To support the parallels to the Robin Hood stories, Robin Mc Alister happens to be a champion archer. Robin's school rivals, led by John Prince, Junior, have their own private archery club at school. Their dads finance the school's projects, and the ineffectual dean gives the boys free rein at school. At a Medieval Tournament sponsored by the school, Robin and his friends, John and Will, beat John Prince in the archery competition. Robin's parents return from their trip overseas just in time to witness his triumph.

Then, the FBI agents make their move to arrest Mr. and Mrs. Mc Alister. Robin confesses that he is the guilty party. Robin's dad of course does not approve of what Robin did, but he understands they've drifted apart since winning the lottery, and he vows to help Robin's friend. The greedy corporate dad agrees not to prosecute Robin, but Robin is to do community service. Part of that service included computerizing the financial records of his injured friend's church, whose pastor, of course, happens to be a Father Tuck.

Clothing

The boys wore a school uniform consisting of a dark blue blazer with academt crest on the breast pocket, striped neckties, white longsleeved shirts, and long trousers of grey or dark blue. Apparently, the school allowed a choice over trousers. All the boys wore long trousers and black laceup shoes.

The film also shows members of the soccer team in their uniforms of strired shirts, blue shorts, and kneesocks and soccer shoes. John Prince's archery club wore long white trousers and white short sleeved T shirts with a small emblem for the tournament. Robin and his friends, though, were in the spirit of the Medieval Tournament, dressing in Robin Hood-style clothes: the distinctive soft hat, tunic, tights, and short boots identified with film depictions of Robin Hood.

Assessment

Overall, this film is quite enjoyable. One admires Robin and his friends' willingness to defend weaker students from the loathesome bullies. Robin, played by Devon Sawa (born in Vancouver on September 7, 1978) has the physical courage and street smarts to stand up to the bad guys; Will Scarlett (played by Billy O'Sullivan, born in Seattle on December 19, 1980), is witty and brash; and John Little, imaginative and phsically strong. The parents are rather two-dimensional, however. John Prince , Senior, the corporate titan, is greedy, cold, and even treats his son occasionally as just a tax write-off. Robin's parents are little better; their new money has made them self-indulgent and stuck on themselves. Robin's dad, and to a lesser extent his mom, too, have begun to come back down to earth by the film's end.

A problem I had with the film, though, is that the bad guys seemed unchanged. The school bullies will probably regroup for another day of tormenting weaker students. John Prince, the corporate dad, is going to use the publicity surrounding Robin's computer theft for PR advantage: he's giving a little more money to charity. Then again, if these villains had undergone a complete change of heart, that wouldn't be believable, and what's more, what would Robin have to do then?

Created: February 9, 2002
Last updated: February 9, 2002