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

Oh, come on, it wasn't THAT bad!! Anyone who reads the story and sees the stills on the cover of this DVD, cannot seriously expect a Steven Spielberg blockbuster or a Shakespeare or any Oscar-winning material. Here you get exactly what you CAN expect: a far-fetched but amusing sci-fi version of an otherwise pretty worn-out theme, with which I seriously enjoyed myself for one and a half hour. Sure, the script was unbalanced and full of potholes, some of the English accents were crooked and the direction and editing were often awkward, to put it mildly. But it also had much to go for it. To begin with, the acting was over-all pretty good. I didn't have any trouble with Robin Dunne as Robin Hood, I liked him, maybe he's no dashing Erroll Flynn or a deeply involved Kevin Costner, but he's cute enough and what he lacks in sheer heroism, is compensated by a boyish, tongue-in-cheek-like charm that worked well enough for me. Erica Durance is my favorite actress from the Smallville-series and as a rather emancipated version of Maid Marian she did a great job. Contrary to some reports here on IMDb I do think she's a solid actress, she has a very natural and down-to-earth way of acting which to me is very appealing, and apart from being absolutely beautiful to look at, she's also spicy and funny and her fighting skills (as in Smallville) are awesome. Julian Sands may have played his Sheriff of Nottingham a bit over the top, but that fitted the character fine. And David Richmond-Peck gave, in the limited space he got, a chilling performance of a devious and menacing Prince John. I only had troubles with Katherina Isabelle as the bewitched girl Alina, she seemed to think that her character's inner turmoils could be best shown by looking like a frightened rabbit all of the time. The settings and the costumes were great and the CGI was (for this kind of non-pretentious film) surprisingly convincing: the dragon was top-notch, not only visually and in it's own movements but also in the interaction with the actors, everything looked very realistic. The script and the storyline were the weakest parts of this production. I can live with a transplantation of Robin Hood to the realms of Fantasy (why not? Robin Hood is a legendary fantasy-figure to begin with!), but it all could have made a little bit more sense - now we were more or less drowned under a hotchpotch of Tolkien-like tids and bits, like a dragon that's really a cursed young lady, a mysterious Dark Forrest, some equally mysterious Keepers of the Trees, etcetera, etcetera. The dragon at least had a function throughout the whole story, but what on earth these bold weirdo's in the Dark Forest were doing in the movie was beyond me, in spite of their (over)long explanation to the (understandibly) baffled Robin and his comrades. The funny thing is, that they lived in some extremely secret dark place, but the portal to this place - a fluorescent version of the Stargate entrance to other dimensions - seemed to stand for ever wide open and in full view of everyone strolling through Sherwood Forest (there must have been hundreds of poor souls who have stumbled-in accidentally, when coming back from the local pub!). The whole section of Robin and his two friends searching the Dark Forrest was totally superfluous to the story and a waste of time. The story-line of the dragon being actually a cursed girl was okay as a premise, but the whole explanation behind it was way too complicated and far-fetched, and as to how the Sheriff (as far as we are made to understand he wasn't a magician or anything), was able to rip out her heart and stall it away, they didn't even bother to explain (probably because they hadn't got a clue themselves!). But on the whole I was pretty well entertained. So I rank it 7 out of 10.

Beyond Sherwood Forest is a great twist on the classic Robin Hood tale. All of your favorite characters are here, with one new character for you to fall in love with. (Can't tell you too much about her; don't want to ruin it.) The reinvention of Sherwood Forest was mildly confusing as the gateway that resembles a Stargate separating the two worlds had some rules that were never explained explicitly, but this didn't make the movie any less enjoyable.The best part of the film is getting to see to many local Vancouver actors. Peter Deluise directs, and Bill Dow (of SG-1), Julian Sands (of Ark of Truth), and Robin Dunne (of Santcuary) are among the stars.

This is better than an OK Sci Fi Channel flick. The basic story line is interestingly different, and the CGI dragon is awesome, repeatedly transforming into a naked chick (actress name not listed). Unfortunately for the male audience, since this is "for TV" fare, we have to use our imagination re: the nudity. Another "unfortunate" is casting Robin Dunne (Dr. Will Zimmerman of "Sanctuary") as Robin Hood. Name association is all this bad idea has going for it. Dunne does not look, act nor sound "heroic." Alan Ladd was short, but at least he had a voice. Julian Sands makes a serviceable sheriff -- Alan Rickman he ain't, but he'll do. Richard de Klerk as Will Scarlett and (another unlisted) as Little John both do well.But there are some notable plot flops. Both good guys and bad guys often have bad guys and good guys at "ropes end" and seldom do anything about it. Robin, despite his rep, apparently can't hit the broad side of a barn with an arrow -- and maybe that's why he seldom tries. He is forever notching an arrow and bending his bow, but there is seldom any release (there may be an embedded gag here). When he does release (rarely) the arrow becomes an error and never hits its target. Near the end when Robin and his Merry Men are at swords point with the sheriff's posse, there are a couple of hangers-on with loaded crossbows standing around, just standing around. Shoot somebody for goodness sakes. Malcolm, the Sheriff of Nottingham, has his sword at Robin's throat for what seems like ages, but never makes the cut. Bad directing and/or scripting, I guess.What this movie does have going for it is Erica Durance (Lois Lane of "Smallville") as Maid Marian. She's not much of an actress, and her "English" accent, amusingly, comes and goes like the tide, but she gets more beautiful every time we see her. Lovely, lovely to look at. (Did the Sheriff rape her or not?)