Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (December 10, 2025)
After years of hard living, movie star Errol Flynn died at the age of 50 in 1949. 2013’s The Last Of Robin Hood looks at his final days, with an emphasis on a controversial relationship.
In 1957, 15-year-old wannabe starlet Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning) meets Errol Flynn (Kevin Kline). Apparently unaware of her age, Errol seduces Beverly and continues to woo her even when he learns the truth.
All of this seems largely fine with Beverly’s mother Florence (Susan Sarandon), as she appears more concerned about how this could benefit Beverly’s career. The relationship proceeds through until Flynn’s death.
That story involves enough potential drama that Last should turn into a lively mix of scandal and tragedy. It doesn’t.
How could a film about a larger than life persona like Flynn become so darned boring? It seems tough to swallow but this turns into the case.
The main issue stems from the decision to tell Last from Florence’s perspective after Flynn’s death. Everything comes in flashback and concentrates on her version of the narrative.
Of the three main roles here, Florence offers the least interesting. Not that Last puts her on-screen for the majority of its running time, but it uses her enough to drag down the end result.
Beverly fails to give us a more dynamic character either. Bogged down by a wooden performance from Fanning, Beverly seems dreary and without personality.
When two of a movie’s three main characters feel forgettable at best, that becomes a nearly insurmountable obstacle. Kline tries to elevate the project but he can’t overcome the other issues.
65 during the shoot, on paper Kline seems much too old to play Flynn from the ages of 48 to 50. However, the casting works.
Some of this comes from Kline’s strong resemblance to Flynn as well as his ability to channel the latter’s cinematic charisma. In addition, Flynn’s hard-driving lifestyle made him look weathered beyond his years.
As such, Kline at 65 appears younger than Flynn did at 50. It helps that Kline clearly took care of himself over the years, so we never question him as the much younger man.
Kline becomes the only quality aspect of Last. He embodies Flynn well and manages to add some depth to a largely superficial script.
But Kline can only do so much and he can’t overcome the blah flatness at the heart of Last. More about a forgotten starlet and her mother, this turns into a sluggish and dreary project.
