The upcoming “Robin Hood”: Another post-modern treatment?

If you’ve seen Sherlock Holmes, currently in release — I did and quite enjoyed it — you no doubt noticed that this Holmes, played with flair by Robert Downey, Jr., is far different than any previous iteration, as a colleague suggested, “a sort of post-modern Sherlock Holmes.” I think I get what he means. Grittier, rawer, flawed, more vulnerable, more emotionally unstable, more fractured, all in all less like the “master sleuth” hero of Basil Rathbone days.

Consider Batman in The Dark Knight (2008). James Bond in Casino Royale (2006). And now this version of Sherlock Holmes. Then look at television dramas and all its flawed Protagonists — Dexter Morgan (“Dexter”), Walter White (“Breaking Bad”), Don Draper (“Mad Men”), Jackie Peyton (“Nurse Jackie”), Gregory House (“House M.D.”), and on and on and on.

Clearly flawed, grittier heroes seem to be the flavor-of-the-day.

Why? What is the appeal? What is going on culturally that has led to this groundswell of edgier heroes?

I have my thoughts, but I’d like to hear from you. And to provide a strong visual reference point for your thinking, consider these two trailers for the new version of Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott, based on a screenplay by Brian Helgeland.

1st Trailer

2nd (new) Trailer

Like no Robin Hood I’ve seen before.

BTW release dates for the movie:

Argentina 13 May 2010 
 Australia 13 May 2010 
 Czech Republic 13 May 2010 
 Denmark 13 May 2010 
 Germany 13 May 2010 
 Netherlands 13 May 2010 
 Russia 13 May 2010 
 Switzerland 13 May 2010 (German speaking region) Brazil 14 May 2010 
 Norway 14 May 2010 
 Spain 14 May 2010 
 Sweden 14 May 2010 
 Switzerland 14 May 2010 (Italian speaking region) Turkey 14 May 2010 
 UK 14 May 2010 
 USA 14 May 2010 
 Belgium 19 May 2010 
 France 19 May 2010 
 Switzerland 19 May 2010 (French speaking region) Finland 21 May 2010 

So does the post-modern tag stick with the current spate of flawed heroes? If so, why? And perhaps the most important question of all from a screenwriting standpoint: How might these sensibilities affect the way we approach our characters, in particular our Protagonists, in the scripts we write?

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