‘The Uprising’ review: A stirring Andrew Garfield is unable to energise Paul Greengrass’s listless period drama

Dir/scr: Paul Greengrass. UK/Germany/US. 2026. 128mins

Andrew Garfield may be suitably stirring in The Uprising, but Paul Greengrass’s dramatisation of England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt is otherwise frustratingly listless. This historical actioner finds the director summoning the controlled chaos he has marshalled in the past, once again using a true story to pay tribute to ordinary individuals standing up to imposing forces. His knack for widescreen spectacle can occasionally be thrilling, focussing on a lowly English farmer who joins the rebellion against King Richard II. But a noticeable lack of inspired filmmaking permeates the proceedings, resulting in a disappointing finale that too cosily embraces modern blockbusters’ least-welcome conventions.

Fails to generate the tension that would make this key moment in English history feel urgent and timely

The Uprising opens in the UK and US on September 11, catering to adult viewers who enjoy an old-fashioned epic littered with swords, sickles, and bows and arrows. Garfield heads a gifted ensemble and Greengrass could also be a draw, although he has not enjoyed a significant hit since 2016’s Jason Bourne ($415 million worldwide). The betting is that The Uprising may have to wage an uphill battle at the box office, which explains why the marketing has recently been highlighting the material’s tangential connection to Robin Hood.

In 1381 in England, a man known only as Ploughman (Garfield) is mourning the demise of his family from the Black Death, which has wiped out much of the population. Disgusted at the constant tax increases decreed by 14-year-old King Richard II (Woody Norman), he leads a local protest that turns violent and quickly rallies neighbouring villages to join his cause. The inexperienced, impressionable young Richard wishes to hear the people’s demands but his micromanaging advisors, including diabolical Treasurer Robert Hales (Tom Hollander), plot to ensure that they continue to rule the kingdom.

Combining the intensity of his turn in Hacksaw Ridge with the spiritual grace of his Silence performance, Garfield plays Ploughman as a reluctant hero who simply wants justice. The character will meet fierier orators, like impassioned priest John Ball (Jamie Bell) and Ball’s loyal follower Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie), but in due course Ploughman will become more comfortable as a spokesperson for the growing movement. The Oscar-nominated actor eschews speechifying theatrics, instead honouring his character’s appealing modesty and moral decency. But when Ploughman eventually needs to take up arms against his oppressors, Garfield demonstrates an impressive flair for hand-to-hand combat.

Yet as compelling as Garfield can be, the character is missing much of a dramatic arc. Greengrass, who also wrote the screenplay, has based his protagonist on a 14th-century poem about a ploughman — the same poem that helped birth the iconic Robin Hood. Unfortunately, Garfield has to work to infuse the fairly drab character with a rebel’s soul. Likewise, Bell and McKenzie are more dynamic than the characters they portray, while several of the supporting players — including Katherine Waterston as the King’s ineffectual mother — are little more than caricatures of snooty royalty.

In The Uprising’s examination of rebellion and deadly repercussions, Greengrass consciously recalls his 2002 breakthrough Bloody Sunday, which similarly examined how a popular revolt led to a fierce government crackdown. Set during the aftermath of a terrible plague in which the have-nots come to resent the haves’ hoarding of power and wealth, The Uprising also wants to draw clear parallels between the 14th century and our post-Covid reality. But Greengrass muddles his thematic ambitions by getting bogged down in the particulars of the Peasants’ Revolt and the response of the King’ and his advisors.

To be fair, some of this political gamesmanship can be intriguing — a reminder that, in films like The Lost Bus and United 93, Greengrass has consistently crafted taut strategy sessions that ripple with electricity. But aside from an assured, extended battle sequence depicting the King’s lethal counterattack, dazzlingly edited by William Goldenberg, The Uprising fails to generate the sort of scene-to-scene tension that would make this key moment in English history feel urgent and timely.