The Uprising

A dramatisation of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, The Uprising stars Andrew Garfield as a farmer known only as Ploughman, who becomes the figurehead of a revolution after standing up to corrupt tax collectors. Joined by Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis) and John Ball (Jamie Bell), Ploughman rallies peasants from across the country to petition King Richard II (Woody Norman), but the road to reform is dangerous, and the revolutionaries must make decisions with potentially catastrophic consequences.

This film tries very hard to tie the Peasants’ Revolt to the socio-political struggles many people face today – a story about a population devastated in the wake of a deadly plague, miserable and resentful at being exploited by an openly unscrupulous political system, should hit particularly hard for a 2026 audience. However, The Uprising’s attempts to tap into the collective global malaise fall flat, largely due to its pacing.

The feature is around two hours, but much of that time is spent meandering around dreary fields, without much to capture the imagination or interest of its audience. Its plot beats are also repetitive and heavy-handed, creating many “OK, we get it” moments and making the movie feel even longer than it already is.

The Uprising’s writing and structure feel unfocused, robbing the piece of its allegorical potency and exacerbating the feeling of proceedings dragging on. Despite ostensibly being about a lot of things, it’s hard to tell if The Uprising has anything in particular to say about those hot topics.

However, when it does find its feet, it can be engaging. The cinematography mixes atmospheric, wide shots and intimate, kinetic scenes, bolstered by Paul Greengrass’s signature shaky camera work (although it can be distracting when the same style is used outside fight scenes). The cast also put in solid performances – Garfield does a lot with a limited script to paint a portrait of grief and rage as Ploughman, and Norman demonstrates a brilliant emotional range as the vulnerable, insecure King Richard.

A lot of passion clearly went into The Uprising, and it earnestly attempts to connect with very real, raw emotions. However, it often gets in its own way with its unsubtle but noncommittal writing, and its glacial pacing makes it difficult for even the most patient cinema-goers to sit through. Its individual components are mostly fine – some are good, great even – but as a whole it is less than the sum of its parts.

Umar Ali

The Uprising is released nationwide on 9^th October 2026.

Watch the trailer for The Uprising here: