“The Uprising” is directed by Paul Greengrass (News of the World, The Bourne Supremacy) and stars Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, Hacksaw Ridge), Jamie Bell (Fantastic Four, The Adventures of Tintin), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones, John Adams), Tom Hollander (Harley Quinn, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), Cosmo Jarvis (The Alto Knights, Warfare), Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho, Fackham Hall), Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Hackers), Woody Norman (Cobweb, C’mon C’mon), and Katherine Waterson (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fackham Hall). Inspired by the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, this film is about a group of people who rebel against King Richard II.

To be real, there were not a ton of movies coming out in September that I was beyond excited to see. There were a couple titles that stood out to me, but when it comes to “The Uprising,” I felt like I was taking a chance on it. I knew little to nothing about the film other than listening to people talk about it online. I do not even recall if I watched a trailer for the movie prior to checking it out in theaters. That said, there are some promising things about the film at a glance, including star Andrew Garfield.

Andrew Garfield is a fantastic actor. I had iffy thoughts on his Spider-Man to a degree back in the day, but “No Way Home” gave him a bit of a boost for me. If anything, having seen that movie, I think part of that boost is because he was given much better material to work with than what was handed to him in the Marc Webb movies. But Garfield is more than Spidey. For example, he’s received Oscar nominations for “Hacksaw Ridge” and “Tick…Tick…BOOM!.” With each role, Garfield continues to prove he has chops and charisma. The same can be said for “The Uprising.” While Garfield himself is fairly recognizable in the role of a Ploughman, it does not change the fact that he does well as the story’s center. Is his performance the best of the year? No. But it is perhaps precisely what this movie needed due to Garfield’s range. Sometimes he is commanding. Other times he is a bit soft. It depends on the context of the scene, but Garfield plays his part well no matter what the role requires. Garfield is not the only actor who stands out. Others include Woody Norman as King Richard II, Jamie Bell as John Ball, and Thomasin McKenzie, the latter of whom has a particularly compelling backstory.

As for the film itself, it is quite good. The story is never boring and there is a healthy mix of engaging dialogue and thrilling action sequences to balance out the pace. Some might say the film is slow, which frankly, I kind of get, but do not wholly agree with. I prefer to call the film steady. It’s by no means a slog, but not a sprint either. It aims for the middle and does not miss.

Despite being set in the 14th century, “The Uprising” is a fitting movie for today’s times. For the record, I live in the United States, and it is not like this is a problem that is exclusive to this part of the world, but in recent years, it has become noticeable that prices for just about everything have been going up. That’s not an unusual concept, but the rate at which it has been happening has been exorbitant. So, it feels like perfect timing to have a movie come out where its heroes are trying to confront the reality that on top of already struggling as they are, they now have to put up with more taxes.

“The Uprising” is directed by Paul Greengrass. I have not seen all of his movies, but I tend to like the ones that I did see. Although this movie has a bit in common with his 2020 outing, “News of the World.” In addition to both films being somewhat action-centric, they also deal with topics relevant to their time of release, even if the films themselves are set long before said period. “News of the World,” which is about a man who goes around reading newspapers to audiences, came out a few years after the term “fake news” popularized with certain people. This film features political controversy and complaints over taxes. Those two topics are arguably evergreen, but as someone living in the United States, it is not hard to notice them making the rounds today.

Much like Greengrass’s other projects, there is quite a bit of shaky cam in this film. If that is not your thing, you may be turned off by this film’s production elements. Frankly, sometimes it works, and other times it feels quite clunky. There are one or two battle sequences that I thought the shaky cam ended up blending perfectly with the chaos. That said, there are moments where I felt the handheld videography came off as a bit overdone. One could argue that this speaks more to my personal preferences as a viewer than anything else. Heck, to this day I have not watched a ton of “The Office” and yes, one of the reasons why is because I don’t find it funny. Sorry not sorry. But another, perhaps dumber reason is because all the camerawork is handheld and it throws me off. The handheld camerawork in “The Uprising” is by no means the worst thing I have ever seen, I can make out what is going on in just about every scene, but there are a lot of moments where it feels a bit unnatural. To be fair though, this is a dramatic narrative, and in some ways, the handheld nature of the film does contribute to said drama.

No spoilers for those who have not seen the movie, but I dug the ending. If anything, this film almost crosses a line to the point where it becomes something else entirely during this specific moment. In actuality, the ending is fitting given what the story is, but its delivery is perhaps intentionally linked to another famous character. The ending is well done and has some solid action to back it up. Look forward to it. Sadly, the film’s marketing does spoil this moment, so chances are some of you reading this already have an idea as to the connection I am talking about. But if you did miss the trailers somehow, the ending is a fitting, yet almost out of left field treat.

In the end, “The Uprising” is a good flick. Is it the most exciting film of 2026? Not even close. It is not even the most exciting movie to come out this month… More on that in the next review. But the film is nevertheless engaging in more ways than one. It features a solid lead performance by Andrew Garfield and is incredibly relevant for today’s audience despite being set in the late 14th century. This is not a film that is going to have massive replay value, at least from me. Maybe if I am scrolling channels and I come across it, I will put it on. But it is nevertheless beautifully made and executed. I am going to give “The Uprising” a 7/10.

“The Uprising” is now playing in select theatres and is available to rent or buy on VOD.

Thanks for reading this review! If you want to keep the party going, check out my latest episode of the Scene Before original series Movie Requests! In this episode, Rosario Dawson requests that I should talk about “Legend,” the fantasy film from 1985. To find out what I thought about it, click the video above!

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My next review is going to be for “Forgotten Island!” Stay tuned! Also coming soon, I will be sharing my thoughts on “Primetime,” “The Weight,” and “Digger.” If you want to see these reviews and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “The Uprising?” What did you think about it? Or, what is your favorite Paul Greengrass movie? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!