The Uprising 2026: Andrew Garfield, dirty England and a rebellion that did not become a legend

England, 1381. The Black Death killed half the population, and the Crown raised taxes so high that peasants had nothing to pay. Wat Tyler and preacher John Ball lead the rebels to London. They want King Richard II to abolish serfdom and bring justice. Andrew Garfield plays Plowman. He is an ordinary man whose single punch starts an avalanche of popular rage.

Paul Greengrass does what he does best. He builds tension without unnecessary words and shows violence in a way you can feel physically.

What Works

The atmosphere. The film does not make the Middle Ages look pretty. Mud, blood, cold and despair. You feel it on your skin. Greengrass is not afraid to show how ordinary people, pushed to the edge, become cruel themselves.

Garfield. He does not play a hero. His character is quiet and exhausted. He lost his family and wants nothing but justice. Garfield carries this role on his shoulders, even when the script does not give him enough room.

The scale. Battle scenes were shot with thousands of extras in Germany and Bavaria. This is not computer graphics. This is a real crowd that looks like a real crowd.

What Does Not Work

The script is scattered. Greengrass tries to tell the story of three rebel leaders at once. Plowman, Tyler and Ball. But none of them gets enough time. Tyler, played by Cosmo Jarvis, appears late and vanishes quickly. Ball, played by Jamie Bell, gives speeches but remains a function, not a character.

Robin Hood does not belong here. Three weeks before release, Focus Features started marketing the film as a Robin Hood origin story. It is pure marketing. Garfield does not shoot a bow, does not rob the rich and looks nothing like the legendary outlaw. This connection only confuses the viewer.

The pacing sags. The second half loses energy. While the rebels march on London, it is engaging. When negotiations with the king begin, it gets boring. Some critics call the film's main sin deadly boredom.

What Critics Say

Reviews are split. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 56 percent from critics and 64 percent from audiences. Metacritic gives 57 out of 100. IMDb has 6.3 out of 10.

Jeannette Catsoulis from The New York Times called the film rough and morally complex. She noted the revolt is shown without romanticism. The Playlist agrees. Most of The Uprising is very good. The action is dirty, 1381 feels alive and more relevant than ever.

But there is another side. Critics at CulturaVRN write that it is a harsh and tense but senseless and monotonous war film. Battle scenes are poorly shot. The box office is also weak.