On the heels of this summer’s darker, more dour and reflective, deliberately meditative, if bloody new take on the Robin Hood legend, The Death Of Robin Hood with Hugh Jackman portraying the famous icon’s last days, comes another film set in the same milieu, this one around 1381, that chronicles events that helped inspire the Robin Hood myth, if not the man himself.
But make no mistake, this is not another movie in that vein, but rather a more rip-roaring journey into the era and, as the title suggests, an uprising of the peasants against the corrupt government and tax policies and tyranny of King Richard II. And even though this is set 600 years ago, it feels remarkably relevant for today’s divided world between the haves and have nots with a government in both instances largely ignoring the plight of the poor citizens in favor of enriching themselves all in the false claim of caring for the people .
Writer/director Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips, United 93, The Lost Bus), who often makes socially conscious films mixed with high entertainment value, has gone way back in time to make a crackerjack action film, but one with uniquely chilling connections to current times. ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’, as the old saying goes.
Watch on Deadline
Like the recent Covid pandemic, 600 years ago it was the Black Death or Plague sweeping the planet and setting up disdain for the government that started whirling out of control. 50 years on, Andrew Garfield‘s unimposing Ploughman becomes leader of the rebellion against the king in a fight for true justice and he must fight to save England, where half the population is already dead, thus an army is formed to make their voices heard. He has motivation too, as his family is also dead. That is a powerful tool against the King’s court, a group of uncaring Oligarchs who basically surround the impressionable king (Woody Norman), a mere teenage boy who lets them run the shop. Their plan is to quietly impose a devastating tax on those who can afford it least, and they are now enforcing it with collectors demanding the money. The violence that has been simmering with the Ploughman now erupts into a revolution joined by thousands and thousands of peasants.
However to their surprise, their demands may actually be met with word that the King will meet with the rebels and address their concerns but cowards that they are they reverse course when they perceive their lives to be in danger. Shortly after the invasion of London begins, the capital is under rebel control, so what is this previously quiet and sullen teenage King to do? He takes matters into his own hands, defying the wishes of those who think they control him, and rides right into the heart of the mob with a shocking list of concessions. The rebels win, or so they think, but have they actually won? This thing is just getting going.
Greengrass knows how to stage action, how to keep this pace roaring, and that makes this film a blast to watch, but also one that feels not just of its time, but of our times. We can feel the same rage right now about those not just in power, but those around them (think Stephen Miller, RFK Jr, and so many others) who pull the strings with no concern for the little guy. This rebellion, though led by a modest farmer, was also powered by John Ball (Jamie Bell) here the most idealistic and fierce believer in the cause for justice, along with Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis). Even women are part of this, notably Alyce played with heart by Thomasin Makenzie. In this movie you really find yourself rooting for these people, and certainly against the conniving Treasurer Hale (Tom Hollander) and Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane).
The entire cast is well chosen, with nice turns also from Katherine Waterston as the somewhat sympathetic Countess, Jonny Lee Miller as Mayor Walworth, and Sky Yang as Scribe, among others. Woody Norman, basically silent with indifferent facial expressions for much of the early going, is as it turns out a bit more powerful and manipulative than we could have imagined as King Richard ll. Garfield carries the film though with a quiet dignity and simple determination to do what’s right, a man whose moment whose time has come.
The production values, as you might expect, are top drawer with special shoutouts to cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth, composer Volker Bertelmann, and editor William Goldenberg who keeps this moving with an urgent pace that doesn’t quit.
Producers are Jason Blum, Greengrass, Gregory Goodman, Joanna Kaye. Jason Blum, Joe Neurauter
Lars Sylvest.
Title: The Uprising
Distributor: Focus Features
Release Date: September 10, 2026
Director/Screenwriter: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Jonny Lee Miller, Woody Norman, Katherine Waterston, Sky Yang.
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hrs 8 mins
