If you want better sound design
Choose The Furious. It scores 4.9 vs 1.2 for sound design, with a 4.0 overall score.
The Uprising Movie Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for committed performances, brutal historical drama, and timely themes. Skip it if shaky camerawork, graphic violence, thin characterization, or the divisive Robin Hood coda are likely to overwhelm the experience.
Best for
Best for viewers who enjoy grim historical epics, forceful performances, morally complicated rebellion stories, and intentionally rough handheld filmmaking.
Not for
Skip it if you are sensitive to graphic violence or shaky camerawork, or if thin characterization and a heavily disputed mythic coda tend to ruin historical dramas for you.
Verdict
The Uprising works best as a grim, immediate account of the Peasants’ Revolt, powered by Andrew Garfield and an unusually strong supporting cast. Reviewers repeatedly praise its moral tension, period grime, forceful action, and modern resonance, while the handheld cinematography is a true love-it-or-hate-it choice: immersive for some, exhausting or nauseating for others. Character depth and screenplay clarity draw recurring criticism, especially through the middle. The largest fault line is the ending, where the film pivots toward Robin Hood mythology. A few reviewers find that coda hopeful or satisfying, but many say it cheapens an otherwise grounded historical drama. The result is a compelling but highly uneven epic whose performances and themes land more consistently than its style and final turn.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
42 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.07 (17%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.412 (29%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.410 (24%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.410 (24%)
-
Very negative below 1.53 (7%)
Pros
-
The supporting cast receives unusually consistent praise. Jamie Bell, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Woody Norman, Katherine Waterston, and other character actors are repeatedly described as strong, outstanding, or scene-stealing.
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Andrew Garfield is the strongest point of consensus. Most reviewers praise his grief, humanity, physical commitment, or intensity, though a handful find the role too passive, one-note, or ill-defined.
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The film is strongest when wrestling with whether justified anger can survive mob violence without becoming vengeance. Reviewers repeatedly praise that moral unease, though a few think the political ideas remain too broad or shallow.
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The ensemble is one of the film’s safest strengths, with many reviewers calling the performances strong, first-rate, or effective. A small minority found the acting monotonous, but the broader cast response is clearly positive.
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The film lands emotionally for many reviewers, with the revolt’s grief, betrayals, and class suffering described as heartbreaking, moving, or bracing. Even some negative reviews acknowledge moments that rattle the nerves or carry real weight.
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The battles are often praised as intense, brutal, and well staged, with several reviewers loving their immediacy. The main tradeoff is legibility: shaky camerawork and rapid cutting sometimes turn the fighting into a confusing blur.
Cons
-
The sound mix is one of the clearest technical complaints in the video reviews. Multiple reviewers say dialogue is hard to understand because the mix is poor or noisy.
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The ending is the clearest source of disagreement and the most repeated complaint. Most reviewers dislike the Robin Hood-flavored coda as awkward, silly, or unearned, while a smaller group sees it as a hopeful or energizing finish.
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The violence is relentless, graphic, and often deliberately disturbing. Some reviewers see that brutality as essential to the film’s argument, but family-oriented and more critical voices find the level excessive or difficult to watch.
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Character depth is one of the most repeated complaints: Ploughman and several rebels are often described as thin, archetypal, or underwritten. A few reviewers found the side characters distinct and well introduced, so the weakness is not universal.
-
The visual approach is mostly dark, muddy, and aggressively handheld, which some reviewers find raw and appropriate. Others reject it as ugly, flat, repetitive, or visually out of step with the material.
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Digital imagery is a recurring weak point, especially aerial views and hazy-looking backgrounds that some reviewers say break the otherwise grounded feel. A few found the effects acceptable, but praise is limited.
Cast & Creators
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PloughmanGarfield is the film’s clearest acting strength, with reviewers repeatedly praising his grief, humanity, physical commitment, and ability to ground Ploughman. A small minority finds the performance passive or one-note, but the consensus is strongly favorable.
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John BallBell is repeatedly praised for making John Ball fiery, forceful, and emotionally credible. Reviewers highlight both his conviction and vulnerability, with several calling his work outstanding.
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Wat TylerJarvis earns strong praise as Wat Tyler, bringing force, physicality, and a magnetic leadership presence. Reviewers consistently see him as one of the supporting cast’s strongest anchors.
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Richard IINorman earns some of the film’s strongest supporting notices as Richard II, with reviewers calling him brilliant, riveting, terrific, and even the movie’s scene-stealer. One dissenting review finds him miscast, but the overall response is highly positive.
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Joan of KentWaterston draws consistently strong notices as Joan of Kent, with reviewers calling her excellent, compelling, or quietly scene-stealing. Even with limited dialogue, she makes the role feel substantial.
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AlyceMcKenzie receives standout praise for fierceness, vulnerability, and barely contained fear. Several reviewers see her as one of the supporting cast’s most affecting performers.
View all 42 feature scores and cast & creators
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in drama quality, suspense, special effects quality, near average in entertainment value, historical accuracy, below average in sound design, critic appeal, visual style.
Comparison summary
42 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher11 (26%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts14 (33%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower17 (40%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| sound design | 1.2 | 4.2 | -3.0 |
| critic appeal | 1.5 | 3.5 | -2.0 |
| visual style | 2.2 | 4.0 | -1.8 |
| age appropriateness | 1.0 | 2.9 | -1.9 |
| tonal consistency | 1.5 | 3.2 | -1.7 |
| humor | 2.0 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| family friendliness | 1.0 | 2.6 | -1.6 |
| ending satisfaction | 2.3 | 3.3 | -1.1 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better lead performance
Choose The Sheep Detectives. It scores 5.0 vs 4.3 for lead performance, with a 4.1 overall score.
If you want better cinematography
Choose Mayday. It scores 4.8 vs 3.1 for cinematography, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better age appropriateness
Choose The Rip. It scores 5.0 vs 1.0 for age appropriateness, with a 3.7 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
- Worse: overall audience offering The reviewer considers The Uprising the stronger offering, while still calling it uneven.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
- Better: production design and lived-in world The reviewer says the comparison makes The Uprising’s low-budget-looking sets harder to ignore.
Braveheart
- Better: overall historical-epic execution The reviewer says this film is the poor version of the kind of historical epic Braveheart does well.
FAQ
Is The Uprising historically accurate?
Reviews say the film captures the Peasants’ Revolt’s social pressures and period atmosphere reasonably well, but it also takes major dramatic liberties. The Robin Hood connection is the most criticized departure.
Is this really a Robin Hood movie?
Most reviewers say the film plays primarily as a Peasants’ Revolt drama. The Robin Hood idea becomes explicit mainly in the late coda, and reactions to that turn range from satisfying to deeply frustrating.
How is Andrew Garfield?
Garfield is the clearest point of critical agreement, with most reviewers praising his grief, humanity, intensity, and physical commitment. A few find the role too passive or one-note.
How are the action scenes?
The battles are frequently praised as brutal, immediate, and intense. However, several reviewers say shaky camerawork and rapid editing make some fights difficult to follow.
Is The Uprising family friendly?
The supplied reviews describe graphic executions, battlefield deaths, and sustained bloody violence. One family-focused review specifically recommends that kids and teens sit this one out.
Who is most likely to enjoy it?
Historical-drama fans and Andrew Garfield fans are the safest audience. Viewers who like morally complicated political stories may also respond well, provided they tolerate a grim tone and aggressive handheld style.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Beyond The Trailer
- Review score
- 3.4
Article Reviews
reelviews.net
When you make a movie like this well, it turns out somethinglike Braveheart. When you make it poorly, you get The Uprising.Loosely based on...
- Review score
- 1.6
vulture.com
Bloody, brutal, and visceral, ‘The Uprising’ throws us into the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, with Andrew Garfield as a righteous ploughman leading...
- Review score
- 3.0
tristatehomepage.com
WEHT/WTVW - Directed by Paul Greengrass who also helmed three films featuring Jason Bourne, The Uprising stars Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell...
- Review score
- 4.1
latimes.com
The Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 comes to jittery, explosive life courtesy filmmaker Paul Greengrass, who brings a modern camera style to the...
- Review score
- 4.3
decodingeverything.com
Greengrass’ handheld approach pulls us further away from historical realism.
- Review score
- 1.6
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