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Star Cast: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Cosmo Jarvis, and Thomasin McKenzie.
Director: Paul Greengrass
What’s Good: It is entertaining, and the pacing never allows you to get bored at all.
What’s Bad: The film looks ugly, and the Greengrass style is not a good match with this period piece.
Loo Break: You can take a break anywhere in between the first and second acts, but don’t miss the third act, which is the best one.
Watch or Not?: While the movie is entertaining, I think this is a better watch-at-home experience.
Language: English (with subtitles)
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 128 Minutes
User Rating:
Opening:
Robin Hood is eternal, a heroic figure of old that has refused to be forgotten, giving us endless film and TV adaptations throughout the years, and just this year, 2026, we have two of them; the first starring Hugh Jackman, and now a new one starring Andrew Garfield, two actors playing the same character at different points in life, which is fascinating, but the result of fusing Greengrass’ style with a period piece epic gives us not the best possible outcome.
The Uprising Movie Review: Script Analysis
For as long as cinema has existed, the figure of Robin Hood has been treated as a sort of superhero, a sort of prototype for more modern heroes like Green Arrow and Hawkeye, and so, their many depictions have often chosen to tell a hero’s journey with this mythical figure, and The Uprising is no exception, serving as a perfect origin story for the character.
However, when other adaptations of the legend have been comedic, action-packed, and even musical, The Uprising goes political as the ruling class emerges as the villain and the people need to choose if they will remain complacent or if they will rise to the occasion and fight against injustice, the monarchy, and, of course, capitalism, Hollywood’s favorite villain.
The result is a film that takes itself a bit too seriously; even when trying to be comic, it feels forced, as the script places the main character in really awful and dangerous situations, but thankfully, there is enough historical accuracy to make things feel genuine and fun at the time, as if the creators really knew what they wanted in terms of plot and historical references.
Robin Hood, as such, here called Ploughman, is a great character, and Garfield plays him with that charismatic flair that he can only provide, making him easy to root for, and in a Robin Hood film, who else are you going to root for if not Robin Hood himself? The rest of the characters are good support as well and make for interesting conversations and events.
The Uprising Movie Review: Star Performance
The Uprising is Andrew Garfield’s show; he is the protagonist, the hero, and the driving force in the film, and the actor just keeps proving how he can do anything and that Hollywood should take him more seriously as an action star, a role that he plays to perfection, even when we know his double is doing most of the work.
Thomesin McKenzie is always nice to see anywhere, and Stephen Dillane is a welcome surprise, as the Game of Thrones actor is one of my favorites from that show, and he should be getting more film work after this, as he is truly quite a character actor, one who leaves behind most of the cast in terms of talent.
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The Uprising Movie Review: Direction, Music
While the acting and the script are solid enough, Paul Greengrass and his directorial style might be more of a problem than a blessing for the film, as the director refuses to use his distinctive style to shoot most of the movie, meaning that the film often looks more like a documentary than an actual narrative film, and the film suffers from it.
There is just too much shaky cam; it becomes distracting, and the cinematography overall looks gray and depressing. It is just not a film you really want to look at, and on top of that, the directorial style also stumbles with how information is placed on the screen, and at least, in terms of editing, the first and second acts are quite messy, and only the catharsis of the third act saves the movie from being a total mess.
The Uprising Movie Review: The Last Word
Maybe choosing Greengrass for this movie was not the best of decisions; he brings a level of pedigree to the project, but surely someone could have seen he was not the best choice for the material, especially as scenes were being shot and dailies watched, but here we are, with our second Robin Hood film of the year, and giving us a similar result, a film that knows what character is trying to develop but doesn’t know how to do it properly.
The Uprising Trailer
The Uprising released on 10th September, 2026.
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