Paul Greengrass's new film "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, dramatises the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, a lesser-known chapter of English history in which impoverished villagers rose up against harsh taxation and royal oppression in the wake of the Black Death. It marks new territory for both director and star, who are known respectively for slick action thrillers and more mainstream Hollywood roles, and the film's timely themes of injustice are somewhat undercut by a recent title change that distances it from its Robin Hood-adjacent marketing.

Garfield plays "Ploughman," an ordinary villager whose violent response to a brutal tax collector sparks a rebellion joined by figures such as the priest John Ball (Jamie Bell) and soldier Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), eventually marching on London to confront the boy king Richard II (Woody Norman). The review praises the film's gritty, unsanitised production design and Volker Bertelmann's score, and singles out Garfield's grounded performance, though it notes he is often overshadowed by a crowded supporting cast including Thomasin McKenzie and Tom Hollander, some of whom are underdeveloped despite strong individual moments.