The Uprising

The Uprising
Starring Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Thomasin McKenzie, Woody Norman
Directed by Paul Greengrass

There's never been a more timely story than a movie centering around a once-in-a-generation pandemic with a poor populous struggling to come to terms with the after effects, mixed with economic upheaval and untrustworthy political leadership. This could've been a movie made about 2020, but as history proves, it oftentimes repeats itself with "The Uprising," a fictionalized tale of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 where thousands of peasants, farmers and commoners marched on London to protect corrupt royal advisors, seizing control of parts of the city. With Paul Greengrass behind the camera and Andrew Garfield leading, this should've been a slam dunk hit, but due to Greengrass's filming style not working for a historical peace and, honestly, it being too boring, it felt more like a one-person rebellion rather than thousands. 

In 1381, the Black Death has killed countless citizens, including the unnamed Ploughman's (Andrew Garfield) family, leaving him to tend to his home alone. When a new poll tax is levied on common workers instructed from corrupt leaders who control London since King Richard II (Woody Norman) is just fourteen, the Ploughman reached his breaking point, leading a revolution that grew in number and power as they march toward London in hopes of having their demands met - no new taxes, and the corrupt leaders brought to justice. 

At over two hours, "The Uprising" should've been an epic filled with dazzling action sequences and compelling, awards-worthy performances, but instead it's a slog of a film that slowly meanders its way at a slug's pace before achieving a decent conclusion and a not-so-subtle zinger at connecting the true story to one of England's most famous mythical characters, Robin Hood. While Andrew Garfield does an exemplary job playing the everyman, he is given little to work with here, even though his charm gives his character more depth than the script entails.

In fact, most of the characters here are terribly underwritten, where most of their names aren't even mentioned, but rather they're known by their professions. While it could add a sense of timelessness to a movie, here it just feels like lazy writing. You don't know any of the characters outside of the ones you already know as actors ("oh, there's Andrew Garfield's character...and Jamie Bell's...and Thomasin McKenzie..."). They're more known by what they do than who they are, and makes for an unmemorable movie due to not knowing anyone associated with it.

Greengrass has a filming style that's either genius or vomit-inducing, depending on your style. He films scenes like the cameraman is on crack, waving the camera every which way and never focusing on one thing, and that style works for movies like "The Bourne Supremacy," it doesn't work as much for a wannabe historical epic. I was waiting for Matt Damon to come out and start shooting at any moment, but sadly that never happened.

While glossing over the historical events in favor of rapid-fire filming and lackluster action, "The Uprising" is saved only by its conclusion, which was the only time I was wholly invested in the movie.

The Score: C-