Dir. Paul Greengrass · 2026 · 128 min · in UK cinemas from 9 October
England, 1381. The Black Death has emptied the villages, and the boy king's council answers the labour shortage with new taxes on the people who are left. A ploughman, played by Andrew Garfield, who has already lost his family to plague, is charged death taxes on them. Pushed past breaking point, he kills a soldier sent to arrest him, and the act becomes the spark for revolt across the country. That is the first act, and the rest of the film is the rising of the title.
Paul Greengrass wrote and directed. The cast around Garfield includes Jamie Bell, Cosmo Jarvis, Thomasin McKenzie, Tom Hollander, Stephen Dillane, Jonny Lee Miller and Woody Norman as the young Richard II.
Critics who liked it agree on the same strengths. The action is brisk and brutal, the world of empty fields and tired workers feels lived in, and the story's anger at taxes, plague and distant leaders lands with a modern ear. Garfield gets credit for playing an everyman with real vulnerability, and Norman's frightened, devout king is singled out as a standout by more than one reviewer.
a watchable historical epic animated by the sort of contemporary spirit one rarely finds in this genre
Lacy Baugher, RogerEbert.com
The complaints are just as consistent. The handheld camera that made Greengrass's name is the most common target: fine in a melee, distracting in a quiet room. Several critics find the characters closer to job titles than people, with a large supporting cast that is hard to tell apart. The film's closing stretch is the other big point of argument, and writers who otherwise admire the film call it a misjudged turn. The A.V. Club is the harshest of the reviews we draw on, with a C-, arguing the film "drowns in" its own conflict rather than immersing you in it.
Critics split down the middle. Rotten Tomatoes sits at about 55% and Metacritic at about 57 out of 100, the profile of a film that interests more than it moves. That is where the score comes from.
Tick what sounds like you. The meter reads the mood of the reviews, not the film.
Tick a few to see where you land.
If you want a rough, muscular historical drama and can live with a camera that never sits still, there is plenty here. If you come for rich characters or a clean last act, the reviews suggest you will leave unsatisfied. Treat it as a good argument starter rather than a sure thing.
The film opens in UK cinemas on 9 October 2026 and has been out in the US since 10 September. Dates and availability vary by country, so check your local cinema listings.