Uprising Review: Gang Dong-won and Park Jeong-min’s Intense Action Scenes that Save the Plot

Uprising is the latest Korean movie released on Netflix. It tells the tale of two childhood friends who reunite on the battlefield and are forced to fight against each other. With misunderstandings and the slave-master reality of their lives, this rousing military film captures your attention with its fighting sequences but fails to stay on course.

Directed by Kim Sang-man, the film has a runtime of 128 minutes.

-No Spoilers-

Uprising Review

The film’s plot revolves around two friends with a master and slave relationship. Cheon-yeong has always been trying to escape the label of being a slave. Jong-ryeo is the only child of a military family but forms a friendship with a slave despite being a nobility. Cracks begin to form in their relationship after Jong-ryeo fails to get his father to release Cheon-yeong, and when he later misunderstands Cheon-yeong for having murdered his family. Chaos and thirst for revenge erupt when the two reunite, leading the country into internal conflict.

The film begins with the equality movement rising amongst the people as people fight for the rights of slaves. It progresses into showing the types of slaves that existed in the homes of nobility and how meaningless their lives were. There enters the protagonist Cheon-yeong whose duty lies in being beaten on behalf of his master every time he makes a mistake. However, he very cleverly finds a way to escape this beating by accompanying Jong-ryeo in honing his skills.

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The film heavily revolves around the slavery that existed during the reign of King Seonjo, who himself is portrayed as a cowardly and selfish monarch. It is when he flees from the capital fearing the Japanese army, is when the revolts begin as slaves attack their masters during the chaos his departure creates. It is during this chaos that misunderstandings are created and Jong-ryeo feels betrayed by Cheon-yeong.

While the plot revolves around the conflict between these two characters who crossed the line between a master and his slave, it somewhat dims against the backdrop of a revolt, an invasion, and the chaotic times caused by a cowardly emperor. However, the action sequence saves the day as the flawless choreographies capture your attention almost immediately. The portrayal of the different swordsmanship is the highlight as it overshadows everything in the film, including the plot.

Returning to the plot of the film, which is clearly forced into being complicated, will leave you somewhat frustrated and unsatisfied. The ending too brings no closure when it comes to the emperor but stops when the matter between the two friends is solved. Thus, all the emotions built up throughout the film become vain and force you to be happy with whatever is given.

Summing Up: Uprising

The film’s plot focuses on the story of two friends but has elements of revolt, an invasion, a cowardly emperor, and a fight for equality. This mix of elements leads viewers to lose focus of the plot and leaves them unsatisfied as the story ends with the two friends. However, the action scenes are a pleasure to watch and worth going through the entire movie.

Watch Uprising on Netflix.

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