There’s good fun to be had in watching so many limbs get hacked off for the better part of two hours, but Director Kim can only dismember so many body parts before he starts to lose track of his movie’s spine.

More perceptive readers might be annoyed that I'm discussing popular cultural trends about the Japanese invasion of Korea more than I am Uprising proper, and there's good reason for that. Aside from the metatext, this movie is surprisingly forgettable.

Uprising elevates its historical epic game with grand scale battles, courtly deceit, and a satisfyingly roaring soundtrack. But it’s with the forbidden but never-say-die friendship at its center where it remains its most compelling.

Not entirely historically accurate either, Uprising clearly treats its story with a modern action sensibility, right up to almost playing modern music during some of the climactic action scenes.