The Rising Hawk (2019)

The Rising Hawk has the scrappy, stirring pulse of an old-school frontier epic: a mountain community, a looming empire, and the kind of grit that turns survival into legend. Set against the rugged beauty of the Carpathians, it delivers muscular, frequently intense action that feels physical and close-up, while still making room for earnest emotion and a touch of romantic heat without tipping into melodrama. The film’s ambition shows in its sweeping stakes and committed performances, especially as the characters’ loyalties are tested under pressure, and it’s easy to admire how much spectacle it wrings from modest resources. If you want pristine Hollywood polish, you may notice the seams—but if you’re in the mood for a hearty, blood-and-earth historical drama with a B-movie battle-movie kick, it’s a satisfying watch.

The Rising Hawk is clearly aiming for a sweeping, old-school historical resistance tale—noble villagers, brutal invaders, and a romance meant to raise the stakes. The problem is the pacing: it takes a long time to get moving, and when it finally leans into the action and drama, a lot of it lands a bit flat, like it wants to be epic but doesn’t quite have the punch or resources to sell that scale. If you’re expecting sharp character work, tension that builds, or battles that really hit hard, you may find yourself checking the time. That said, if you’re in the mood for a straightforward, relatively “clean” (no profanity or nudity) medieval war story with scenic mountain backdrops and moderate violence, it can still work as a low-demand watch.