A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

You'll need a program to tell you what is going on, because like most modern actors, these bores cannot enunciate. Without closed caption, forget it.Which is just as well, because it is garbage by any standards.It's set in the early 1800s, with British and French soldiers in the middle East. There's a lot of killing and action, but it doesn't work, because you have no idea why it is going on, or how it is going on. It is a muddled mess.The poor speaking skills of the actors are across the board, which means the director and casting crew are to blame more than anyone. And no one cares.The action doesn't work, because it is just another neo Nazi idealist director and writers contriving every instance to save blonde women and butcher brown eyed brunettes. The director is so heavy handed at this, that the audience just doesn't care, and is thoroughly bored by the same old routine. Obviously made for the neo Nazi and female market, since anyone else will be completely turned off by this.Not much else to say about this garbled garbage.

I was very much looking forward to seeing how Sharpe got on after 10 years, but it seemed at times like being reacquainted with an old friend I've lost contact with and we both seem to have changed. I noticed bean's acting limitation here; I always made allowances for him in earlier episodes given his social background etc., but here he just seems constantly numb. He doesn't even make use of the french he must have learned during his time in retirement in France. And the mistakes he constantly makes- why in hell does he actually give his real name when acting as a spy? My girlfriend kept rolling her eyes at the constant changes in motive and plot twists that kept the story going. And the idea of meeting Harper and the others in the span of a day in a country the size of India right at the beginning tested my patience from the start. To have a motley of soldiers (no tracking shot to show how few extras are actually being used) carrying the same East Indian Co. flag as a battle flag as opposed to what by then amounted to a Tesco banner was something else that didn't seem right to me. I was keen to see to former Bond baddies square off but, at 140 minutes, it dragged on. How Sharpe after one beating after another managed to shrug it off when my back puts me out is another stretch of believability. www.imperialflags.blogspot.com

I finished watching Sharpe last night. I got the complete collection for Christmas. It's a hugely enjoyable show and probably the best mainstream British television drama ever. It's also a serious slice of 90's nostalgia, and for me Sean Bean's rough and ready Richard Shapre is as iconic as 007.That's not to say it's a perfect show; there are some frequent and notable flaws. Firstly Sean Bean's acting ability can't always match the quality of the writing and during some of the more wordy 19th Century dialogue he struggles to give it any kind of emotional weight, you can tell he is not comfortable with saying it therefore it's not always believable. However, in every other aspect Bean is perfect as Sharpe and the show is NOT just about period drama it's mainly about action and boys-own adventure with a bit of sex and a fair amount violence.The second flaw also does a lot to add to the charm and personality of the show. Major historical battles that featured hundreds of thousands of men are staged using about twelve extras and a distinct absence of long or establishing shots! That said though, the battles and action sequences in general are usually very effective and entertaining and some of the stunt work is exceptional, as are the costumes and make up.The third persistent flaw in the show is the makers disregard for continuity of characters and a willingness to abandon the procedural nature that made the show so popular, and just plain brilliant, in the early days. This lack of continuity (or you could even say respect) for the minor characters is mostly manifested in the chosen men, who for me, are a great aspect of the show. Some of the chosen men drift in and out from week to week and characters who you like one week and not in it the next and just disappear without explanation. This is most obvious towards the end of the series with Hagman and Harris who aren't given a lot to do and are missing from a couple of episodes.There is also quite a shift in quality and tone from the start of the series to the end with Sharpe's Rifles, Eagle, Company, Enemy, Honour, Gold, Battle and Sword all being focused on Sharpe and the Chosen Men's adventures; with plenty of action and not much of the (slightly monotonous) period dramatics that were prevalent in the later stages of the show.These episodes (or movies) represent the golden age and very best of Sharpe; before it got bogged down with recurring plot lines that weren't that interesting. Sharpe jumped the shark with Sharpe's Regiment in 1996. It wasn't' a bad episode but it was the first that abandoned the procedural nature of the show. There were good moments such as Sharpe and Harper (his loyal colleague) pretending to be simple soldiers in the ranks again and also the very end of the show where Shapre gets his first sighing of France. But overall it was definitely downhill from Regiment onwards. Although subsequent episodes like Siege and Waterloo were excellent, the episode Mission was generic (although still very enjoyable) Justice was disappointing and Revenge (apart from the first twenty minutes) was abysmal. All these lesser episodes focused heavily on Sharpe's disastrous relationship with wife Jane who ran off with another man and stole all of Sharpe's money. It could have been quite an interesting storyline but the makers dragged it out for what seemed like an eternity. Thankfully, Sharpe's Waterloo was a return to form (although it still didn't reach the heights of say, Battle.) with more focus on Shapre, his Chosen men and the action and adventure side of things. Waterloo would have been a fitting send of..In 2006 Sharpe returned to our screens with Sharpe's Challenge which was set in India two years after the events of Waterloo. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Challenge was also disappointing; which is made even more so by the fact that there is a good Sharpe movie in there somewhere.There were several major problems with Challenge. Firstly the format; all the other movies were approximately 100 minutes long and shown in one complete part. Challenge was a whopping 140 minutes and was split into two parts; which was a fatal mistake as it made the story overly long and bloated in places. The makers also (criminally) abandoned the iconic opening credits and music, which don't look or sound dated, so I really don't understand that decision.I believe there is a shorter version of Challenge, which although I haven't seen I should imagine is much better than this bloated two part movie. Another major problem was the recycling of old characters, Bickerstaff in Challenge was identical to the legendary Hakeswill of the original series, also the equally brilliant character of Simmerson was brought back to little effect as some kind of ridiculous caricature of his previous self.Also for the most part in Challenge, Shapre and Harper were pretending to be from the ranks again (ala Regiment) and were holed up in an enemy fort which basically neutered Sharpe from doing anything until the last ten minutes of the movie. The bad guys (and girls) were all pretty forgettable as well (although Toby Stevens is a good actor – and shows it).There are some good points to Challenge though, it's great to see Sharpe back (albeit having aged significantly) on our screens and the movie clearly had a much bigger budget than previous entries so the action was fittingly epic and the locations and cinematography as a whole were brilliant. Overall though, some poor decision making from the makers and the network executives (two instalments mean double the advertising revenue) meant that Challenge was a disappointing entry in the Sharpe series. However, Sharpe will return later this year with Sharpe Peril and I for one, will be watching.

Loved this latest entry in the marvelous Sharpe series! Let's hope this episode will pave the way for more episodes. Bean and O'Malley, as well as the ever-irritating, simpering Simmerson (Michael Cochrane) and perennial favorite Hugh Fraser as Wellington, perform in their usual superlative manner. After so many outings together, they feel just like old friends in one's living room. Bean, despite looking older and a trifle exhausted, continues to exude sensuality. India, as well as its inhabitants, shimmers; however, the director Tom Clegg would have done well to ignore the peremptory entreaties of Indian/American actress (using the term advisedly, of course) Padma Lakshmi, when she demanded to be cast as the scheming courtesan, Madhuvanthi. Lakshmi is gorgeous, but she speaks in a flat tone, often slurring her words; she exudes all the passion of a dead rat and is not in the least seductive. Lucy Brown, on the other hand, joins a long line of engagingly chaste Sharpe heroines, at least until our hero seduces her (in the loveliest possible way, of course), as Celia, the kidnapped general's daughter. The producers did overdo the bust shots, especially as necklines had crept higher by 1817, but Brown is pretty, a fair English rose to juxtapose against the darker beauties of India. She is also spirited and conveys her feelings in that subtle manner we admire in British performers. Toby Stephens is a perfect cretin as the renegade William Dodd; he presents a worthy addition to the nasty stable of Sharpe villains. Since those early episodes with Pete Postlethwaite as Hakeswill, the shoes of a Sharpe villain have been almost impossible to fill. Bravo to the BBC for ushering us back to this beloved world of Sharpe and his compatriots, as well as his enemies!