Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Dan1863Sickles Not since STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN has a veteran cast from a beloved TV series reunited to create a tale of adventure that not only equals, but in many ways surpasses the original television episodes that made them a legend. Having read most of the Sharpe novels before I ever saw the original TV show, I was expecting this feature length film to be somewhat hurried and lacking in depth. Even the best of the TV episodes skimmed over a lot. What astonished me was how everything looked richer, more exotic, more romantic, and more real all at the same time. And the characters were all much more interesting than the people you meet in a typical Sharpe novel. The Indian setting allows for a lot more intrigue and it's very impressive the way the thoughts and feelings of the Indian nobility and ruling class are represented honestly and without scorn. Sharpe's nemesis in the story is a renegade officer named Dodd, brilliantly played by a young Toby Stephens, before his breakout performance in BLACK SAILS. Dodd is so much more powerful in the movie than he is in the books. He actually interacts with Sharpe and sparks fly in a much more personal battle than anything you see in the books. The two of them are like the yin and yang, dark and light versions of the same character. I was so amazed by the spirited performance of luscious Lucy Brown as the general's daughter, Celia Burroughs. In spite or maybe even because of the fact that Ceilia is an ultra-typical damsel in distress, Lucy Brown plays her with an incredible mixture of innocence, sensuality, and moral courage. So often in the Sharpe novels the "love interest" is little more than unwanted baggage for Sharpe to cast off at the end of the adventure. But this time you really feel for Celia and wish that Sharpe would take her up on her (very ladylike) proposal of marriage. Of course if you know Sharpe, it's not a spoiler to guess that he's not the marrying kind!

drystyx 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.

gring0 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

Gern Blanston Reminiscent of the film "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", this feature takes aspects of several of the earlier Sharpe novels and combines them to create a new plot/storyline. Fine acting by both the main and supporting casts (Toby Stephens is perfect as Dodd), with sets and effects that show a more lavish budget than previously-issued Sharpe installments, this movie may puzzle and maybe irritate devoted readers of the Sharpe novels. At the same time, it addresses the earlier (chronologically in the series, if not in order of publishing) exploits of Private/Sergeant/Lieutenant Sharpe during the Indian campaigns.