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Sharpe's Battle

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Sharpe's Battle is significant because of a couple of things - it is based on the only Bernard Cornwell Sharpe novel to be written while the series was in production, and in it Sharpe not only doesn't get the girl, he turns her down! It is 1813, and when Wellington is assigned the Spanish Royal Irish Guards, a motely bunch who have never fired a musket, he decides to rid himself of them by assigning them the hardest taskmaster he knows - Major Richard Sharpe. However, there are a couple of complications with Wellington's plan: one, Sharpe gets to actually *like* the Irish guards and wants to turn them into soldiers, and Sharpe is also the target of a vendetta by the villanous General Guy Loup, a Frenchman with a wolf fetish. Add to this mix the teetering marriage of Lord Kiely, the guards' commander, his sinister mistress Juanita, and reports of English atrocities in Ireland threatening to start a mutiny and you have the makings of a classic Sharpe adventure.

My main problem with the Sharpe TV series as a whole is that the budget doesn't really allow for the huge battles Cornwell describes. Where in the novel the action takes place in 1811 around the battle for Fuentes de Onoro, the TV version places it in a little town with no real consequence to the war at large. However, this is forgiveable because the acting and the dialogue is top notch. Even if the plot elements are predictable, you get a set of great characters, and even Lord Kiely is more three-dimensional than you initially give him credit for. And if you're a follower of the series, be prepared - one regular is going to bite the dust.

The seventh movie in the Sharpe series is set in September 1813 as Wellington is chasing Napoleon back through the Pyrenees into France in the final stage of the Peninsula campaign. While a final victory seems close at hand, the French are fighting a fierce rear-guard action and each yard of ground is being paid for with British blood. His Most Catholic Majesty, King Ferdinand VII of Spain, offers his English allies his bodyguard, the Royal Irish Guard. This does not sit well with Wellington (Hugh Fraser), not only because the bodyguard have never seen action but also because they are Irish (or the sons of Irish refugees in the case of the palace guard). A third of his army is Irish and their loyalty is in question, especially as word comes from back home of new atrocities inflicted by the English. Wellington's solution is to have Sharpe (Sean Bean) and his Chosen Men see to the training of the guard troops, knowing this will stick in the craw of their leader, Lord Kiely (Jason Durr).

Sharpe and Kiely have already crossed paths and gotten off to a bad start. Kiely has romantic illusions about the glory of battle, but actually proves to be smart enough to understand the value of the lessons Sharpe keeps imparting. Besides, Sharpe has already had a nasty encounter with Brigadier Loup (Oliver Cotton), the commander of an elite French unit decked out in wolf furs. Sharpe catches a couple of Loup's men raping a girl in a village and has them executed. Loup vows to see Sharpe dead (get in line, guy), so we know what the climax of this one is going to be, but only if our hero can deal with the Irish troops complaining about "the Troubles" back home (it is interesting to see the American media causing problems at the start of the 19th century). O'Rourke (Liam Carney), one of the palace guards, seems inclined to cause some trouble himself and we cannot be having that now.

Meanwhile there are some romantic subplots that do not, for once, involve Sharpe bedding anyone (which is a good thing). Kiely is being followed around by his wife, Lady Kiely (Allie Byrne), whose husband has been ignoring her since the death of their infant child while he has taken up with the Doña Juanita (Phelim Drew), a partisan who is supposed to be helping the Allies. Lady Kiely turns to Sharpe for help, which puts out hero in an interesting position. Then there is young Perkins (Lyndon Davies), who falls in love with the young girl Sharpe's men rescued from Loup's men. However, the best these romantic relationships can hope for is a bittersweet ending, and only one gets to end that happily.

In "Sharpe's Battle" it is once again interesting to see how the production makes the most out of what little it has to give us a sense of Bernard Cornwell's novels about the Napoleonic Wars. We get a sense of the training and tactics involved in shooting a musket, but the battles usually end up being people in costumes running around, although this time we get a better sense of the Chosen Men as marksmen. Yet in the end it comes down to Richard Sharpe swinging a sword. This is an inherent flaw in the series, but that is what happens when you are dealing with the budgets for television movies, and the attraction of the Sharpe stories comes down to the interaction between him and his men, especially Sgt. Harper (Daragh O'Malley) and the singing Daniel Hagman (John Tams). The Sharpe movies come down to characters more than action, which is how it should be.

Like all of the Sharpe installments, this episode features the adventures of Richard Sharpe. This time, he must take charge of the Royal Irish Guard, a special force more useful as decoration to the Spanish King than as a fighting force. The episode is both action-packed and heartrending as one of Sharpe's long-time riflemen is lost. Sean Bean's mastery of the character is apparent, and fans of the series will not be disappointed.

If 1995's Sharpe's Gold had you doubting this British Napoleonic television series, think again. The seventh episode Sharpe's Battle returns the war series to the proper action, betrayal, and romance.

After finding a massacred village, Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) challenges the vile French General Loupe (Oliver Cotton). Lord Wellington (Hugh Fraser) sends Sharpe and the raw Irish Royal Guard to a small outpost near French lines, but Irish noble Lord Kiely (Jason Durr), his lonely wife (Allie Byrne), and Irish-English tensions make the stay tough for Sharpe and Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley). Horse Master General Runican (Ian McNiece) is of little help to Sharpe-and Partisan leader Juanita (Siri Neal) isn't all she appears to be.

Multi-leveled storylines and ambiguous friends and foes are just a few of Sharpe's Battle's highlights. New writer Russell Lewis (who also wrote the newest Sharpe in 2006) remains true to Bernard Cornwell's characters. Strangely, it's almost as if Sharpe is not the focus of this episode. He's the middle man between Kiely and wife, Wellington and Loupe, the Irish and the English. I didn't expect Battle to take some of the turns it did-although one plot twist is a bit obvious. I like Loupe. He's creepy looking, even if a bit over the top with his wolf motifs. And of course, there's always an uppity officer with questionable motives to dislike.

The Sharpe regulars are also back to themselves after those questionable turns in Sharpe's Gold. O'Malley gives Harper a deeper touch when it comes to the Irish-English relations, and Sean Bean's Sharpe is actually not the ladies man this time around. Onscreen we don't always get to see Sharpe's military shrewdness. Kudos also to the Chosen Men. Hangman, Harris, and Perkins receive their showcase here.

Although not nearly as hokey looking at Gold, Sharpe's Battle does look dated and a tad obvious. Some of the deserted towns and battle sets are clearly buildings we've seen in prior Sharpe shows, and Loupe's wolf getup is a bit goofy. Nevertheless, Battle looks Napoleon authentic. In this film we're treated to more ladies than usual. Harper's lady Ramona (Diana Perez) is involved more than, giving us an intriguing picture of women during the war- English, Spanish, and French ladies of all classes. It's a light hearted touch in a somewhat dark and personal episode.

Sharpe's Battle has its share of war action, but there's also politics, double-crossing, tragedy, and cheesecake to go around. A fine edition to the Sharpe series.

Like every episode this one leaves you on the edge of you seat and wanting more.

The BBC adaptations of Bernard Cornwell's beloved Richard Sharpe series of novels have won fans on both sides of the Atlantic with their solid storytelling, charmingly low-budget effects, and the solid work of the actors. While occasionally mixing and matching plot lines from the novels (Cornwell has written the novels out of sequence, so that's fair), the adaptations remain true to the spirit of the novels.

The previous entry in this series, "Sharpe's Gold," was an abysmal failure on the part of the filmmakers to deviate from Cornwell's stories, and a ridiculous plot about Aztec gold and witchcraft destroyed "SG."

So it is with happy heart that I can relate that with "Sharpe's Battle," the filmmakers returned to the series' roots - Wellington's clash with Napoleon and the world of Sharpe and his 95th Rifles. Nary an Aztec or Mayan to be seen, and all is right with the world.

Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) is gutter trash who in earlier episodes was raised from the ranks (almost unheard of in the classist British army) when he saved Wellington's life. Now a major, Sharpe remains a murderous s.o.b., and Wellington recognizes that Sharpe is just the man for various dirty missions and odd jobs. In "SB," Wellington charges Sharpe with training up a woeful bunch of Irish soldiers on loan from the Spanish king. These soldiers have been languishing on palace detail for years, and most of their muskets don't even work. It is up to Sharpe to cut the wheat from the chaff as brutally as possible.

Making matters difficult for Sharpe is the commanding officer of the Irish troops, Lord Kiely (Jason Durr). Kiely is a true aristocrat and cannot hide his contempt for Sharpe. Kiely also ignores his adoring wife, Lady Kiely (Allie Byrne) out of grief and resentment because their last child died shortly after being born. Instead, Kiely goes to the bed of a gorgeous Spanish partisan . . . who just happens to be a spy for the French.

And the French are led by a dastardly general named Loup, the "Wolf." Sharpe runs afoul of Loup when he executes two of Loup's men after Sharpe finds them raping Spanish civilians. Loup is the kind of guy who wins wars by using horror to cow the enemy into submission, and he's just the kind of guy Sharpe loves putting a bullet or two into. A face-off is imminent.

Loup is cunning, too, and uses espionage and lies to poison the Irish infantry against their English commanders.

Look for many fine - if low-budget - fight scenes in "SB," as well as Sharpe's unique brand of chivalry and leadership. Also, be prepared to say a tearful good-bye to a cherished Rifleman (or two . . .). All in all, a fine adaptation of a good Cornwell story. Watch this one after you've watched the earlier adaptations so the characters make sense, but feel free to skip "Sharpe's Gold."