Sharpe's Challenge (2006)

Let's be realistic.

i must have seen a different film!!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

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!

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.

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!

So, I give Sharpe's Challenge a 7 out of 10, primarily because I liked the 14 earlier Sharpe movies so much. 'Challenge', however, is a bit disappointing. And it is so because the makers decided to go for an epic sweep in presenting their story. For me, what made the earlier Sharpe movies so wonderful was that epic story lines were taken and woven into an intimate scale.'Challenge', on the other hand, fell in love with its own imagery and widescreen panoramas. But, what worked for Lawrence of Arabia (remember Omar Sharif's Ali emerging as pinpoint on the horizon, until he finally rides up to Peter O'Toole's foregrounded Lawrence at the waterhole? Magnificent!) doesn't for Sharpe. Other than the wide shots of the fortress and the line of troops marching across the countryside, there is no need for the camera to linger in 'Challenge'. Alas, it continues to do so, however, and Sharpe and Harper become diminished and at times even lost in the process.Finally, a word about what else is missing. (Possible spoiler) Namely, the rest of Sharpe's riflemen. Inevitable, of course, after the way things played out in Sharpe's Waterloo. But still it's hard to forget all those memorable characters from the earlier movies, such as Hagman, Harris, and Frederickson, whose story lines were often as or more interesting than even Sharpe's.Oh, well. Maybe Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley will be up for yet another installment of Sharpe's adventures. Already, they've contributed to one of the greatest adventure series of its type. And a special debt of thanks is due to Sean Bean for not outgrowing his britches, after a little Hollywood success, and coming back into the role of Sharpe with such energy and commitment.