In what is arguably the best of the Sharpe series, Richard Sharpe, now promoted Major is sent to secure the release of the wife of an English aristocrat who has been captured by a gang of desperate deserters lead by Sharpe's former Nemesis Obidiah Hakeswell.
Hakeswell is demanding a kings ransom for Lady Farthingdale played by a young Elizabeth Hurley, and he has asked for Sharpe to be the delivery boy so he can exact his ultimate revenge.
Also the town in question is not only the den and haven of the thieves and mutineers but a strategic stronghold, essential to Wellington's advance, and as a result Sharpe and his chosen men not only have the deserters and the hostages to contend with, but the arrival of a large contingent of French troops determined to secure the town for themselves.
Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley return as Sharpe and Harper, and we see excellent performances by Hugh Fraser as Wellington, Michael Byrne as Major Nairn and Assumpta Serna returning for the final time as Sharpe's wife Teresa Moreno.
However the performance of the film, if not the performance of the entire Sharpe series is given once again to Pete Postlethwaite as the pervertedly evil and twitchy Obidiah Hakeswell, in my opinion one of the most loathsome baddies ever brought to the screen.
Super Swash for your Buckle
Hakeswell is demanding a kings ransom for Lady Farthingdale played by a young Elizabeth Hurley, and he has asked for Sharpe to be the delivery boy so he can exact his ultimate revenge.
Also the town in question is not only the den and haven of the thieves and mutineers but a strategic stronghold, essential to Wellington's advance, and as a result Sharpe and his chosen men not only have the deserters and the hostages to contend with, but the arrival of a large contingent of French troops determined to secure the town for themselves.
Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley return as Sharpe and Harper, and we see excellent performances by Hugh Fraser as Wellington, Michael Byrne as Major Nairn and Assumpta Serna returning for the final time as Sharpe's wife Teresa Moreno.
However the performance of the film, if not the performance of the entire Sharpe series is given once again to Pete Postlethwaite as the pervertedly evil and twitchy Obidiah Hakeswell, in my opinion one of the most loathsome baddies ever brought to the screen.
Super Swash for your Buckle