Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Richard Sharpe and the redoubtable Patrick Harper are finally on their way home from India. Both look exhausted but are attending a ball given by the Governor of India who asks just one last favor. Would Sharpe be so kind as to deliver a valuable piece of property to one of the hill outposts? He can do this, the Governor goes on to say, without any, repeat any, peril. That should have been a flashing red light of a clue, but of course, Sharpe says I'd be delighted or something like that, and so the adventure begins.
The 'property' turns out to be the spoiled young fiancee of a French officer, who won her in a game of cards. She's already gotten off on the wrong foot with Sharpe, so to speak, after she smacked him a good one because he wouldn't dance with her. Sharpe and Harper do some grumbling, but dutifully set out with Marie and soon come across evidence of bandits. Not just any bandits, though. OMG, THESE bandits kill women and children and old people. Shame on them, especially since everyone has so repeatedly demonstrated a high regard for the sanctity of human life in the previous episodes of Sharpe and all. Shame, I say.
When our merry trio runs into a group of travellers headed to the same destination, they immediately hook up. After all, there is safety in numbers and Sharpe and Harper see a glimmer of hope as they think they'll dump Marie on the travellers. She won't have any of THAT, no sirree, so Sharpe and Harper must tag along to the outpost. Finding out about the other travellers and their issues, of which there are many, occupies everybody's time and energy until they reach the outpost. OH NOES!!!! Devastation everywhere!! There is much skullduggery and buckling of swashes; lots and lots and lots of blood, though the cavalry always seems to arrive in the nick of time.
There are plenty of Sharpe stereotypes in this entry: the very young officer who has something to prove, the old officer ditto, feisty heroine, several doomed heroes as well as some swell new villains. There's a portly English soldier deliciously named Wormwood who's up to no good, and a suave Russian officer named Dragonoff or something like that who's moonlighting as an opium dealer. In addition, Sharpe is revisited by his past. A couple of characters have surprising last names and remember General Simmerson? He has a great role.
Without spoilers, this Sharpe ends very satisfactorily, even if some of the events are major eye-rollers. For example, the French fiancee is kidnapped by her betrothed, who is on the lam from both the East India Company and the Army. They stop so she can TAKE A BATH???? 'Cause we all know how important personal hygiene was in 1818.
If you haven't seen any of the Sharpes, DON'T START WITH THIS ONE! For non fans this would be about a two and a half star movie. I'm rating it four because I am a fan and am willing to overlook a lot for the pleasure of spending two hours in Sharpe's world. Really, in spite of the above snarkiness, this film wasn't at all a bad entry in the series.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Sharpe's Peril
Sean Bean returns to his iconic role as Sharpe for a new adventure in India. But this time, the bad guys are closer than he thinks. It's India, 1818 and Lt.. Col Richard Sharpe and Sergeant Major Patrick Harper are traveling across India, escorting the beautiful Marie-Angelique Bonnet to meet her fiancée. While in bandit-plagued badlands, they come across the very dregs of the Crown's troops an ill-disciplined, rag-tag unit led by boy soldier Beauclare. As Sharpe and company sit down to have dinner with their hosts, the camp comes under attack by the notorious bandit Chitu. As the dust settles, it becomes apparent there have been many casualties, and of getting this wagon train to the safety of the next army garrison. Little does Sharpe know that the adventure has only just begun and that he has inadvertently stumbled across a massive opium trafficking ring.
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