Sharpe's Revenge

Rating:
Summary: The final confrontation between Sharpe and Ducos...
Review: 1814 - Toulouse falls, and with it, Napoleon is exiled to the island of Elba. The war, after nearly 20 years, is over. But Ducos, Napoleon's spymaster and sworn enemy of Richard Sharpe isn't done with him yet. After Sharpe fights a duel against his wife's wishes and Jane runs off to England in a huff, Ducos frames Sharpe for murder and the theft of the former Emperor's treasure. Now Sharpe must make his way across post-war France, aided by allies likely and unlikely, to clear his name and seek his revenge. Meanwhile, Jane is proving less than loyal to her husband...

A typical Ducos plot (although not as intricate as the one in "Sharpe's Honour"), this has the elements we've grown to know and love. Sharpe gets framed, escapes from death and has to regain his honour. Harper and Frederickson are superb in their acting and banter, and even though they replaced the actor who originally played General Calvert in "Siege" and "Mission", Calvert gets some of the best lines and plays off Sharpe superbly. Ignore Jane's little peccadiloes in London - they are way too painful to watch, and besides, Sharpe finally meets the love of the rest of his life in the Frenchwoman Lucille Mailliot - the scenes of Sharpe recuperating on her Normandy farm are beautifully brought out by Sean Bean. We've never seen Sharpe this happy, and from that alone we know he's found his place after all the wars are over.

I won't say much more because I recommend it heartily. A fine Sharpe adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Bet you thought the end of the war would be a good thing
Review: Okay, it took me a while to recognize that the character of Rossendale was being played by Alexis Denisof a.k.a. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." But the twists of "Sharpe's Revenge," the twelfth of the fourteen adventures of Bernard Cornwell's maverick British officer from the Napoleonic War, were such that I was surprised that Rossendale turns out to be more than a minor character. We have been waiting for the war to be over, but it turns out the defeat of Napoleon is not the best of all possible worlds for our hero.

In April 1814 Wellington's forces are attacking Toulouse, the final French stronghold still loyal to Napoleon, and when it falls Napoleon falls from power and King Phillipe is restored. Of course during the final battle another incompetent but well connected officer, Wigram (Tom Hodgkins) is ordered to lead the assault, botches it, and it is up to Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) to save the day. But then several important things happen that ruin the end of the war for our hero. First, Wigram uses the subject of Sharpe's wife to insult him and set up a duel in defiance of the Duke of Wellington's orders. Sharpe knows he will be sent home, but that is what he wants since Jane Sharpe (Abigail Cruttenden) has extracted a promise that the battle would be his last. However, urged on by Lady Molly Spindacre (Connie Hyde), who has her own agenda when she discovers Jane has a signed power of attorney giving her control of Sharpe's 10,000 pounds, Sharpe's wife leaves for home when she hears of the duel.

Meanwhile, Major Ducos (Féodor Atkine) is not only still not dead, despite another opportunity for Sharpe to put Napoleon's master spy out of business, but plotting his final revenge on our hero. After the duel, in which Sharpe finds a great way of teaching Wigram a lesson, he finds himself arrested. Not for the duel, but for stealing Napoleon's treasure. Although defended in court by Frederickson (Philip Whitchurch), who learned his law in a most unusual but totally appropriate way, Ducov has contrived enough evidence to make his convinction and execution almost certain. So Frederickson and Harper (Daragh O'Malley) break Sharpe out and set off to uncover the truth and save Sharpe's reputation and neck.

The dynamic of "Sharpe's Revenge" is different from most of the episodes in the series and not just because the big battle scene comes at the beginning (they still have one at the end). The most obvious is that Frederickson plays the role Harper usually has when Sharpe is in trouble, but we also have a rather unexpected ally in the French General Calvet (John Benfield), who has been opposing Sharpe on the field of battle for the last several films. While Sharpe is having problems in France, Jane is back home being swept off her feet by Rossendale and to our surprise she is willing to be seduced. Meanwhile, Sharpe is being nursed back to health by a young French widow (Cécile Paoli) and while she is interested, he will remain faithful to Jane, unaware she is not doing the same.

This is really the first half of a two-part story, continued in "Sharpe's Justice." That is because as long as he is on the Continent Sharpe can only get his revenge against half of his targets, with the rest awaiting him back home in England. "Sharpe's Revenge" has as much of a "to be continued" ending of any of these films and given how rare it is that Sharpe actually kills his enemies in this tales, I have no clue as to how the rest of this one will play out.



Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but it was bizarre in places
Review: Pierre Ducos, like Count Dracula seems to be indestructable. He keeps comming back for more and Sharpe doesn't hesitate to dish it out.
Based on real incidents, SHARPE'S REVENGE has a good plot, but towards the end it becomes a bit bizarre. Some of the acting is really too funny to be taken seriously. The character of Gaston, personal aide to General Calvert reminds me more of a clown, than a trusted servant. He has a few more lines than in other Sharpe films. At times his performance is more like slap stick.
Curiously, riflemen Hagman and Harris are missing from this film.
Of course the war is over and they have been discharged, but the characters should have been involved in the story, even if they were not in the book.
Fredrickson gets to do a bit of slapstick type comedy of his own, but the character is still interesting. In the book, Sharpe and Fredrickson end their friendship over Lucille and it would have made for a more lively ending for the film. Harper actually has little to say in this one, which is a shame. Jane is more "bitchy" in this episode, but nothing like in JUSTICE. In either case, the character is allowed to have more emotion than just worshipping Sharpe. Still, these films are enjoyable and far better than other series.