Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

unbend_5440 In Sharpe's Enemy, a group of deserters, led by Sharpe's arch nemesis Obadiah Hakeswill, take over a town and hold two women captive. One woman is the wife of a British officer, the other woman is the wife of a French officer. Sharpe is sent to pay the ransom, but when he arrives, the ransom is increased. Sharpe mounts a rescue attempt, that ultimately concludes in a confrontation between him and Obadiah Hakeswill.Obadiah Hakeswill is pure evil, and probably the most entertaining character in the Sharpe series. At the end of Sharpe's Company, Hakeswill tried to rape Sharpe's wife. He escaped, and that leads into Sharpe's Enemy. The best way to describe the Sharpe movie series is that it's a collection of individual movies that all can be viewed by themselves. You don't need to start at the beginning. If you want to watch the 9th movie in the series first, it doesn't make a huge difference. The only two movies that I believe work best watching them back to back are Company and Enemy. That way you get the full enjoyment out of the outstanding feud between Sharpe and Hakeswill. I want to say that Sharpe's Enemy is without a doubt my favourite movie in the series. It is superior to all the others on many levels. Instead of this being just another adventure for Sharpe, his story and character really move forward. I love how each movie takes a different approach to developing Sharpe's character. This time you see him as a very honourable man that is tempted by a woman other than his wife. In some of the Sharpe movies I find it hard to accept the new characters that are introduced. Sometimes new characters just don't work, this time they did. I think Sharpe's Enemy has the most solid supporting cast of the series. New characters like Sweet William and Farthingdale are some of the best characters in the story. I actually think Sweet William should've been given more to do. Major Ducos is introduced as a secondary villain, one who's almost the polar opposite of Hakeswill. The movie needed that balance. Ducos continued to appear in future Sharpe movies. I really loved the portrayals of Wellington and Nairn this time. As Sharpe's Enemy got closer to the end, I felt overwhelming anticipation for what was to come. The climax has never been topped. First there's the rescue attempt, which offers real thrilling action. SPOILER AHEAD..... DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT IT SPOILED.......Then there's the confrontation between Teresa and Obadiah. When I saw this for the first time, I had never read any of the books, so it came as a real shock that they had the guts to kill off Teresa, a major character. The way it's done in this movie is so dramatic. Usually if a movie kills off a character, they tie up all loose ends and give a happy ending to their story. It's never resolved that Sharpe cheated on his wife just before she died, and she never found out, which gives Sharpe some unbelievable character development in the next movie. The way Tom Clegg handled that twist is daring. What was even more satisfying than that is the way Sharpe and Hakeswill's final confrontation plays out. I have occasionally found some of the final duels between Sharpe and his enemies to be unfulfilling. On some of the movies, they resolve matters by a swordfight that's all too brief and brings little closure. Keeping the fate of Hakeswill simple is what impressed me more than anything. It also showed a different and surprising side of Sharpe. Sean Bean shows some of his best acting in the scene where Ducos tells him to surrender the town. Bean barely says a word, but you just understand his character and almost want to cheer by his reaction to Ducos. By this point in the story, I thought it was spectacular. It was an added bonus that there was a final battle still to come. Ducos' arrogance forces the French into an embarrrassing loss, thanks to the Rockets that provided for comic relief early in the movie.I am shocked that Sharpe's Enemy has one of the lower ratings of the series on IMDb. Sure, a 6.9 is impressive, but it's low compared to some of the other movies. How could Sharpe's Gold have a higher rating? I put Sharpe's Enemy on the same level that most people put Goldfinger on with the James Bond movies. It is head and shoulders above all the others. Sharpe has never topped this movie.

grendelkhan This is my favorite of the Sharpe series. Why, you may ask? Obadiah Hakeswill; it's the perfect name for the most foul of villains. Pete Postlethwaite is wonderful as the evil deserter, rapist, thief and all-around bad egg. From his guttural language to his head twitch, he exudes the greatest villainy this side of Ian Mckellan's Richard III.Sean Bean is the swashbuckling Sharpe, with Daragh O' Malley as the faithful Sgt. Harper. We have the "Chosen Men" and Captain "Sweet William" Frederickson. What's not to love? OK, Elizabeth Hurley doesn't distinguish herself, but the rest of the principles do, including Feodor Atkine as Major Ducos.The whole series captures the flavor of the Cornwell books, although some of the battles are fought on smaller scales. Still, the productions make the most of their budgets and score points for character. If you like historical adventure, romance, swashbuckling, or just great character acting, watch these films.

alicecbr Remember that Sir Lawrence Olivier was renown for taking on different looks for every movie? so Pete Postlewaite, one fantastic actor. To have this creep with his facial tics do the horrible things he does in this movie, having flogged Sharpe in some past time and then to have seen him in An Awfully Big Adventure as the kindly uncle ---what a talen!!! I'm a realism freak, so despite the wonderful writing, the most important part of any movie, there were a few too many 'Enter on cue'. "But Sharpe, we don't HAVE any cavalry".....He nods and in they come. The scene with Ducot, also an excellent actor in which the glasses are broken is exquisite. But, here's the rub: Sharpe is supposed to be a hero: yet even though you're made quite aware that he's in love with his wife, guess what he does with the whore, Elisabeth (breasts not real) Hurley? I didn't think Clinton should have been impeached for such adolescent breaches in morality, but to have Sharpe commit adultery: No, no, a thousand times no!!!! And then.....but I don't want to be a spoiler, it just makes the act worse. The scenery is gorgeous, supposedly Portugal, but really up where England had a war once, and the "Valley of Death" where 10,000 English soldiers died is where it was filmed, somewhere around Afghanistan and the Kyber Pass. "Sweet William" the hairless, toothless, eyeless top notch soldier is portrayed exquisitely. You can understand why the series continued. And, yes, Darrah O'Malley is much sexier than people give him credit for, and having seen him in 'Withnail and I', it made him much funnier. But have you noticed? When guys play sinister scenes with up close hostility such as between Ducot and Sharpe, there's almost a homoerotic quality about it. Don't understand this, but the emotions must be similar. We'll have to ask the actors.

Paul Chambers (WileE) Oncer again, Sharpe's Enemy allows our hero Richard Sharpe, along with his Rifles in support, to save the day.A somewhat contrived plot does not help, but some excellent acting saves the day. Not, one might add, from a certain Liz Hurley! The tragic events towards the end add a poignancy to the Sharpe series that had not really been present before, although this is superbly counter-balanced by the humour of Sharpe's promotion.Not the best episode, but definitely up there as a strong showing, before the ravages of Jane beguiled our hero.